Episode 3
Between the Two Mountains: The Complaint of Gog and Magog
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Dhul-Qarnayn once more followed a way. He travelled on until he reached a place between two mountains. There he found a people who could scarcely understand speech, on account of their different language and isolation. That people complained to him. They said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog (Ya'juj and Ma'juj) are a people who spread corruption throughout the land. May we pay you a sum of wealth so that you might build a barrier between us and them?" Gog and Magog were two peoples given to devastation and to unleashing calamity upon those around them. So the inhabitants between the two mountains sought Dhul-Qarnayn's protection and offered him payment in return for building a barrier. But Dhul-Qarnayn declined their payment. He answered, "That which my Lord has granted me is better than your wealth. So assist me with strength — labour and tools — and I will build a strong barrier between you and them." He did not turn this aid into a means of amassing wealth, for God had already sufficed him with authority and favour. All he asked for was cooperation and effort, so that they too would take part in the struggle to protect the safety of their own land. Reflection: The one whom God has made self-sufficient does not treat doing good as a field for earning wages. Dhul-Qarnayn refused the wealth and instead called the people to work alongside him — for the noblest help is that which empowers others rather than making them dependent. True strength is spent to hold back corruption, not to pile up riches.
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The Iron Barrier and the Promise of the Last Day