Overview (Verses 92 - 97)

A Barrier against Evil Forces
 
Then he followed yet another way and [marched on] till, when he reached a place between the two mountain-barriers he found beneath them a people who could scarcely understand a word. Dhu’l- Qarnayn,’ they said, ‘Cog and Magog are ravaging this land. May we pay you a tribute so that you erect a barrier between us and them?’ He answered: ‘That with which my Lord has established me is better [than any tribute]. Hence, do but help me with strength, and I shall erect a rampart between you and them! Bring me blocks of iron!’ At length, when he had filled up the gap between the two mountain-sides, he said: ‘Ply your bellows!’ Then, when he made [the iron glow like] fire, he said: ‘Bring me molten copper which I will pour over it.’ And thus their enemies were unable to scale [the rampart], nor could they dig their way through it. He said: (Verses 92-97) Now we come to the third of Dhu’l-Qarnayn’s journeys which took him to a place between the two mountain-barriers.’ We cannot make any definite suggestion as to the exact location of this place, nor do we have any information about the nature of these barriers. All that we can understand from the text is that he reached a place lying in between two natural or man-made barriers, separated by a gap or low passage. Down there he found some backward people, whom the Qur’ān describes as could scarcely understand a word.’

These people realized that Dhu’l-Qarnayn was both powerful and able. They also discovered that he was pious and God-fearing. Hence, they offered him payment in return for erecting a barrier to stop Gog and Magog, who frequently attacked them from beyond the mountain barriers and used the passage in between, from wreaking havoc in their land. These people had exhausted all the means available to them, yet still they could not repel those evil forces. Hence they were prepared to pay for a solution to their problem utilizing Dhu’l-Qarnayn’s power.
 
Following the policy declared by that pious ruler, which was based on resisting all evil and corruption on earth, he declined to take their money, and offered instead to erect the barrier without charge. He judged that the easiest way to do so was to close the passage between the two mountain-barriers. However, he asked the backward people to help him by employing their physical strength: “Help me with strength, and I shall erect a rampart between you and them! Bring me blocks of iron!” (Verses 95-96) They began to gather whatever blocks of iron were available. He put all these blocks in a heap to close the gap between the two barriers, so that the two mountain-sides became like two crusts covering a heap of iron articles in between.
 
“At length, when he had filled up the gap between the two mountainsides,” (Verse 96) and the heap of iron was as high as the top of the two barriers, “he said: Ply your bellows!” (Verse 96) They were to generate air to increase the fire which heated the iron. “Then, when he made [the iron glow like] fire, he said: ‘Bring me molten copper which I will pour over it.’” (Verse 96) The molten copper thus filled the gaps between the iron blocks, making the new barrier impregnable.
 
This method has recently been used in strengthening iron by adding a percentage of copper to it, thereby reinforcing it. It is to this fact that God guided Dhu’l- Qarnayn, recording the fact in His book many centuries before it was discovered by human science.
 
Thus the two natural barriers joined together with the man-made one, and the gap through which Gog and Magog launched their attacks was completely sealed. Hence, “Their enemies were unable to scale [the rampart]” by climbing it. “Nor could they dig their way through it,” to resume their attacks. For the first time, those vulnerable, backward people felt secure in their land.