Before the ushering of the Last Day, eloquently referred to as the overwhelming, all-engulfing event 88:1, mankind will be swarming like scattered moths and locusts 54:7,101:4, spread along with all living beings all throughout the heavens and the earth.
But just as the wildest and most untamed animals will crowd together compelled by the terror of that Day 81:5, all humans who ever lived (ie the ones sceptical about that gathering must not think that if the dead have vanished from among them, they have also vanished from the Almighty) will be mustered out of their graves and gathered.
The One who gave them life originally then dispersed them, is fully aware of each and every one of them 19:94-5,27:87,29:22,42:29,77:38.
As a demonstration of God's limitless ability to keep track of every created entity, all living organisms besides mankind, from the smallest to the biggest, of the heavens and the earth, will be present at this gathering as well 6:38. Instinctively, every human being, past and present will recognize the gathering sound of the One commanding the universe, and will be united
30:25,67:24,81:7,54:8"Hastening to the inviter".
This unification was pictured on a smaller scale in this very world to Abraham's eyes 2:260. The souls will be united, from the first up to the last one that roamed this Earth 18:47, on a single day 56:49-50, including the most ungodly and uncivilized people who will have no choice but to irresistibly answer the call of the Creator,
"seized from a near place"
meaning they will have no way to escape or place to hide where they will be out of reach 34:51. The single, piercing and deafening cry of the summoning entity 79:13,80:33 will be so clearly perceived 20:108 wherever they will be that it will be as if one is called "from a near place". None will resist the urge to rise and gather along with the rest of mankind to render account 50:41-2, hastening like competitors in a race trying to reach the goal signs 70:43. It is to be noted that the Arabic qabr/grave often understood as the underground laying place of the dead has a broader meaning to include any location that covers the dead corpse from sight.
As a morally accountable creature, the jinn too will be gathered for judgement 6:128-130,55:39 and none of them, humans and jinn, will find a place or corner in this universe to escape God's grasp when the day of gathering is sounded 55:31-5.
This forceful gathering, the "kneeling" of every nation 45:28, is particularly pictured through the story of Gog and Magog.
They were an ungodly people who terrorized those weaker than them and the pious King Dhul Qarnayn managed to contain them behind a fortified wall.
Given the urgency of the situation, the noble king used the most relevant, abundant and readily available materials at hand, as implied by the command to bring iron in pieces/lumps or blocks. It is known that iron and copper can be relatively easily extracted, as was done by ancient people that gathered these metallic minerals by simply picking up copper chunks lying around, iron hematites found in rocks and soils, or iron nodules which were collected from the bottom of swamps. That particular population encountered had already smelted iron in abundance, facilitating its use in terms of time and energy requirements for Dhul Qarnayn's project. The first step consisted in gathering the iron available at the construction site. The quantity was such that it could be levelled between the 2 cliffs.
As a side note, from a geological viewpoint, a tight pass of even a few meters width, with high cliffs on both sides is a common formation found all over the world and more particularly in the treacherous mountainous areas of Central Asia. The iron could then have been melted or heated close to melting point in the blast furnace referred to implicitly in the passage, in order to use it within the structure of the wall, together with copper. The Quran does not give a precise description of the wall's shape and composition and list of materials used to build it, as well as of the method of execution, but does however emphasize its fortified aspect, with iron and copper, making it impenetrable by the invaders for a decreed time. How exactly were these materials used within the wall's structure is not detailed but it can be inferred that they were integrated in its construction so as to strengthen it. This could have been done by alternating within the wall with successive layers of stone, iron, copper or iron-copper alloy. The word r-d-m used by Dhul Qarnayn in reference to the requested defensive wall implies a blocking structure that is made by piling it up. The layering could also have been done by successively pouring the molten metals either by first combining them as an alloy or each on their own, inside an appropriate mould(s) placed in the desired location between the cliffs, so as to ultimately form a sort of giant sealed metal door. The process would have been done in sections by pouring molten copper on individual iron blocks that were previously flux treated, resulting in a fully metallic structure, or in combination with other materials such as stone as suggested earlier, but not in layers rather by interlocking copper coated iron blocks and stone blocks. As a side note, fluxing is a cleaning technique known for long and still applied today, to prevent oxidation and promote adhesion of 2 metals. Then again, it is not a given that the absence of a flux would necessarily prevent adhesion, even in the presence of rust, but it would certainly however accelerate corrosion. Since the king could not maintain an army there, he had to improvise using materials that could not be breached in the short to medium term (even though in the long run the structure is bound to crumble as stated by the king) hence the emphasis on the fact that despite their assaults, the invaders could not make a hole in it. This also implies that previously tried methods by this local population, using other materials did not work and the attackers could always pierce their way through.
Another possibility which also fits the chronological description of the process is that iron pieces were placed inside a mould which was then entirely lit on fire in order to make it reach a temperature high enough for molten copper to be poured on top, allowing it to run through and fill in all the space between the iron pieces, after which the mould is removed, revealing a solid block of intermingled iron pieces and copper.
In any case these potential structures pale from the viewpoint of complexity and difficulty of execution compared to other famous ancient buildings. Again, and as stated in the verse, the protection was not meant to physically last forever but provide fast and efficient relief to his subjects, using the materials at hand.
