Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

95. “And there is a ban upon (the people of) the towns which We destroyed: that they shall not return.”

96. “Until, when Gog and Magog are let through (the way), and they hasten forth from every elevation.”

97. “And the true promise has drawn nigh; then behold, staring wide (in terror), the eyes of those who disbelieve! (They say:) ‘Alas for us! We were heedless of this (Day); nay; we were unjust ones’.”

In the explanation of the former verses, the words were about the righteous believers. Now, here, in the first holy verse mentioned in the above, the Qur’an points to those persons who are in the opposite side, those who go on their aberration and do mischief until the last moment of their life.

The first verse of this group of verses says:

“And there is a ban upon (the people of) the towns which We destroyed that they shall not return.”

In fact, they are those who desire to come back to this world again to compensate their whole faults after that they have actually observed the Divine punishment, or after their destruction and going into the purgatory world, where the curtains of pride and negligence go aside from before their eyes.

But the Holy Qur’an explicitly announces that their return to this life again is absolutely forbidden, and there is no way or chance for them to make amends.

This meaning is just like that which we read in Surah Al-Mu’minun, No. 23, verse 99, which indicates that this situation of theirs continues until when their death comes and they ask Allah to return them back to the world in order that they do those righteous deeds that they had neglected to do; but they receive naught save a negative answer.

The verse says:

“Until, when death comes unto one of them, he says: ‘My Lord! send me back again.”

However, these unaware people are always in pride and negligence, and the continuation of this misfortune will last until the end of the world, as the Qur’an says:

“Until, when Gog and Magog are let through (the way), and they hasten forth from every elevation.”

There have been mentioned some discussions in Surah Al-Kahf, No. 18, from verse 94 on about Gog and Magog, saying who and from what tribe they were, where they were living, and, finally, what they are doing and what they will do.

There have also been discussed in details there about the barrier which Zul-Qarnayn built in a narrow valley in order to prevent their influence.

Is the purpose of the phrase ‘these two tribes being let through (the way)’ as ‘their barrier to be broken, and their influence into other lands of the world thereby’? Or that the objective meaning is their influence, in general, throughout the world and from every side?

The abovementioned holy verse has not explicitly stated anything regarding this matter. It only contains a hint to their spread scattering them in the globe as a sign of the end of the world and a preliminary event for the Resurrection and Hereafter.

However, the Late author of the Commentary of Atyab-ul-Bayan¹ cites as follows:

“This verse is one of the evidences of ‘return to life’, which is necessary in Shi‘ism, and some widely transmitted narrations testify it.

Some Islamic traditions indicate that those who return to life of this world during the course of the second coming will be those believers who had been steadfast in their faith, and also those who had been steadfast in disbelief but had not been annihilated by the worldly chastisement.

This matter is for the reason that the believers benefit from Divine bounties at the presence of the immaculate Imams (as), and the disbelievers may be chastised by the worldly chastisements.”

“In other words, this holy verse implies that those absolute disbelievers who will ‘return to life’ in the course of ‘the second coming’ are the disbelievers who were not annihilated by means of the Divine punishment but passed away by the natural death.

Thus those disbelievers who were annihilated by means of the Divine punishment, like the peoples of Noah, Hud, Salih, Lut, Shu‘ayb, Pharaohs, and the like, will not return during the course of ‘the second coming’, because they had tasted the worldly chastisement. They will have their resurrection only on the Hereafter Day in order to be given the punishment of that world.”2

Then, in the next verse, the Qur’an immediately says:

“And the true promise has drawn nigh;…”

The disbelievers will be involve in such a horror that their eyes stop moving and will be gazing that scene.

The verse continues saying:

“…then behold, staring wide (in terror), the eyes of those who disbelieve!…”

At this time, the curtains of pride and negligence will go aside from before their eyes, and they will cry:

“…(They say:) ‘Alas for us! We were heedless of this (Day);…”

And, since they cannot cover their sin with any pretext and acquit themselves, they will explicitly say:

“…nay; we were unjust ones.”

In principle, how may it be possible that with the existence of these numerous Divine prophets and the heavenly Books they remain in negligence while there have been many shaking events for them and the life in this world has taught them different lessons as warnings? Whatever they have done is fault and injustice to them as well as to others.

The Qur’anic word /hadab/ means: the elevations which are surrounded by some low lands. It is also sometimes called to the outgrowth of the man’s back.

The Arabic term /yansilun/ is derived from /nusul/ which is applied in the sense of ‘going out swiftly’.

The Qur’anic sentence concerning Gog and Magog which says:

“…They hasten forth from every elevation”

refers to their extraordinary influence all over the earth.

The term /šaxisah/ is derived from /šuxus/ which originally means ‘going out from home’ or ‘going out from a city toward another city’.

And, since at the time of surprise and gazing the man’s eyes are in a state as if they are coming out from the pupil, this status is also called /šuxus/. This is the status that the sinners will have in the Hereafter. They will be gazing so much that as if their eyes are about to come out from the pupil of the eyes.