92-93- Then he was subject to another reason. When he reached between two barriers (SUDDEYN), he found people in front of them who could hardly understand a word.

This is the third journey of Dhul-Qarnayn. In this verse, it is noticeable in the translations that the word suddeyn, which is translated as “barrier, barrier”, has created controversy. Although some translators assume that this word refers to mountains, this is only a hypothesis. Since vowels are not written in Arabic, there is also controversy in the pronunciation of this word. The reciter other than Asim read this word as suddeyn, and according to old dictionaries, the word sudd means an invisible obstacle, cloud, fog. Asim read this word as seddeyn, and according to old dictionaries, sedd means a concrete and solid obstacle. To understand the word more correctly, let’s look at the following verse in Surah Yasin that contains the same word:

“We set up a barrier before them and another barrier behind them, so We surrounded them, so they could not see. (Surah Yasin, 9)”

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The word in this verse should also be read as suddah because the barrier that Allah meant here is an abstract barrier that covers the hearts of the disbelievers, otherwise it is known that the disbelievers are not surrounded by concrete barriers. Since there is the same disagreement in these two verses, we can say that they should be read in the same way and have the same meaning. When we consider the above-mentioned meanings of suddah, we see that there is a term in astronomy that suddah fully corresponds to: Nebula. Dhul-Qarnayn must have come to a planet between two nebulae on his third journey. This double-sided nebula may be the double helix nebula near the center of our galaxy.

94- They said: "O Dhul-Qarnayn! The people of Yajuj and Majuj are causing mischief on earth. Shall we pay you a tax for building a barrier (SUDDA) between us and them?"

The word sudda appears again in this verse. In this verse, the people speaking to Dhul-Qarnayn ask him to build an invisible barrier (sudda) against Yajuj and Majuj. Invisible-abstract barriers can be represented by missile shield systems or antivirus programs today. The word "al-Ard" translated as "earth" does not have to be used for the Earth, it can be used to refer to any place on which it is spoken. The Islamic scholars have this view.

95- He said: "The means in which my Lord has placed me (in MAKKANA) are better. Help me with your strength so that I may build a strong barrier (REDM) between you and them."

The word “Mecca” is derived from “place”. In other words, this verse also means “the place where Allah has placed me is better”. We can say that Dhul-Qarnayn thought that the Earth was better than that people’s planet and wanted to return to Earth when his work was done. The people he was talking to asked him to perform SUDDAH, but Dhul-Qarnayn told them that he would perform REDM. REDM means a barrier with multiple layers. One of its meanings mentioned in old dictionaries such as Lisan al-Arab is “a cloud with multiple layers”.

96- Bring me iron blocks. When he had aligned the two ends, he said: “Roast it!” When he had turned the iron into fire, he said: “Bring me molten copper to pour on it.”

This verse describes how the dam was built, but the description here does not resemble any dam that exists in the world today. Some scholars have said that it was impossible to build this barrier with the technology of that time, and that this construction should be seen as a miracle of Dhul-Qarnayn. Scholars such as Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır have said that this barrier is not a concrete barrier, but a metaphorical one. We know that Gog and Magog will overcome their barriers in the End Times and attack all of humanity, which is what the next verse also mentions:

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97-98- They could neither overcome it nor penetrate it. Dhul-Qarnayn said, "This is a mercy from my Lord. When the promise of my Lord comes, He will level it. The promise of my Lord is true.

This subject is also expressed in the Surah Anbiya as follows:

“When the way is finally opened for Gog and Magog, they will rush from every hill. (Surah Anbiya, 96)”

However, we know that there is no barrier in the world that imprisons a large number of people. Even if there were, it would have been overcome long ago with airplanes or other technological devices. According to the hadiths, the tribes of Gog and Magog are more numerous than all other people. In other words, those who believe that this barrier exists in the world must accept that billions of people are trapped behind the barrier in the world today and that they are unknown to other people. People who make this acceptance must also believe that these two tribes, who have no traces or technology, will fight and defeat all of humanity. Since we know every inch of the world in this century, we do not need to be a genius to understand that the tribes of Gog and Magog do not exist in the world.

