Muslim scholars on Gog and Magog

Introduction

It is a prevalent belief among the Anti-Ahmadis, particularly the ‘Sunnis’, that Gog and Magog will be some sort of mystical or mythical creatures that defy human characteristics and are not of human origin. They mock the Ahmadiyya interpretation of Gog and Magog laid out by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad عليه السلام, even though their own scholars describe similar characteristics of Gog and Magog as Mirza Ghulam Ahmad عليه السلام did — namely, that Gog and Magog will be of human origin and will emerge from China, Russia, or the surrounding regions. Below is a list of Sunni scholars’ views about Gog and Magog which supports the Ahmadiyya understanding, but note that this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Ibn Kathir

ذِكْرُ أُمَّتَيْ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ وصفاتهم، وما ورد من أخبارهم، وصفة السد. هم من ذُرِّيَّةِ آدم بلا خلاف نعلمه، ثم الدليل على ذلك ما ثبت في الصحيحين من طريق الأَعْمَشِ، عن أبي صالح، عن أبي سعيد، قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: (يَقُولُ اللهُ تَعَالى يومَ القِيامَةِ: يَا آدَمُ، قُمْ فَابْعَثْ بَعْثَ النَّارِ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِكَ. فَيَقُولُ: يا رب، وما بَعْثُ النَّارِ؟ فَيَقُولُ: مِن كُلِّ أَلْفٍ تسعمائة وتسعة وتسعون إلى النَّارِ، وواحد إلى الجنة. فحينئذ يشيب الصغير، وتضع كل ذاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَها، وتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكَارَى وما هم بِسُكارى، ولكن عذابَ اللهِ شَدِيدٌ). قالوا: يا رسول الله، أينا ذلك الواحد؟ فقال رسول الله ﷺ: «أَبْشِرُوا؛ فَإِنَّ مِنكُم واحدًا، وَمِن يأجوج ومَأْجُوجَ أَلْفًا». وفي رواية: فقال: «أَبْشِرُوا؛ فَإِنَّ فيكم أُمَّتَيْنِ؛ ما كانتا في شَيْءٍ إِلَّا كَتَرَتاهِ – أَي غَلَبَنَاهِ – كَثرَةً». وهذا يَدُلُّ على كثرتهم، وأنهم أَضْعَافُ النَّاسِ مِرارًا عديدة. ثم هم من ذرية نوح؛ لأنَّ الله تعالى أَخْبَر أَنه استجاب لعبده نوح في دعائه على أَهْلِ الأَرض بقوله: ﴿رَبِّ لَا تَذَرْ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ دَيَّارًا﴾. فيأجوج ومأجوج طائفة من التَّرْكِ، وهم مَغْلُ المغول، وهم أَشدُّ بَأْسًا وأكثر فسادًا من هؤلاء، ونسبتهم إليهم كنسبة هؤلاء إلى غيرهم. وقد قيل: إنَّ الترك إنما سموا بذلك، حين بنى ذو القرنين السد، وألجاً يأجوج ومأجوج إلى ما وراءه، فبقيت منهم طائفة لم يكن عندهم كفسادهم فتركوا من ورائه، فلهذا قيل لهم: التَّرْك. ومن زعم أنَّ يأجوج ومأجوج خُلِقُوا مِن نُطْفَةِ آدم حين احتلم، فاختلطت بتراب، فخُلِقُوا من ذلك، وأنهم ليسوا من حواء، فهو قول حكاه الشيخ أبو زكريا النواوى فى (شرح مسلم) وغيره، وضعفوه، وهو جدير بذلك؛ إذ لا دليل عليه، بل هو مخالف لما ذكرناه؛ من أن جميع النَّاسِ اليوم مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ نوح، بنص القرآن. وهكذا من زعم أنهم على أشكال مختلفة وأطوال متباينة جدا؛ فمنهم من هو كالنَّخْلَةِ السَّحُوقِ، ومنهم من هو غاية في القصر، ومنهم مَن يَفْتَرِشُ أُذُنَا مِن أُذُنَيْه ويَتَغَطَّى بالأُخرى، فكل هذه أقوال بلا دليل، ورجم بالغيب بغير برهان. والصحيح أنهم من بني آدم وعلى أشكالهم وصفاتهم. وقد قال النبي ﷺ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ وَطُولُهُ سِتُّونَ ذِرَاعًا، ثُمَّ لَمْ يَزَلِ الْخَلْقُ يَنْقُصُ حَتَّى الآن».

