until when he reached between the two barriers read al-saddayn or al-suddayn here and likewise further below at verse 94 saddan or suddan — these were two mountains lying in the remote regions beyond the land of the Turks; Alexander sealed the breach between the two as will be described below — he found on this side of them that is in front of them a folk that could scarcely comprehend speech in other words they could only understand it after much agonising a variant reading for yafqahūna ‘comprehend’ has yufqihūna ‘be understood’.
- 18:9393
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيْنَ السَّدَّيْنِ وَجَدَ مِنْ دُونِهِمَا قَوْمًا لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًا
Till he reached a place between two mountains, and found this side of it a people who understood but little of what was spoken.
- common.revelation-Meccan
- common.hizb : 121