Surah Al-Kahf, Ayah 100

Hell will be displayed before the Disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us what He will do to the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection. He will show Hell to them, meaning He will bring it forth for them to see its punishment and torment before they enter it. This will intensify their distress and grief. In Sahih Muslim it is recorded that Ibn Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«يُؤْتَى بِجَهَنَّمَ تُقَادُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ بِسَبْعِينَ أَلْفَ زِمَامٍ، مَعَ كُلِّ زِمَامٍ سَبْعُونَ أَلْفَ مَلَك»

(Hell will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection, pulled by means of seventy thousand reins, each of which will be held by seventy thousand angels.) Then Allah says of them:

الَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِى غِطَآءٍ عَن ذِكْرِى

((To) those whose eyes had been under a covering from My Reminder,) meaning, they neglected it, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to it, refusing to accept guidance and follow the truth. As Allah says:

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ

(And whosoever turns away blindly from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him a Shaytan to be a companion for him.) 43:36 And here Allah says:

وَكَانُواْ لاَ يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعاً

(and they could not bear to hear (it). ) meaning, they did not understand the commands and prohibitions of Allah. Then He says:

أَفَحَسِبَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ أَن يَتَّخِذُواْ عِبَادِى مِن دُونِى أَوْلِيَآءَ

(Do then those who disbelieved think that they can take My servants as Awliya' protectors besides Me) meaning, do they think that this is right for them and that it is going to benefit them

كَلاَّ سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَـدَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدّاً

(Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents to them) 19:82. Allah says that He has prepared Hell as their abode on the Day of Resurrection.

Commentary

As for the pronoun of the word: بَعْضَهُمْ (ba` dahum) in بَعْضَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَمُوجُ فِي بَعْضٍ (And on that day, We will leave them [ Ya’ juj and Ma'juj ] surging over one another - 99), it is obvious that it reverts back to Ya'juj Ma juj. Then, as for their condition described therein - 'surging over one another' - it is also obvious that this will be their state when the passage lies open for them and they will be hastening their way from the hilly heights down to the ground. Commentators have suggested other probabilities as well.

The pronoun in: فَجَمَعْنَاهُمْ (fajama'nahum: Then We shall gather them together - 99) is reverting back to the creation at large, human beings and the Jinn. The sense is that the entire creation of human beings and the Jinn who have been obligated with the percepts of the Shari` ah (mukallaf) shall be gathered together on the plains of Resurrection (al-Hashr).

The high ranges of the Caucasus in what is now Russian territory running between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, serve as a natural dividing wall between Europe and Asia. In this mountainous region there were certain passes through which the savage Gog and Magog (Yajuj and Majuj) tribes from the south used to enter the northern part of Iran and plunder it. Here, till today, there are signs of an ancient wall. There is every probability that this was the very wall which was constructed by Dhu’l-Qarnayn for security purposes. To erect an ‘Iron Wall’ to ward off enemies is a feat which generally generates a sense of pride in people. But even after constructing such an invincible wall, Dhu’l- Qarnayn did not lose his modesty and humility. He had set his eyes not on his own creations but on God’s mighty powers, and a human being’s power is nothing as compared to God’s might.