His saying, exalted and glorified is He:

﴿Then he followed a cause﴾ ﴿Until when he reached between the two mountains, he found a people scarcely understanding a saying﴾ ﴿They said, O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are causing corruption in the land. So shall we assign for you a tribute on condition that you make between us and them a barrier?﴾ ﴿He said, What my Lord has established in me is better. So assist me with strength; I will make between you and them a barrier.﴾

A group read: "followed" with a heavy ت, and a group read it lightly. This indicates that when he reached the rising of the sun, he followed after that a cause, meaning: another path. So, and Allah knows best, it is either to the right or to the left from the rising of the sun. And "the two mountains" as mentioned by the people of tafsir: are two mountains that block the pathways of that area of the earth, and between the two mountain paths is an opening which is the location of the Romans.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: The two mountains between which the barrier is, are Armenia and Azerbaijan. And a group said: They are beyond the lands of the Turks, as mentioned by Al-Mahdawi.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

All of this is not confirmed, and they are rather at the edge of the earth towards the east. It appears from the words of the histories that they are towards the north, and as for specifying a location, it is weak.

Nafi', Asim, and Ibn Amer read: "the two mountains" with a ضم on the س, and likewise "a barrier" wherever it occurred. Hafs read from Asim with a فتح for all of that from all the readings, and this is the reading of Mujahid, Ikrimah, and Ibrahim Al-Nakha'i. Ibn Kathir read: "the two mountains" with a فتح on the س, and ضم for "a barrier" in (Yas).

Then there was disagreement, and Al-Khalil and Sibawayh said: The ضم is the noun, and the فتح is the source. Al-Kisai said: The ضم and the فتح are two languages with one meaning. Ikrimah, Abu Amr Ibn Al-Ala, and Abu Ubaidah said: What was from the creation of Allah, the Exalted, no one shares in it by action, it is with ضم, and what was from the work of humans, it is with فتح.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Those who hold this statement must read: "between the two mountains" with ضم, and after that "a barrier" with فتح, and this is the reading of Hamzah and Al-Kisai. Abu Hatim narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ikrimah the opposite of what Abu Ubaidah said, and Ibn Abu Ishaq said: What your eyes see is "a barrier" with ضم on the س, and what is not seen in it is "a barrier" with فتح. The pronoun in "between them" refers back to the two mountains, meaning: he found them in the area that comes to the west. There was disagreement regarding "the people," and it was said: they are humans, and it was said: they are jinn, and the first is more correct from various angles. And His saying: ﴿They scarcely understand a saying﴾ is an expression of the distance of their tongue from the tongues of the people, but they understood or comprehended through translation and the like. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "understand" from أفْقَهَ, and the others read: "understand" from فَقِهَ.

The pronoun in "they said" refers to the people who are beyond the two barriers. Yajuj and Majuj are two tribes from the children of Adam. However, they are divided into many types, and there is disagreement regarding their number, so I have shortened the mention of it due to lack of authenticity. Among their characteristics are those who are extremely tall and those who are extremely short, to the extent of a span or less and more. Among them is a type with very large ears; one ear is long and the other is short, and he spends the summer with one and the winter with the other, and it covers him. The readers have differed: only Asim read "Yajuj and Majuj" with a hamzah, while the others read it without a hamzah. As for those who read with a hamzah, there is disagreement about it. One group said it is foreign, and its reason for being ineligible for inflection is its definiteness and femininity. As for those who did not use a hamzah, they either see them as two foreign names or they simplify the hamzah. Ru'bah ibn al-Ajajj read "Ajuj and Majuj" with a hamzah instead of the yaa. The people have differed regarding their corruption, which they described. Sa'id ibn Abdul Aziz said: Their corruption is the eating of the children of Adam. A group said: Their corruption is indeed expected from them, meaning they will corrupt, so they sought a way to protect themselves from them. Another group said: Their corruption is oppression, tyranny, killing, and other known forms of corruption among humans. This is the most evident of the statements, because the complaining group only complained about harm that had befallen them. Their saying, "Shall we make for you a tribute?" is an inquiry regarding good manners. "Tribute" refers to what is collected, and some said: "Khurooj" is the money that comes out once, while "Kharaj" is the collected and repeated. They proposed to him that they gather wealth for him to establish the matter of the barrier. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Kharajan" means a wage. Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, and Asim read "Kharajan," while Hamzah and al-Kisai read "Kharajan," which is the reading of Talhah ibn Masrif, al-Amash, and al-Hasan - with a difference from him. It has been narrated regarding Yajuj and Majuj that their sustenance comes from the dragon, which they are provided with and it rains upon them, and this is something that has not been authenticated. It has also been narrated that the male among them does not die until he has a thousand offspring, and the female does not die until a thousand come out from her womb. Therefore, when they reach that number, they die. It has also been narrated that they engage in sexual relations in the streets like animals, and their news is too vast for the pages, so I have shortened it due to its weak authenticity.

'His saying, the Most High: "He said, 'What my Lord has enabled me in it is better, so help me with strength. I will make between you and them a barrier,'" means: Dhul-Qarnayn said to them: 'What Allah has granted me of power and kingship is better than your tribute and your wealth. But help me with the strength of your bodies, and with work from you with your hands.' Ibn Kathir read alone: 'What has enabled me' with two noon letters, and the others read: 'What has enabled me' by merging the first noon into the second. This is from the support of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, for Dhul-Qarnayn, for he was guided in this dialogue to what is more beneficial and purer. For if they had gathered for him tribute and wealth, none of them would have helped him, and they would have left him to construction. Their assistance with strength is more beautiful for him, and a matter that prolongs the duration of work, and perhaps it exceeds the tribute.

And 'the barrier' is more eloquent than 'the dam'; for the dam is everything by which something is blocked, while the barrier is the placing of something upon something else, whether it be stones or earth or the like, until there arises from that a strong barrier. And from it: he repaired his garment when he patched it with pieces stacked one on top of the other. And from it is the saying of Antarah:

'Have the poets left any saying that is layered?'

Meaning: any saying that one part rides upon another.