Al-Kahf 18:97–108

The Barrier restrains Them, but It will be breached when the Hour draws nigh

Allah tells us that Ya'juj and Ma'juj could not climb over the barrier or penetrate its lower portion. Varying forms of the verb are used here in the Arabic text to reflect the difficulty of the action referred to.

(So they (Ya'juj and Ma'juj) could not scale it or dig through it.) This indicates that they could not penetrate it or dig through it. Imam Ahmad recorded that Zaynab bint Jahsh, the wife of the Prophet said, "The Prophet woke from sleep, and he was red in the face. He said,

(La ilaha illallah! Woe to the Arabs from the evil that has approached (them). Today a hole has been opened in the barrier of Ya'juj and Ma'juj like this.) and he made a circle with his index finger and thumb. I Zaynab said, `O Messenger of Allah, will we be destroyed even though there will be righteous people among us' He said:

(Yes, if evil increases.)" This is a Sahih Hadith, both Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded it.

((Dhul-Qarnayn) said: "This is a mercy from my Lord...") meaning, after it was built by Dhul-Qarnayn.

(He said: This is a mercy from my Lord) for the people, when he placed a barrier between them and Ya'juj and Ma'juj, to stop them from spreading evil and corruption on earth.

(but when the promise of my Lord comes) means, when the true promise comes

(He shall Dakka' it down to the ground.) means, will make it flat. The Arabs use Dakka' to describe a female camel whose back is flat and has no hump. And Allah says:

(So when his Lord appeared to the mountain, He made it Dakkan) 7:143 meaning, level to the ground.

(And the promise of my Lord is ever true.) means, it will come to pass without a doubt.

(We shall leave some of them) meaning mankind, on that day, the day when the barrier will be breached and these people (Ya'juj and Ma'juj) will come out surging over mankind to destroy their wealth and property.

(We shall leave some of them to surge like waves on one another;) As-Suddi said: "That is when they emerge upon the people." All of this will happen before the Day of Resurrection and after the Dajjal, as we will explain when discussing the Ayat:

(Until, when Ya'juj and Ma'juj are let loose, and they swoop down from every Hadab. And the true promise shall draw near...) 21:96-97

(and As-Sur will be blown.) As-Sur, as explained in the Hadith, is a horn that is blown into. The one who will blow into it is (the angel) Israfil, peace be upon him, as has been explained in the Hadith quoted at length above, and there are many Hadiths on this topic. According to a Hadith narrated from `Atiyah from Ibn `Abbas and Abu Sa`id, and attributed to the Prophet ,

(How can I relax when the one with the Horn has put the Horn in his mouth and has knelt down, listening out for the command to be given to him) They said, "What should we say" He said:

(Say: "Allah is Sufficient for us and the best Disposer of affairs, in Allah have we put our trust.")

(and We shall collect them (the creatures) all together.) means, `We shall bring them all together for Reckoning.'

(Say: "(Yes) verily, those of old, and those of later times. All will surely be gathered together for appointed meeting of a known Day.) 56:49-50

(and we shall gather them all together so as to leave not one of them behind.) 18:47

Hell will be displayed before the Disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us what He will do to the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection. He will show Hell to them, meaning He will bring it forth for them to see its punishment and torment before they enter it. This will intensify their distress and grief. In Sahih Muslim it is recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«يُؤْتَى بِجَهَنَّمَ تُقَادُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِسَبْعِينَ أَلْفَ زِمَامٍ، مَعَ كُلِّ زِمَامٍ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ مَلَك»

(Hell will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection, pulled by means of seventy thousand reins, each of which will be held by seventy thousand angels.) Then Allah says of them:

الَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِى غِطَآءٍ عَن ذِكْرِى

((To) those whose eyes had been under a covering from My Reminder,) meaning, they neglected it, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to it, refusing to accept guidance and follow the truth. As Allah says:

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ

(And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him a Shaytan to be a companion for him.) 43:36 And here Allah says:

وَكَانُواْ لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعاً

(and they could not bear to hear (it). ) meaning, they did not understand the commands and prohibitions of Allah. Then He says:

أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَن يَتَّخِذُواْ عِبَادِى مِن دُونِى أَوْلِيَآءَ

(Do then those who disbelieved think that they can take My servants as Awliya' protectors besides Me) meaning, do they think that this is right for them and that it is going to benefit them

كَلاَّ سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَدَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدّاً

(Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents to them) 19:82. Allah says that He has prepared Hell as their abode on the Day of Resurrection.