Mention of the nations of Gog and Magog, their descriptions, the reports about them, and the description of the barrier. They are from the descendants of Adam, without any disagreement that we know of. The evidence for this is what is established in the two Sahihs (Bukhari and Muslim) through the chain of al-A‘mash, from Abu Salih, from Abu Sa‘id, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Allah the Exalted will say on the Day of Resurrection: ‘O Adam! Rise and send forth the people of the Fire from your offspring.’ He (Adam) will say: ‘O Lord, who are the people of the Fire?’ He will say: ‘From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine will be in the Fire, and one will be in Paradise.’ At that moment the small child’s hair will turn grey, every pregnant woman will miscarry, and you will see the people as though drunk, yet they are not drunk – but the punishment of Allah is severe.” They (the Companions) said: “O Messenger of Allah, which one of us is that single person (who will be saved)?” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Rejoice, for among you there will be one, and from Gog and Magog there will be a thousand.” And in another narration, he said: “Rejoice, for among you there are two nations who, whenever they join something, they increase it (i.e. overwhelm it) by their sheer numbers.” This indicates their great multitude, and that they are many times more than the rest of mankind. And indeed, they are from the descendants of Noah, for Allah the Exalted informed us that He answered the supplication of His servant Noah against the people of the earth, when he said: “My Lord, do not leave upon the earth a single one of the disbelievers.” (Qur’an 71:26). Gog and Magog are a group from among the Turks, and they are the Mongol hordes. They are more powerful and more corrupt than the Turks, and their relation to the Turks is like that of the Turks to other nations. It has been said that the Turks were named so because when Dhul-Qarnayn built the barrier and drove Gog and Magog to what lay beyond it, a group of them remained who did not share the same degree of corruption. They were left behind the barrier, and thus they were called ‘the Turks.’ And whoever claims that Gog and Magog were created from the semen of Adam when he had a nocturnal emission, which then mixed with soil and from it they were created – and that they are not from Hawwa (Eve) – then this is a view mentioned by Shaykh Abu Zakariyya al-Nawawi in his Sharh Muslim and other works, but it was considered weak, and rightly so, for there is no evidence for it. Rather, it contradicts what we have already stated: that all people today are from the descendants of Noah, as affirmed in the Qur’an. Likewise, whoever claims that they (Gog and Magog) are of bizarre forms and greatly varying sizes – some as tall as lofty palm trees, others extremely short, some spreading out one of their ears as a mattress and covering themselves with the other – all such sayings have no proof, and are merely conjecture without evidence. And the correct view is that they (Gog and Magog) are from the descendants of Adam, and upon the forms and characteristics of humans. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed, Allah created Adam, and his height was sixty cubits, then the creation has continued to diminish until now.”
[Al-Bidāya wa-l-Nihāya P. 502 – 503]

Anwar Shah Kashmiri

أما الكلام، في يَأْجُوجَ ومَأْجُوجَ ، فاعلم أنهم (۱)، من ذُريَّة يافث باتفاق المؤرخين. ويُقال لهم في لسان أروبا : “كاك ميكاك ، وفي مقدمة ابن خلدون: «غوغ ما غوغ». وللبريطانية إقرار بأنهم من ذُرِّيَّة مَأْجُوجَ ، وكذا ألمانيا أيضاً منهم، وأما الروس فهم من ذُرِّيَّةِ يَأْجُوجَ . وليس هؤلاء إلا أقوام من الإنس والمراد من الخروج : حملتهم، وفسادهم، وذلك كائن لا محالة في زمانه الموعود، وكل شيء عند ربك إلى أجل مسمى. وليس السدُّ مَنَعَهُمْ عن الفساد، فهم يَخْرُجُون على سائر الناس في وقت، ثم يُهْلَكُونَ بدعاء عيسى عليه السلام. هكذا في مكاشفات يوحنا» وفيه : أنهم يُهْلَكُونَ بدعاء المسيح عليه الصلاة والسلام عليهم.

