Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 92

(Ayah 93,92) ➊ { ثُمَّ اَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا … :} After the journeys to the west and east, this is the third journey of Dhul-Qarnayn. Allah Almighty did not specify its direction, whether it is north or south or a corner of any of the four directions. It seems that there is wisdom from Allah in keeping it concealed. Thus, for a long time, no one has seen such a wall, made of iron and copper, of the same height between two mountains. Neither the Great Wall of China nor the wall that once existed between Derbent and Khuzama in Dagestan, nor any other wall, has this structure, nor is there any existence of Gog and Magog among those living beyond them.

➋ Many commentators have considered this journey of Dhul-Qarnayn to be towards the north; some consider it to be the region of Russia, some consider the Tatars to be the Gog and Magog, who emerged from the north and turned the world upside down and destroyed Baghdad. Some consider them to be Mongols or Turks, but all are blindly throwing stones without evidence. Some gentlemen, as evidence for a part of their claim, quote something from the Bible and consider themselves absolved from providing evidence for the entire claim, whereas it is not possible to have faith in the present Bible. The result of the commentary of these gentlemen is that the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn has ended and the Gog and Magog who were held back behind it and were to emerge, have already emerged, whereas both the Qur’an and Sunnah refute this. The reality is that if any verse of the Noble Qur’an needs detail, it is fulfilled by joining it with another verse of the Noble Qur’an, and if there is still a need, it is fulfilled by joining it with a Sahih hadith. In the Noble Qur’an, the emergence of Gog and Magog is mentioned at another place as well, where it is said: «{ حَتّٰۤى اِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَاْجُوْجُ وَ مَاْجُوْجُ وَ هُمْ مِّنْ كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَّنْسِلُوْنَ (96) وَ اقْتَرَبَ الْوَعْدُ الْحَقُّ فَاِذَا هِيَ شَاخِصَةٌ اَبْصَارُ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا يٰوَيْلَنَا قَدْ كُنَّا فِيْ غَفْلَةٍ مِّنْ هٰذَا بَلْ كُنَّا ظٰلِمِيْنَ }» [ الأنبیاء : ۹۶، ۹۷ ] “Until, when Gog and Magog are let loose and they rush down from every high place, and the true promise will draw near, then suddenly the eyes of those who disbelieved will be fixed in horror. ‘Woe to us! Indeed, we were heedless of this; rather, we were wrongdoers.’” By combining the verses of Surah Al-Kahf and Surah Al-Anbiya, it becomes clear that the time when this wall becomes level with the ground and Gog and Magog surge forth is the same, and after that, the blowing of the Trumpet and the Hour will be very near. Further details are present in Sahih Muslim from the words of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that all this will happen after the emergence of Dajjal and the descent of the Messiah (peace be upon him) on earth. Thus, in the long hadith narrated from Nawwas bin Sam’an (may Allah be pleased with him), there is mention of the emergence of Dajjal, the spreading of tribulation and corruption, then the descent of the Messiah (peace be upon him) and his killing him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Isa (peace be upon him) will be engaged in this way when Allah will reveal to Isa (peace be upon him) that I have brought forth such servants of Mine that no one has the power to fight them, so take My servants to Mount Tur for protection. Then Allah will send Gog and Magog, and they will rush down from every high place. The first of them will reach the Lake of Tiberias and drink whatever (water) is in it, and the last of them will pass by and say, ‘There was once water here.’ The Prophet of Allah, Isa (peace be upon him), and his companions will be besieged, until for each of them the head of an ox will be better than a hundred dinars (three hundred grams of gold) to you today. Then Isa (peace be upon him) and his companions will supplicate to Allah, so Allah will send worms into their necks and they will all die like the death of one man. Then the Prophet of Allah, Isa (peace be upon him), and his companions will descend to the earth and will not find a handspan of land that is not filled with their stench and filth. So Allah will send birds with necks like Bactrian camels, which will carry them and throw them wherever Allah wills. Then Allah will send a rain that no house or tent will be left without it, and that rain will wash the earth until it becomes as clear as a mirror. Then it will be said to the earth: ‘Bring forth your fruits and restore your blessings.’ In those days, a group will eat from a single pomegranate and take shade under its peel, and there will be blessings in the milk animals, so much so that a milch camel will suffice for many groups of people, a milch cow will suffice for a tribe of people, and a milch goat will suffice for a clan of people. While they are in this state, Allah will send a pleasant wind that will affect them under their armpits and will take the soul of every believer and every Muslim, and the worst of people will remain, who will copulate like donkeys, and upon them the Hour will be established.” [ مسلم، الفتن، باب ذکر الدجال : ۲۹۳۷ ]

