Thousands of years ago. The sky turned crimson as the sun slowly took its throne over the world, gradually replacing the dawn. It stretched, pushing away the darkness, accompanied by mist that gently evaporated.
From afar, the sounds of groans and screams echoed—wails, cries, and even agonized shrieks. Blood was splattered everywhere, severed limbs littered every corner of the settlement. Hundreds of savage creatures shattered the once-peaceful morning, mercilessly reaping lives with terrifying brutality. The old, the young, children, women, even infants fell, drenched in blood. The air was thick with horror, suffocating fear gripping every soul. Life had lost its value, and panic consumed even the hearts of mothers, leaving them too overwhelmed to worry about their children. Everyone was desperate to save themselves, forgetting their loved ones. It was as if the apocalypse had begun today—yet, this was certainly not the end of the world.
The savage attackers had human-like forms, yet they were vastly different from ordinary people. Their faces were pale, their ears flexible and elongated. Their bodies were fragile—pierceable and even severable—but they felt no pain, let alone death.
They devoured anything they came across—not just humans, but also animals and even plants.
Amid the panic, thousands of cavalry soldiers emerged, gallantly charging forward. They brandished various weapons—spears, arrows, and swords—breaking through two tightly stacked stone walls nestled between towering hills that separated silence from horror. Leading the army was a formidable figure, wearing an iron helmet adorned with horns like a mighty buffalo. His towering physique, broad shoulders, and thick beard only amplified his fearsome presence. His piercing eyes radiated authority and unwavering resolve.
Without a trace of fear, the figure surged forward on his black horse, followed by tens of thousands of warriors who showed no fear of death. He brandished a long, slightly curved sword, striking with precision. Not a single creature could escape his attack. However, to his dismay, the slashes of his sword had no effect. They only left deep gashes across the monstrous bodies, but none fell—none perished.
Thousands of sword slashes from the cavalry had no effect on the enemy. Let alone killing them, they couldn't even slow them down. Until finally, the leader's sword struck the head of one of the creatures, killing it instantly. With a loud shout, the leader ordered his troops to focus their attacks on the head. His battle cry was instinctively echoed by the rest of the army, spreading the command across the entire battlefield.
Hundreds of those savage creatures were finally subdued, their corpses scattered among the bodies of the local residents. Meanwhile, the survivors could do nothing but hide behind walls and rocks.
With great dignity, the horned man dismounted his horse. Slowly, the remaining villagers emerged from their hiding places to aid the wounded and meet their savior in person. It was then revealed that their rescuer was none other than Abdullah bin Adh Dhahhak, also known by his grand title, Zulkarnaen[1]—their very own king who happened to pass by.
Zulkarnaen's troops began searching through the piles of corpses, inspecting the fallen enemies for any signs of life. If they found any still breathing, they would not hesitate to drive their weapons straight into their heads until they stopped moving. However, if they discovered a surviving villager, the soldiers would immediately carry them to safety, entrusting them to the others for medical assistance.
Even with the defeat of the enemy forces, the villagers did not rejoice, nor did they feel relieved. They knew that the creatures attacking them were far greater in number than those that Zulkarnaen's army had managed to defeat. The enemy's numbers were beyond estimation, increasing rapidly. In fact, before the arrival of Zulkarnaen's troops, no one had ever been able to kill these creatures at all.
As a king, Zulkarnaen immediately felt guilty about the events that had occurred in his territory—events he had been unaware of.
One of the villagers pointed to a location at the base of a towering mountain, revealing a terrifying sight. The creatures numbered thousands of times more than the royal army. Without delay, Zulkarnaen ordered the villagers to work together with the soldiers to gather as much iron as possible.
Finally, all the iron, gold, silver, and other types of copper were gathered in one place. They were placed right above the two mountains, beneath which the creatures lurked. Zulkarnaen realized that even if he assembled his entire army, they would not be able to wipe out the creatures completely. In the end, he decided to quarantine them as best as he could.
A miracle happened when the king accidentally picked up a rock from one of the mountains, only to realize that it was actually iron. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the entire mountain was made of iron.
King Zulkarnaen then ordered his soldiers to prepare thousands of melting tools that he had brought and gathered from the people, along with several emergency melting devices made of clay. These were arranged strategically at predetermined locations with remarkable precision.
With the help of the people and soldiers, all the copper was melted down. Meanwhile, the remaining soldiers were ordered to stack stones in every gap at the base of the mountain where the creatures could escape. Once all preparations were complete, King Zulkarnaen gave the command to pour the molten copper directly onto the pile of stones that had been arranged by the other troops at the mountain's base.
Unfortunately, pouring a pan containing thousands of tons of molten copper from the top of a mountain was no easy task, creating a deafening commotion. The once silent atmosphere instantly turned into something terrifying. Millions of those creatures suddenly became aware of the presence of Zulkarnaen, along with his entire army and the villagers.
The ferocious creatures immediately sprinted at incredible speed, chasing the troops at the base of the mountain, climbing over the piles of stones previously arranged by Zulkarnaen's forces. A fierce battle erupted. Zulkarnaen's troops fought with all their might to hold back the onslaught of millions of creatures. Armed with only swords and vastly outnumbered, Zulkarnaen's forces struggled desperately. One by one, his soldiers fell, while the creatures kept emerging, swarming over the freshly stacked stones.
High above their heads, Zulkarnaen and his troops watched in distress as their comrades were slaughtered below. Yet, they could do nothing to intervene. The only way they could assist was to focus all their efforts on executing the plan—pouring the molten copper onto the stacked stones as intended. At last, the searing liquid metal was released, flowing slowly over the carefully arranged rocks, incinerating everything in its path.
Hundreds of creatures that had managed to climb up were not spared from the scorching molten metal that flowed from above, burning them alive. King Zulkarnaen and his troops immediately descended the mountain to aid the soldiers below and eliminate the remaining beasts that had escaped the newly formed quarantine just moments ago.
In an instant, the molten copper solidified, causing the creatures trapped within to slip every time they attempted to climb. However, they remained alive for thousands of years, patiently waiting for the iron wall that imprisoned them to crumble—so they could bring a second wave of destruction upon the earth. []
"So they were unable to scale it, nor were they able to bore through it."
(QS. Al-Kahf [18]: 97)
[1] Zulkarnaen, also known as Dzulkarnaen, was a legendary ruler of a vast empire whose dominion spanned half the world.