⦗89–98⦘ “Then he followed another course * until, when he reached the place where the sun rises, he found it rising upon a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it * So it was, and We had full knowledge of all that he possessed * Then he followed another course * until, when he reached the place between the two barriers, he found before them a people who could scarcely understand speech * They said, ‘O Dhul-Qarnayn! Gog and Magog are spreading corruption throughout the land. May we pay you a tribute to erect a barrier between us and them?’ * He said, ‘What my Lord has empowered me with is better. Assist me with your strength, and I shall erect a solid barrier between you and them * Bring me blocks of iron.’ Then, when he had raised it level between the two cliffs, he said, ‘Blow!’ When he had made it glow like fire, he said, ‘Bring me molten copper to pour over it’ * Thus, they could neither scale it nor tunnel through it.”

That is, after reaching the place where the sun sets, he retraced his route and headed toward the place where it rises, following the means Allah had granted him. When he reached the place where the sun rises, “he found it rising upon a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.” That is, he found it rising upon people who had no shelter from the sun. This may have been because they lacked the means to construct dwellings, owing to their extreme primitiveness, wildness, and lack of civilization. Alternatively, the sun may have remained constantly above them, without setting for any appreciable length of time, as occurs in southeastern Africa. Thus, he reached a place beyond the knowledge of the inhabitants of the earth, let alone a place they could reach in person. Yet all this occurred by Allah’s decree for him and His knowledge of him. Hence He said, “So it was, and We had full knowledge of all that he possessed.” That is, We encompassed in knowledge all the good and mighty means he possessed, and Our knowledge accompanied him wherever he turned and traveled.

“Then he followed another course until, when he reached the place between the two barriers”—the commentators stated that he traveled from the east toward the north until he reached the area between the two barriers. These were two mountain ranges, well known at that time, which formed a barrier separating Gog and Magog from the people. On the near side of the two barriers, he found a people who could scarcely understand speech because their language was foreign and their minds and hearts were slow to comprehend. Allah had, however, granted Dhul-Qarnayn the means of knowledge by which he understood the language of those people and enabled them to understand him. He conversed with them and they with him, and they complained to him of the harm caused by Gog and Magog, two vast nations descended from Adam. They said, “Gog and Magog are spreading corruption throughout the land” by killing, seizing wealth, and other such acts. “May we pay you a tribute”—that is, a fee—“to erect a barrier between us and them?”

This indicates that they were incapable of building the barrier themselves but knew that Dhul-Qarnayn was capable of doing so. They therefore offered him payment to undertake the task and explained the reason for it: the corruption Gog and Magog were spreading throughout the land. Dhul-Qarnayn was neither covetous nor desirous of worldly gain, nor did he neglect the welfare of his subjects. Rather, his aim was to set matters right. He therefore granted their request because of the benefit it entailed, accepted no payment from them, and thanked his Lord for the authority and ability He had granted him. He said to them, “What my Lord has empowered me with is better”—that is, better than what you offer and would give me. I ask only that you assist me with your own strength and labor, and “I shall erect a solid barrier between you and them”—that is, an obstacle preventing them from crossing over to you.

“Bring me blocks of iron”—that is, pieces of iron—and they brought them to him.

“Then, when he had raised it level between the two cliffs”—that is, the two mountains between which he built the barrier—“he said, ‘Blow!’” That is, kindle the fire intensely and use bellows to make it blaze fiercely enough to melt the copper. When the copper that he intended to bind between the iron blocks had melted, “he said, ‘Bring me molten copper to pour over it.’” He then poured the molten copper over it, making the barrier immensely strong and thereby protecting the people behind it from the harm of Gog and Magog.

“Thus, they could neither scale it nor tunnel through it.” That is, they had neither the ability nor the power to climb over it because of its height, or to bore through it because of its solidity and strength.