Page 194 - Signs of the End Times in Surat Al-Kahf

SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN SURAT AL-KAHF

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h he had made it a red-hot fire, he said: :
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[ [or tar] to pour over it."
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( (Surat al-Kahf, 96) )
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ased upon this verse, this barrier might have been a concrete
structure. This type of construction is used today in almost all
B B types of buildings and huge dams.
The verse also states that Dhu’l-Qarnayn (as) used iron and tar—or
molten copper according to some interpreters—in this structure. Iron, the
strongest building material, is an essential component of bridges and
dams, for it increases the structure’s rigidity. In its absence, the slightest
damage or tremor would cause it to collapse.
It is possible that Dhu’l-Qarnayn (as) used blocks of iron and mortar to
build a huge barrier. It is possible that he may have joined the blocks of
iron end to end by pouring mortar over them and built a strong concrete
structure. (Allah knows best).
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The Arabic word qitr translated as "molten copper" also means tar. Tar,
which is used to protect iron from moisture and seawater, is a protective
coating obtained by the destructive distillation of pine wood or coal.
Dhu’l-Qarnayn (as) could have poured tar over this structure to prevent
the iron from being subjected to oxidation and rust. Similar insulation ma-
terials are usually found in modern concrete structures.
Dhu’l-Qarnayn could have combined the tar-coated iron with a mortar
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