Rulers of all times built barriers and still do today, to protect their people from outside enemies and invasions. The pious king Dhul Qarnayn was no exception and as a sign of his noble character, he regarded it as an unconditional duty of his to protect his subjects
18:94-7"Shall we then pay you a tribute on condition that you should raise a barrier between us and them? He said: That in which my Lord has established me is better, therefore you only help me with workers, I will make a fortified barrier between you and them".
After having successfuly done so, instead of pronouncing his own greatness as Kings normally do, this Noble and Pious King tells the people that all things will eventually crumble when their appointed time comes, as stated in the sura's beginning as well as often repeated elsewhere in the Quran, including his own monumental achievements which are in fact not really his, but the result of God's mercy upon him
18:98"He said: This is a mercy from my Lord, but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass He will make it level with the ground".
The whole sura concludes with a reminder of such principle which must be impressed in the mind of the God-conscious
"they whose labor is lost in this world's life and they think that they are well versed in skill of the work of hands. These are they who disbelieve in the communications of their Lord and His meeting, so their deeds become null".
All things, even the most monumental constructions are eventually reduced to dust and levelled with the ground as stated by Dhul Qarnayn in the verses. Other righteous men such as the prophet Hud equally warned their nations against their materialistic world view and the perception that their worldly achievements will last forever 26:124-9. This is one of the purest and most essential monotheistic principle, nothing exists by its own capacity except for God's everlasting Glorious Self
55:26-7,28:88"All things are perishing but His Face".
Not finding any trace of that wall today or its definite location thus agrees with Dhul Qarnayn's statement concerning its inevitable end. Also, assuming it isnt mentioned in present day available historical records how does that preclude it has once existed before it got levelled with the ground as stated by Dhul Qarnayn? Is every construction in the history of mankind regardless of its size known, written in records or memorized throughout time and never forgotten?
The more profound message is that escaping that rampart, something that is bound to happen as per Dhul Qarnayn's words given the temporary nature of the structure, does not mean that one can ultimately escape God's justice
18:99"And We will leave some of them on that day surge against others (like waves); and the trumpet will be blown, so We will gather them in gathering".
It is to be noted, the verse only starts speaking of the day of judgement after the reference to the trumpet blow and the gathering of all humanity. At that same time that the towns who otherwise would never return, will be brought back from their death to answer to the call, the Gog and Magog will also be raised and let loose to descend from every elevation since all these natural places of refuge once particularly used by these plunderers will be destroyed
20:105-7,21:95-7"And it is binding on a town which We destroy that they shall not return. Until when Gog and Magog are let loose and they shall descend from every elevated place. And the true promise shall draw nigh, then lo! the eyes of those who disbelieved shall be fixedly open: O woe to us! surely we were in a state of heedlessness as to this; nay, we were unjust".
Nothing is said here about the necessity for a wall to be destroyed for the Gog and Magog to come out since it obviously is talking of judgement day and their forceful gathering with all humanity, Ie the previously destroyed towns have now returned, and they are descending from every elevation, not through an opening in a wall or from a specific location but from all directions. In other words, there are 2 occasions where the Gog and Magog will come forth;
- Following the destruction of the wall that contained them
- On the day of judgement together with all of humanity, this includes the actual barbaric population encountered by Dhul Qarnayn, those that surged after the wall collapsed, as well as their descendants, all resurrected and irresistibly gathering. If one were to say that the barrier had been broken or damaged long ago, as reflected in some narrations, and they swarmed the Earth and attacked the people, then this claim would still not contradict the Quran. It is not necessary that they attacked immediately after their barrier broke but took a few hundred years to do so and they may attack in stages as well, with their final onslaught still to come. The Quran does not indicate toward the timings of these events but informs us of what they would do. This is corroborated not only from the Quran but also the reported sayings of the prophet. For example in one instance it says that following the surging of the Gog and Magog, pilgrimage to Kaaba will not be discontinued until the day of resurrection. It also says that the pious Arabs will remain unharmed until evil and sin becomes widespread and only then people of Gog and Magog will begin attacking them.
The mention of Gog and Magog and the towns in the context of resurrection and judgement clearly is meant at picturing the fact that people will be brought back to God from wherever they might be, whether they lead a sedentary or nomadic and untamed lifestyle. As a side note, after the Gog and Magog's coming forth, the "drawing nigh" of God's promise made to the disbelievers spoken of in 21:97 is in reference to the now inevitable prospect of punishment they were promised in this world and to which they were heedless, their soon hurling in hell spoken of in the following verse after their judgement 21:98, as they look on with terror inside the now opened gates of hellfire that is brought near to those concerned 18:100,26:91,79:36. Further, in Classical Arabic and the Semitic languages in general, it is common to call multiple tribes by the names of their ancestors. Plenty examples can be given from the HB. That is why, as a side note, we see Rabbinical writings and the NT depicting Gog and Magog as 2 distinct nations although earlier the Tanakh in Gen10 only refers to Magog as a people descending from Noah's son Japheth, and later Ezekiel38 speaks of Gog as a ruler of several territories or people, including Magog, meaning he was either a foreigner to Magog and had his own nation that later became known by his name or he was from Magog itself and some of the people he ruled over besides those of Magog became known by the name of their ruler, hence the later references to Gog and Magog as 2 nations Rev20.
