ٱلْكَهْف : ٨٦

  • حَتَّىٰٓ Until
  • إِذَا when
  • بَلَغَ he reached
  • مَغۡرِبَ (the) setting place
  • ٱلشَّمۡسِ (of) the sun
  • وَجَدَهَا he found it
  • تَغۡرُبُ setting
  • فِي in
  • عَيۡنٍ a spring
  • حَمِئَةٖ (of) dark mud
  • وَوَجَدَ and he found
  • عِندَهَا near it
  • قَوۡمٗاۖ a community
  • قُلۡنَا We said
  • يَٰذَا O Dhul-qarnain
  • ٱلۡقَرۡنَيۡنِ O Dhul-qarnain
  • إِمَّآ Either
  • أَن [that]
  • تُعَذِّبَ you punish
  • وَإِمَّآ or
  • أَن [that]
  • تَتَّخِذَ you take
  • فِيهِمۡ [in] them
  • حُسۡنٗا (with) goodness
Until, when he reached the setting of the sun [i.e., the west], he found it [as if] setting in a body of dark water,1 and he found near it a people. We [i.e., Allāh] said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish [them] or else adopt among them [a way of] goodness."
Footnotes
1 Another meaning is "a body of hot water."
until, when he reached the setting of the sun, the place where it sets, he found it setting in a muddy spring ('ayn hami'a: [a spring] containing ham'a, which is black clay): its setting in a spring is [described as seen] from the perspective of the eye, for otherwise it is far larger [in size] than this world; and he found by it, that is, [by] the spring, a folk, of disbelievers. We said, 'O Dhoo'l-Qarnayn - by [means of] inspiration - either chastise, the folk, by slaying [them], or treat them kindly', by [merely] taking them captive.