فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَنْ يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا ﴿۹۷﴾ قَالَ هَذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّي فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي جَعَلَهُ دَكَّاءَ وَكَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي حَقًّا ﴿۹۸﴾ وَتَرَكْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَمُوجُ فِي بَعْضٍ وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَجَمَعْنَاهُمْ جَمْعًا ﴿۹۹﴾ وَعَرَضْنَا جَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَرْضًا ﴿۱۰۰﴾

﴾97﴿ Famas taa'ooo any yazharoohu wa mastataa'oo lahoo naqbaa
﴾98﴿ Qaala haaza rahmatun mir Rabbee fa izaa jaaa'a wa'du Rabbee ja'alahoo dakkaaa'a; wa kana wa'du Rabbee haqqaa
﴾99﴿ Wa taraknaa ba'dahum Yawma'iziny yamooju fee ba'dinw wa nufikha fis Soori fajama'naahum jam'aa
﴾100﴿ Wa 'aradnaa jahannama

﴾97﴿ So they were unable to scale it, nor were they able to pierce it
﴾98﴿ He said, This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it level with the ground, and the promise of my Lord is ever true
﴾99﴿ And We will leave them that day surging over one another, and the trumpet will be blown, and We will gather them all together
﴾100﴿ And We will present Hell that Day to the disbelievers, fully exposed

[97] Gog and Magog could not climb over it due to its great height, nor could they break through it because of its extreme strength and solidity.
[98] This is the statement of a righteous man who does not show arrogance over worldly things but considers them a favor from Allah, the Most High. He believes in their impermanence and has faith in the Hereafter—unlike the disbeliever mentioned earlier in this surah, in the story of the two men. Though he was less wealthy than Dhu al-Qarnayn, he was arrogant about his riches and denied both the Hereafter and the idea of decay.
The correct interpretation is that Gog and Magog have made a hole in the wall the size of two fingers. Yet the Qur’an states: "Wa mā istaṭāʿū lahu naqban?"—“And they were not able to make a hole through it.”
The response is that in the Hadith from Bukhari, the word futiḥa (in the passive form) is used, meaning that Allah is the one who will open it—not Gog and Magog themselves.
When the Day of Judgment draws near, Allah will give them power over the wall, and they will level it with the ground. Then they will emerge to spread corruption across the earth, as indicated in the following verse.
[99] The meaning of (ba‘ḍahum) refers to Gog and Magog—when they are released from behind the wall. A similar mention is found in verse 96 of Surah Al-Anbiyā’.
The second opinion is that it refers to common people, who will be in a state of confusion and disorder, spreading evil and corruption—after which the Day of Judgment will be established.
[100] Revealing the cause before entering Hell increases the severity of the punishment.