Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 96

(Ayah 96) { اٰتُوْنِيْ زُبَرَ الْحَدِيْدِ حَتّٰۤى اِذَا سَاوٰى …: ’’ زُبَرَ ‘‘ ’’ زُبْرَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural, just as {’’ غُرْفَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’غُرَفٌ‘‘}, meaning large pieces of iron. Providing large pieces of iron equal to the height between the mountains, lifting them up, and joining them together seems impossible even in our advanced era, but if we look at the pyramids of Egypt, we have to admit that the knowledge of cranes (for pulling and lifting heavy objects) was far ahead thousands of years before us. Thus, after Dhu al-Qarnayn joined large pieces of iron equal to the edges of the mountains, he ordered them to be heated until red-hot to make them one solid mass, and arranged for copper to be melted. When the iron bricks and plates became entirely fire, he said, now bring the molten copper so that I may pour it over. In this way, it became a very thick, strong, and smooth wall of iron and copper, as high as the mountains, over which neither Gog nor Magog could climb, nor could they make a hole in it. What sciences were used in making this wall thousands of feet high, how much iron and copper was consumed, how the iron was heated to red-hot at such a height, how so much copper was kept molten until it was brought up to such a height, and when the wall was so thick and red-hot, how molten copper was poured while standing near it, and then how long this work took to complete—all this is now known only to Allah Almighty. In this entire process, Dhu al-Qarnayn himself participated in the work, even working with his own hands. This is the same Sunnah of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), that he personally participated in the construction of the Ka'bah, the building of Masjid Nabawi, and the digging of the trench.