The Greatest Losers in respect of (Their) Deeds

Al-Bukhari recorded from `Amr that Mus`ab who said: "I asked my father -- meaning Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas -- about Allah's saying,

قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم بِالاٌّخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَلاً

(Say: "Shall We tell you the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds") `Are they the Haruriyyah' He said, `No, they are the Jews and Christians. As for the Jews, they disbelieved in Muhammad ﷺ, and as for the Christians, they disbelieved in Paradise and said that there is no food or drink there, and the Haruriyyah are those who break Allah's covenant after ratifying it.' Sa`d used to call them Al-Fasiqin (the corrupt). `Ali bin Abi Talib, Ad-Dahhak and others said: "They are the Haruriyyah," so this means, that according to `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, this Ayah includes the Haruriyyah just as it includes the Jews, the Christians and others. This does not mean that the Ayah was revealed concerning any of these groups in particular; it is more general than that, because the Ayah was revealed in Makkah, before the Qur'an addressed the Jews and Christians, and before the Khawarij existed at all. So the Ayah is general and refers to everyone who worships Allah in a way that is not acceptable, thinking that he is right in doing that and that his deeds will be accepted, but he is mistaken and his deeds will be rejected, as Allah says:

وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَشِعَةٌ - عَامِلَةٌ نَّاصِبَةٌ - تَصْلَى نَاراً حَامِيَةً

(Some faces, that Day will be humiliated. Laboring, weary. They will enter in the hot blazing Fire.) 88:2-4

وَقَدِمْنَآ إِلَى مَا عَمِلُواْ مِنْ عَمَلٍ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَآءً مَّنثُوراً

(And We shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and We shall make such deeds as scattered floating particles of dust.) 25:23

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَعْمَلُهُمْ كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآنُ مَآءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئاً

(As for those who disbelieved, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing) 24:39 And in this Ayah Allah says:

قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُم

(Say: "Shall We tell you...") meaning, `Shall We inform you;'

بِالاٌّخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَلاً

(the greatest losers in respect of (their) deeds) Then Allah explains who they are, and says:

الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا

(Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life) meaning, they did deeds that do not count, deeds that are not in accordance with the prescribed way that is acceptable to Allah.

وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا

(while they thought that they were acquiring good by their deeds.) means, they thought that there was some basis for their deeds and that they were accepted and loved.

أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بَِايَتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ

(They are those who deny the Ayat of their Lord and the meeting with Him.) they denied the signs of Allah in this world, the proofs that He has established of His Oneness and of the truth of His Messengers, and they denied the Hereafter.

فَلاَ نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَمَةِ وَزْناً

(and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall assign no weight for them.) means, `We will not make their Balance heavy because it is empty of any goodness.' Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّهُ لَيَأْتِي الرَّجُلُ الْعَظِيمُ السَّمِينُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا يَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ وَقَالَ: اقْرَءُوا إِنْ شِئْتُمْ:

فَلاَ نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَمَةِ وَزْناً

(A huge fat man will come forward on the Day of Resurrection and he will weigh no more than the wing of a gnat to Allah. Recite, if you wish:) (and on the Day of Resurrection, We shall assign no weight for them) It was also recorded by Muslim.

ذَلِكَ جَزَآؤُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ بِمَا كَفَرُواْ

(That shall be their recompense, Hell; because they disbelieved) means, `We will punish them with that because of their disbelief and because they took the signs and Messengers of Allah ﷺ as a joke, mocking them and disbelieving them in the worst way.'

The Reward of the Righteous Believers

Allah tells us about His blessed servants, those who believed in Allah and His Messengers and accepted as truth what the Messengers brought. He tells us that they will have the Gardens of Al-Firdaws (Paradise). Abu Umamah said, "Al-Firdaws is the center of Paradise." Qatadah said, "Al-Firdaws is a hill in Paradise, at its center, the best of it." This was also narrated from Samurah and attributed to the Prophet ,

(Al-Firdaws is a hill in Paradise, at its center, the best of it.) A similar report was narrated from Qatadah from Anas bin Malik, and attributed to the Prophet . All of the preceding reports were narrated by Ibn Jarir, may Allah have mercy on him. The following is in the Sahih,

(If you ask Allah for Paradise, then ask Him for Al-Firdaws, for it is the highest part of Paradise, in the middle of Paradise, and from it spring the rivers of Paradise.)

(entertainment) means offered to them as hospitality.

(Wherein they shall dwell (forever).) means, they will stay there and never leave.

(No desire will they have for removal therefrom. ) means, they will never choose or want anything else. This Ayah tells us how much they love and desire it, even though one might imagine that a person who is to stay in one place forever would get tired and bored of it. But Allah tells us that despite this eternal stay, they will never choose to change or move from where they are.