The process mentioned here is a chemical process. Hot iron is a good catalyst and when oxygen is blown into the reaction with molten copper, it releases methane and hydrogen gas. Since the verb used in the verse means “to blow with bellows”, we can say that this process creates the flammable gases hydrogen and methane. Since these gases are very light, they rise quickly and escape to other planets due to the gravitational force of the other planets. This event is called “atmospheric escape” in astronomy and is one of the reasons why the Moon does not have its own atmosphere. The gases on the Moon can easily pass to the Earth, so we can say that part of the Earth’s atmosphere came from the Moon. The gases created by Dhul-Qarnayn may have passed to the planet of Gog and Magog and formed more than one layered layer of gas (methane and hydrogen) as the word “REDM” indicates. Since the planet of Gog and Magog is unknown to us, we cannot know the nature of the obstacle created by this layer of gas. It is possible that this layer of gas blocked the rays coming from the star and deprived Gog and Magog of light. Now let's take a look at an incident describing the barrier of Gog and Magog:

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“Every day Gog and Magog tried to break through that barrier, and when they got close to seeing the sun's rays, their leader called out to them: 'Go back and you can break through tomorrow.' And the next day, Allah made the part of that barrier stronger than the one that was cut. This continued until the appointed time…[3] "

This hadith supports the view that the barrier was made of gas. A solid wall would not completely block the sun's rays, as it would not block the people from all sides, but the hadith indicates that Gog and Magog were completely deprived of sunlight. At the same time, it is not reasonable to restore a solid wall every day, but a barrier made of gases automatically restores itself every day, because gases, with their fluid properties, immediately fill a hole opened in them.

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Now our planet is approaching the planet of Gog and Magog, and when our planets come together, Gog and Magog will target our planet. You may think that this interpretation that I have given you is based more on interpretation than on the verses, but the traditional interpretation is also based more on interpretation than on the verses. Dhul-Qarnayn has always been understood as a mighty king with large armies, but the verses do not mention any of these. Now let us share some hadiths that support our interpretation of Gog and Magog:

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“The height of the people of Gog and Magog is half that of an average human being. They have claws instead of nails on their hands, and their molars are like those of predatory animals. One of their large ears serves as a bed and the other as a cover. They do not have a male or female individual whose death is not known in advance. Neither their women nor their men die before they have a thousand children.[4]”

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“They are among the unusual children of the sons of Adam. One day Adam had a wet dream, his semen mixed with the soil, and Allah created Gog and Magog from this water.[5]”

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These narrations show that Gog and Magog have non-human characteristics. The narrations that say they had a single parent (Adam(pbuh)) and reproduced very quickly may indicate asexual reproduction. When we consider the physical characteristics of Gog and Magog, we find it highly probable that they are aliens.

It is quite difficult to explain space travel to a people who do not even know that there is such a thing as space, using words from 1400 years ago. At the same time, this narration should be so vague that it does not surprise and confuse a person who reads it in the past. These truths should be kept in mind when evaluating the story of Dhul-Qarnayn. The interpretation I am trying to convey here is one of the perspectives that shed light on the story of Dhul-Qarnayn. There are also those who argue that these journeys were not only space travel but also time travel. I have tried to convey to you the most reasonable of these possibilities. I believe that the verses of the Quran have an infinite number of layers of meaning and that they cannot be understood by everyone who reads them. As a result, several different interpretations can be correct for a single verse at the same time. I do not claim that this interpretation is the only correct interpretation of the story of Dhul-Qarnayn, but I hope that it will at least create a new perspective in your mind. And undoubtedly, Allah knows best.

[1] es-Suyûtî, ed-Dürrü’l-Mensûr, C.5, s.450

[2] Ibn Kesir, a.g.e., C.2, s.103

[3] Saheeh Ibn Maajah, 3298

[4] Wahb b.Munabbih’den aktarılmıştır

[5] Fathul-Bari