From this Sahih hadith, it is clearly proven false that the wall of Dhul-Qarnayn has already become level with the ground, that Gog and Magog are Russians, Chinese, or Tatars, and that their emergence has already occurred. And it is established that whatever is against the Noble Qur’an and Sahih hadith is false and a lie, no matter how great the person who says it, and even if it is present in any book of the Bible, because the testimony of the Bible not being preserved and of additions and alterations in it is mentioned in several places in the Noble Qur’an. See Surah Al-Ma’idah (13), Al-An’am (91), Al-Baqarah (79), and Aal-e-Imran (78). In contrast, Allah Almighty Himself has taken the responsibility for the preservation of the Qur’an and Sunnah. See Surah Al-Hijr (9), Al-Qiyamah (16, 17), Ha Mim As-Sajdah (42), and An-Najm (3, 4). In fact, there are such passages in it that no Jew or Christian can dare to read them in a public gathering, for example, the passages slandering Lut, Dawud, and Sulaiman (peace be upon them). And there is consensus of the Ummah that if any statement of the People of the Book is against the Qur’an and Sunnah, it is a lie, and if it is neither against nor in agreement, then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not call them true nor false. The Israelite traditions regarding the verses under commentary are against the Noble Qur’an and Sahih hadith, therefore they are baseless and false.

➌ Yajuj and Majuj are non-Arabic names, so due to being non-Arabic and feminine (being a tribe like Majus), they are diptotes. If they are considered Arabic, then Yajuj is on the pattern of {’’يَفْعُوْلٌ‘‘} like {’’يَرْبُوْعٌ‘‘} and Majuj is on the pattern of {’’مَفْعُوْلٌ‘‘} like {’’مَعْقُوْلٌ‘‘}, and their root is {’’ اَجَّ يَؤُجُّ ‘‘}. {’’اَجَّ الظَّلِيْمُ‘‘ } means a male ostrich ran swiftly, and {’’اَجَّتِ النَّارُ‘‘} means the fire blazed up. In short, the derivation of Yajuj and Majuj is from the same root, and the meaning includes swiftness and excitement, and these words are diptotes due to being definite and feminine. (Qasimi)

➍ Yajuj and Majuj are also descendants of Adam (peace be upon him), as is in the Sahihain: [ يَقُوْلُ اللّٰهُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ يَا آدَمُ ! فَيَقُوْلُ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ وَالْخَيْرُ فِيْ يَدَيْكَ قَالَ يَقُوْلُ أَخْرِجْ بَعْثَ النَّارِ، قَالَ وَمَا بَعْثُ النَّارِ ؟ قَالَ مِنْ كُلِّ أَلْفٍ تِسْعَمِائَةٍ وَتِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِيْنَ، قَالَ فَذَاكَ حِيْنَ يَشِيْبُ الصَّغِيْرُ «{ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَ تَرَي النَّاسَ بِسُكٰرٰي وَ مَا هُمْ بِسُكٰرٰي وَ لٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللّٰهِ شَدِيْدٌ }» قَالَ فَاشْتَدَّ ذٰلِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَالُوْا يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! أَيُّنَا ذَاكَ الرَّجُلُ؟ فَقَالَ أَبْشِرُوْا فَإِنَّ مِنْ يَأْجُوْجَ وَمَأْجُوْجَ أَلْفٌ، وَمِنْكُمْ رَجُلٌ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب قولہ : یقول اللّٰہ لآدم… : ۲۲۲۔ بخاري : ۶۵۳۰ ] “Allah Almighty will say: ‘O Adam!’ He will reply: ‘Here I am at Your service, and all good is in Your hand.’ Allah Almighty will say: ‘Bring forth the group for the Fire.’ He will say: ‘And what is the group for the Fire?’ He will say: ‘Out of every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘That will be the time when a child will become old and every pregnant woman will miscarry, and you will see people as if drunk, though they will not be drunk, but the punishment of Allah will be severe.’ The narrator said, this was very hard on them, so they said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who will be that one man among us?’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Rejoice, for among Yajuj and Majuj there will be one thousand, and among you one man.’ Some commentators have written strange and odd statements and narrations about the appearance, height, and ears of Yajuj and Majuj, none of which are proven from the Qur’an and Sunnah. (Ibn Kathir)

➎ Some people of little understanding object to this reality, saying that European nations have explored every corner of the earth, yet they have not found Yajuj and Majuj anywhere, nor any wall of iron and copper as high as mountains. The answer is that whatever Allah Almighty wishes to keep hidden, no one can see it. The Children of Israel wandered in the wilderness of Tih for forty years within a circle of a few miles, neither could they get out of that circle nor could anyone else find them, otherwise someone would have shown them the way out. If there is faith, then one believes in this wall, Yajuj and Majuj, the descent of the Messiah, Dajjal, and the Beast of the Earth; and if there is no faith, then a person insists on something as blatantly irrational as “one plus one plus one equals one” instead of “equals three,” but does not admit his inability to reach the secrets of Allah Almighty.