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Al-Kahf (The Cave)

Verse 97of 110

فَمَا ٱسْطَٰعُوٓا۟ أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا ٱسْتَطَٰعُوا۟ لَهُۥ نَقْبًۭا﴿٩٧

Translation (Sahih International)

So Gog and Magog were unable to pass over it, nor were they able [to effect] in it any penetration.

Word-by-word meaning

فَمَاfamāSo not
ٱسْطَـٰعُوٓا۟is'ṭāʿūthey were able
أَنanto
يَظْهَرُوهُyaẓharūhuscale it
وَمَاwamāand not
ٱسْتَطَـٰعُوا۟is'taṭāʿūthey were able
لَهُۥlahuin it
نَقْبًۭاnaqban(to do) any penetration

Commentary (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

The Barrier restrains Them, but It will be breached when the Hour draws nighAllah tells us that Ya'juj and Ma'juj could not climb over the barrier or penetrate its lower portion. Varying forms of the verb are used here in the Arabic text to reflect the difficulty of the action referred to.فَمَا اسْطَـعُواْ أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَـعُواْ لَهُ نَقْبًا (So they (Ya'juj and Ma'juj) could not scale it or dig through it.) This indicates that they could not penetrate it or dig through it.

Source: Tafsir Ibn Kathir — abridged excerpt

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