The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Kahf – Verse 98

قالَ هٰذا رَحمَةٌ مِن رَبّي ۖ فَإِذا جاءَ وَعدُ رَبّي جَعَلَهُ دَكّاءَ ۖ وَكانَ وَعدُ رَبّي حَقًّا

He said: ‘This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord is fulfilled, He will level it; and my Lord’s promise is true.’

EXEGESIS

Dakkāʾ (flatten) originally means a camel that does not have a hump and has a flat back.‎[1] The verb dakka hence means to flatten something. Here it means making the wall level with the ground.‎[2]

EXPOSITION

He said: looking upon the completed wall, Dhū al-Qarnayn said to the people present, This is a mercy from my Lord, referring to the wall. He proclaimed it was a mercy because it would protect them against Gog and Magog.‎[3] Unlike what was prevalent amongst powerful kings of the past, Dhū al-Qarnayn did not become proud nor conceited because of completing this monumental structure, rather he attributed it to being a mercy from his Lord. Any power that he may possess, any knowledge or intellect, any obedience that his troops and followers may display to his commands, is all a mercy from God.‎[4]

But when the promise of my Lord is fulfilled, He will level it: the promise regarding Gog and Magog is also mentioned in the verse, When Gog and Magog are let loose, and they race down from every slope, and the true promise draws near [to its fulfilment], behold, the faithless will look on with a fixed gaze: ‘Woe to us! We have certainly been oblivious of this! Rather, we have been wrongdoers!’ (21:96-97). Some understood the promise to be an event foreshadowing the end times,‎[5] or even the Day of Resurrection.‎[6] It is also the purport of some narrations that describe them descending upon mankind and the Muslims at some apocalyptic time.‎[7]

Another suggestion is that it will be levelled when all the mountains are levelled during the cataclysms of the apocalypse,‎[8] like in the verse, When the earth is levelled (dukkat) to a plain (dakkan) (89:21).

Another understanding is also possible. In keeping with his humility, Dhū al-Qarnayn did not ascribe eternity to the structure that had been built.‎[9] He was not like the pharaohs of the past who sought to immortalise themselves through their construction projects. Rather, Dhū al-Qarnayn realised this would one day become nothing, And indeed We will turn whatever is on it into a barren plain (verse 8). This is the promise of God.

In this sense we may understand the promised time as simply the affixed time when Gog and Magog will be ‘set free’.‎[10] If this is the case, the wall should have been destroyed at some time in ancient history, leading to an invasion of nomads from the central Asian steppes. Perhaps this is the reason that a wall matching the exact descriptions given in the Quran has not been found today, although it may have been reconstructed later again to different specifications. This seems the most sensible opinion, since no nation currently exists that we might identify as Gog and Magog, and neither does a wall matching the wall of Dhū al-Qarnayn, nor would a wall do much to hold back a military force nowadays, so it is most reasonable to say that this and the next verse are speaking of an event that has occurred in the past.

And my Lord’s promise is true: Dhū al-Qarnayn declared the truth that whenever God promises that He will do something, He most certainly will do it.‎[11]

We may now also note how the story of Dhū al-Qarnayn connects to the earlier stories in the surah. In those we read how human actions cause various results which we usually do not foresee. Dhū al-Qarnayn’s decisions on how to deal with the various nations also had significant impact on them. These decisions might take generations to manifest, but can have effects which change the course of history. To build or not to build a wall, to punish or to be merciful, these choices all have meaning. 

In addition to what has been mentioned, we may also point out some more lessons from the story of Dhū al-Qarnayn:

  1. Power, intelligence, or wealth should not make a person think they are independent of God, or that they have achieved those things by themselves.
  2. The world we live in is vast and expansive and we know so little of it.
  3. A good leader always has the interests of his subjects at heart. Similarly, a healthy society takes into account the different needs of its various peoples, especially groups with special needs, even if that means expending extra effort.
  4. A flourishing society should punish the unjust and wicked and reward the good and righteous. Imam Ali (a) wrote in his letter to Mālik al-Ashtar: ‘Do not treat the righteous and the wicked as one, for certainly in that there is an encouragement to the righteous to act righteously, and a discouragement to the wicked to act wickedly.’‎[12]
  5. It is the duty of the rulers to ensure the security of their citizens and subjects.
  6. We should make efforts to stop the spread of oppression and corruption where we can.
  7. Sometimes the differences in our cultures and languages may make it difficult for us to understand each other, but that does not mean it is not worth our while to make an effort to do so.
  8. The importance of technological advancement for improving quality of life and advancing security against enemies.
  9. God has placed certain laws of nature and in order to achieve anything we must use means (asbāb) such as tools, technology, science, and so on. We must not think that we can achieve success without utilising these means. It is reported from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘God does not wish that things should happen except through their means (asbāb). He has placed a means for everything and for every mean a condition.’‎[13]
  10. People of various languages and cultures can easily be contained in one nation, if their rulers are wise and just.
  11. Making people participate in an effort will cause them to appreciate the outcome more and its significance, rather than just being gifted that thing.
  12. If a community feels there is a problem, it must be willing to spend money to tackle that problem as well.
  13. Man’s knowledge is very limited. Even that which he might witness with his own eyes may be misperception. The sun might look like it is setting somewhere or rising from somewhere, but that is simply due to our limited perception.
  14. When doing something it is best to do it right and in a way that its benefits will be as lasting as possible.‎[14]

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. It is reported from ʿAbd-Allāh ibn Masʿūd that the levelling of Dhū al-Qarnayn’s wall and the ensuing attack of Gog and Magog would happen after Prophet Jesus (a) kills the antichrist Dajjāl.‎[15] Others have related it through Ibn Masʿūd from the Prophet.‎[16] There are also other similar reports relating to the Dajjāl that mention Gog and Magog in connection with him, which have been reported in some books.‎[17] However, we should be critical with regards to such reports, as we concluded that most likely the wall has long since been levelled.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Tabatabai argues that the verse, When Gog and Magog are let loose, and they race down from every slope (21:96), also indicates that it is not actually the coming down of the wall that allows Gog and Magog to attack, but rather when the appointed time arrives.‎[18] 

[1] Tabari, 16/22; Thalabi, 6/199.
[2] Tibyan, 7/94.
[3] Mizan, 13/365.
[4] Nemuneh, 12/536.
[5] Tibyan, 7/94; Tabrisi, 6/764; Zamakhshari, 2/748; Baghawi, 3/217; Mizan, 13/366; Nemuneh, 12/536.
[6] Qurtubi, 11/63; Muhit, 7/228; Alusi, 8/363.
[7] Ayyashi, 2/351; Nur, 3/310; Ahmad, 3/27, 64, 77, 4/7, 5/271; Ibn Majah, 2/1363.
[8] Mizan, 13/366.
[9] Nemuneh, 12/536.
[10] Baghawi, 3/217; Muhit, 7/228; Munyah, 17/82.
[11] Tibyan, 7/94.
[12] Nahj, letter 53.
[13] Kafi, 1/183.
[14] For some of these and more see for example Nemuneh, 12/537-542; Tantawi, 8/575-576; Qaraati, 5/216-228; Munyah, 17/82-83.
[15] Tibyan, 7/94; Tabrisi, 6/764. They consider this report to be marfūʿ.
[16] Tabari, 16/23.
[17] See for example Baghawi, 3/218.
[18] Mizan, 13/397-398.