“As for the discussion about Gog and Magog, know that they are from the descendants of Japheth, according to the consensus of historians. They are called in the European language “Gog Magog,” and in Ibn Khaldun’s Introduction: “Gog and Magog.” The British acknowledge that they are from the descendants of Magog, and likewise Germany is also from them, while the Russians are from the descendants of Gog. These are none other than peoples from mankind, and what is meant by “their emergence” is their campaign and their corruption, which will inevitably occur in its appointed time, for everything with your Lord has an appointed term. The wall did not prevent them from corruption, for they will emerge against all people at a certain time, then they will be destroyed by the supplication of Jesus, peace be upon him. This is as mentioned in the Revelations of John, which states that they will be destroyed by the supplication of the Messiah, peace and blessings be upon him.”
_{[Faiz-ul-Bari, Sharh Sahih Bukhari, vol. 4, pg. 354]}

‘Abdur-Rahman as-Sa’di

“By way of this, it is known that Gog and Magog are these nations— Russia, China, America, Germany, and those who follow them—and this is made clear.“

_{[The Fitnah of the Dajjal & Gog and Magog pg. 36]}

Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al Baz (Bin Baz)

ويأجوج ومأجوج من الشعوب الشرقية(الشرق الأقصى)، وهم يخرجون في آخر الزمان من الصين الشعبية وما حولها، بعد خروج الدجال ونزول عيسى بن مريم.انظر: فتاوى الشيخ ابن باز(٩/ ٣١٢)، وأشراط الساعة ليوسف الوابل(٣٦٥).(^٢)وقد مدح بعض الباحثين في هذا الشأن رأي السعدي، قال حمدي الجهني:(لقد عبر الشيخ السعدي عن أفكاره والتي كانت تتسم بالواقعية والشجاعة وسلامة وعمق الفكر في تفنيد الكثير من التأويلات والالتباسات حول هؤلاء القوم، وقد سبق هذا العالم الكبير زمانه، في الوصول إلى هذه الحقيقة).انظر: فك أسرار ذي القرنين ويأجوج ومأجوج لحمدي الجهني(٤٨١)، وانظر كذلك: الصين يأجوج ومأجوج للمسند(٥٩ – ٨٣).

“Gog and Magog are peoples from the East (the Far East), and they will emerge at the end of times from mainland China and its surroundings after the appearance of the Antichrist and the descent of Jesus, son of Mary (peace be upon him), because they were left there when Dhul-Qarnayn built the barrier, placing them inside and leaving the Turks and Tatars outside. When Allah, the Almighty, wills for them to emerge, they will come out from their place, spread across the earth, and cause corruption. Then Allah will send a kind of worm into their necks, and they will all die at once, as authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) confirm. The Prophet of Allah, Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him), and the Muslims will seek refuge from them, as their emergence will occur during the time of Jesus (peace be upon him), after the appearance of the Antichrist.“

_{[Majmūʿ fatāwā wa-maqālāt mutanawwiʿa, vol. 9, pg. 312]}

Mohammed Hijab

“Yaju’j and Maju’j, I have my reason for believing that they are the Chinese […] that civilization is going to pose a serious threat in the end of days […] they’re going to create such destruction the world the world has never seen it before…”

_{[Gog and Magog Arrival: Sneako X Mohammed Hijab]}

Imam Al-Raghib al-Isfahani

ويأجوج ومأجوج منه شبهوا بالنار المضطرمة والمياه المتموجة لكثرة اضطرابهم
“Ya’jūj and Ma’jūj are derived from it, likened to a blazing fire and to surging waters due to their excessive turbulence.”
_{[Mufradat al Qur’an p.10]}

• This means Gog and Magog represent nations that have mastered the power of fire, harnessing it on an unmatched scale for technology, weaponry, and global dominance, even creating weapons as destructive as the atomic bomb.