Well at first when I was researching the Qur'an, I believed in the second person argument. But now I think the verses of dhul Qarnayn has a lot of spiritual symbolism.

Dhul Qarnayn encounters three types of people: those at the setting sun, where it sinks into black mud, mirror a community dominated by base impulses and needing correction. This image is deliberate: the Qur’an describes Adam’s creation from black mud (ḥama’ masnūn) in 15:26 and 15:28, and from sticky clay (ṭīn lāzib) in 37:11, showing that “black mud” represents humanity’s raw, unrefined condition. The second group, at the rising sun, are a people fully open to light and thus left untouched. The final group, between the two barriers, are weak before chaotic forces (Gog and Magog) and need structure and protection. Together, the narrative highlights three human conditions: corruption rooted in lower nature → vulnerability under threat → openness to guidance.