The peoples of Gog and Magog have been mentioned in the Quran, the Word of Allah, and many things, many accounts are also found in other books such as the Bible. Who are these nations and what is the reality of their story? Here are the answers we have found and on which the consensus of Muslim scholars has agreed.
Who are Gog and Magog?
The ahadith (words drawn from the Prophetic Tradition of our beloved Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him) come to complete what God, to Him the Glory and the Majesty, says in His Holy Book.
Gog and Magog, called Ya'juj and Ma'juj in the Holy Quran, are among the descendants of Adam, peace be upon him. It is said that they are human beings with the same physical characteristics and appearance as us.
It is said in the exegesis of the Quran by Ibn Kathir that the Prophet Nuh (Noah), peace be upon him, had 3 sons: Sam, the father of the Arabs, Ham the father of the Sudanese, and Jafeth the father of the Turks, from whom the people of Gog and Magog are said to descend.
They are among the Signs of the End of Times.
In which surahs do the accounts of Gog and Magog appear?
Their story appears in the Book of Allah, azza wa jal, in two distinct places: in the Surah The Cave (18) and the Surah The Prophets (21).
· "They said: "O Dhul-Qarnayn, the Ya'juj (Gog) and the Ma'juj (Magog) are spreading corruption on the earth. May we then pay you a tribute so that you build a barrier between them and us?"
قَالُوا۟ يَٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ لَكَ خَرْجًا عَلَىٰٓ أَن تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَدًّۭا " (verse 94 in Surah 18 THE CAVE / AL-KAHF)
In that chapter, Allah relates the troubles that this people caused at a date in the history of humanity that is not revealed. It is also said that Dhul Qarnayn was called upon by a people he met after having journeyed from one end of the world to the other. He arrived in a land situated between two dikes or two mountains. The inhabitants of this place did not understand human language, but they complained to him of the wrongs their enemies caused them. They asked him, in a manner known only to Allah, to build between them and Ya'juj and Ma'juj a rampart to protect themselves from their evil.
Then in the chapter The Prophets :
· "Until the Ya'juj (Gog) and the Ma'juj (Magog) are let loose and they rush down from every height;
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍۢ يَنسِلُونَ " (verse 96 in Surah 21 THE PROPHETS / AL-ANBIYA)
Here it is about the emergence upon Earth of this destructive people, concerning which Allah reveals to us certain explanations in His Verses, as Signs before the arrival of the Apocalypse.
When will Gog and Magog appear again ?
Still in the tafsir of Ibn Kathir, it is said, concerning the commentary on verses 95 to 97 of the Surah Anbiya (21), that toward the End of Times, when the people of Gog and Magog are let loose again, they will surge upon men from all sides across the Earth to spread corruption there. They will move through all lands and along the watercourses, which they will dry up. It is also said that they will push the inhabitants of the Earth to withdraw into the mountains with their herds.
At this page in the History of Humanity, Allah tells us in the Quran that:
- Gog and Magog will find themselves free
- the Hour of the Last Judgment will be near
- the disbelievers will regret their heedlessness toward this Day and will acknowledge having been guilty.
This is what every Muslim should pay attention to in the hope of not being among those on whom Satan has played his trick to the point of becoming heedless of this reality. May Allah preserve us from it.
What lessons can be drawn from the story of ya'juj wa ma'juj?
Certain details of the story and of the reappearance of Gog and Magog are known because they were revealed by Allah in His Holy Word or explained in the sunnah of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. That said, there are a great many rumors spread about this subject, and that of the Dajjal, to which one should not pay attention beyond measure, so as not to fall into confusion and error. Rumors in no way help the Muslim to protect himself from the trial that they represent.
Concerning their past, Allah reveals to us their existence and the role that Dhul Qarnayn played, when they were carrying out their ravages and all their misdeeds upon the Earth. When he stopped on his journey to the East and found an inhabited land that offered him wealth in exchange for building a dam to separate them from Gog and Magog, he had an attitude worthy of his power. Just like the king and prophet Sulayman, peace be upon him, when he received the gifts from the queen of Sheba, Dhul Qarnayn refused the gold and silver but asked for their participation in the building of this gigantic protection that imprisoned Gog and Magog until the day when they will be let loose again by the Permission of Allah.
The Prophet 'Isa (Jesus) will be among the Muslims, and he will be asked to lead the believers to Mount Tur before Gog and Magog are all annihilated by Allah.
What we can take away is that the Muslim who has power over others thus learns not to abuse it and to keep away from greed. The Muslim who needs help learns to collaborate, to do his own part in the help he asks for, instead of remaining idle while waiting for the service to be rendered.
And finally, the Muslim learns through these details that in destitution as in ease there is a temptation from which he must protect himself.
And the fitna of the End of Times is even greater, as mentioned in the Surah The Prophets.
We therefore seek protection with the Almighty against the trial that it constitutes.
What does our Prophet Muhammad tell us about Gog and Magog ?
In the commentary of Ibn Kathir, a hadith, reported by Bukhari and Muslim, is cited in which the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
God will call out to Adam, peace be upon him; he will answer Him: " Here I am at Your Command, Lord ". He will command him to bring forth those who are destined for the Fire. Adam will ask: " Who are the damned of the Fire? " _ Of every thousand people, 999 will go to the Fire and only one will enter Paradise " God will say. At that moment infants will become like old men and every pregnant woman will miscarry. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, continued: " Two nations will be among you who will increase your number. Gog and Magog ".
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also said that he entered one day upon his wife Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her, exclaiming: "لا إله إلا الله، ويل للعرب من شر قد اقترب؛ فُتِحَ اليوم من ردم يأجوج ومأجوج مثلُ هذه" : "La ilaha illa'llah! Woe to the Arabs because of an evil that has drawn near! Today, something like this – and he made a small circle with his fingers – has been opened in the wall of Gog and Magog" (Al-Bukhari, 3168, Muslim, 2880)