I began my study of Gog and Magog more than fifteen years ago in the early 90’s while resident in New York. My subsequent public lectures on the subject never failed to provoke keen interest from my Muslim audiences in several parts of the world. The evidence and arguments presented in the chapter on Gog and Magog in my book, ‘Jerusalem in the Qur’an’, succeeded in convincing many who read the book that we now live in a world dominated by Gog and Magog. They were easily convinced that the ‘town’ mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah al-Anbiyah’ (21:95-6) was Jerusalem and hence, that Gog and Magog (and Dajjal) explained the ominously unfolding ‘war on Islam’ with slaughter and destruction of Muslims in so many parts of the world. As a consequence, such readers also understood Israel’s mysterious imperial agenda, and many have been making efforts to extricate themselves and their families from the embrace of Gog and Magog – an embrace that will take 999 out of every 1000 of mankind into the hellfire.
Despite my best efforts, however, I failed miserably, again and again, to convince my learned peers, the scholars of Islam, that Gog and Magog were even released into the world. I earnestly hope and pray that this book might make a difference Insha’ Allah.
Praise and thanks are due to Allah Most High on the successful completion of this humble pioneering book entitled ‘An Islamic View of Gog and Magog in the Modern World’, the third in our quartet of books on Surah al-Kahf of the Qur’an. The previous two books were entitled: ‘Surah al-Kahf: Text Translation and Modern Commentary’ and ‘Surah al-Kahf and the Modern Age’. The fourth and last book would be devoted, Insha’ Allah, to the subject of Dajjal the false Messiah or Antichrist. It is part of the miracle of Islam that these books should be written in a tiny Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela in South America by someone whose ancestors were brought from India generations ago to work as indentured laborers in the Britsh-owned sugarcane plantations.
I am profoundly grateful to Dr Tammam Adi, the Qur’an Semanticist who has been resident in USA since 1986, for his valuable advice, guidance and assistance during the writing of this book. I also thank him for kindly consenting to write an Introduction in which he has expressed views which largely coincide with mine. I recognize his expertise in Qur’an Semantics, of which we have more than a glimpse in this brilliantly-written Introduction, to be a precious asset of the contemporary world of Islam. He was born in Damascus in a family which traces its origins to the clan of Umar (radiallahu 'anhu). A computational linguist with a Ph.D in computer science, he inherited a keen interest in Arabic and linguistics and his research of the use of Arabic in the Holy Qur'an has led him to discover a theory of language. He has agreed to soon begin work on an essay on ‘The Qur’an and the Return of Jesus (‘alahi al-Salam.).’
Muhammad Alamgir, Dr Imran Chaudhry and Dr Hatim Zaghloul were all kind enough to go through the manuscript correcting mistakes and offering valuable suggestions. Tarek Jammal and his team of independent film-makers (wakeupproject.com; hashemsfilms.com) in the Arab world also went through the manuscript and responded with valuable suggestions, as did Salman al-Haq and his team of university students in Islamabad. My dear wife Aisha who has shown infinite patience with me, also assisted. May Allah Most Kind bless them all.
Amin!
The writing of this book was kindly sponsored in the names of Rabia Aboobakar Hussein Jakhura and Aboobakar Hussein Jakhura of Malawi in Africa. May Allah Most Kind have mercy on them both.
Amin!
Imran N. Hosein
Safar 1430
In the Caribbean island of Trinidad
INTRODUCTION TO QUR'AN SEMANTICS
Dr. Tammam Adi
We are witnessing destruction on a global scale. There is an urgent need to understand the nature of this destruction and to find out what we can do about it. Religious scholars are competing to deliver answers. The religion that delivers the most useful answers will prevail in the minds of those who honestly seek the truth.
Muslim scholars put Islam at a great disadvantage in this competition because they offer a solid alibi to the primary suspects of global destruction. The scholars say that Gog and Magog, a destructive force that is prophesied to spread everywhere, are still locked up behind a barrier. This belief makes Muslims look like the foolish man whose house began crumbling down around him because termites filled up the walls. Still, this man goes to bed every night thanking Allah that the bug inspector has not found any termite infestation in the house.
Allah subhanahu wata'aala promised to preserve the Holy Qur’an. But He did not promise to preserve Hadith (reports about what the blessed Prophet of Islam said or did) or tafseer (Qur’an commentary). The confusion about Gog and Magog results from two sources:
1. accepting errors and omissions in tafseer
2. accepting false ahadeeth (hadiths) or hadith misinterpretations that are contrary to the Qur’an.
The latter problem can be resolved by adhering to the principle that all ahadeeth must be based on the Holy Qur’an. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya rahimahullah was a prolific scholar of Qur’an and Hadith. He memorized the Qur’an and countless ahadeeth, and was able to instantly recall all the verses and ahadeeth on any subject. He confirmed the above-mentioned principle in his Fatawa and stated that for every good hadith he knew, he was able to cite one or more Qur’an verses upon which that hadith was based. The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam would state a hadith (containing a decision, a judgment, or an instruction) and then he would cite a supporting Qur’an verse. The Companions of the Prophet, radiyallahu 'anhum, regularly used this method.
On the other hand, tafseer errors and omissions on the subject of Gog and Magog are so pervasive that we can no longer find a tafseer that discusses even the remote possibility that they may have been released. To find out what the Qur’an really says about Gog and Magog, one is better off starting from scratch. Shaykh Imran Hosein has done just that.
In this book, Shaykh Hosein challenges the scholars to revisit the belief that Gog and Magog have not been released yet. He shows that—although apparently supported by a hadith—the belief contradicts the Qur’an. He makes a compelling case that Gog and Magog were unleashed long ago. He does so by examining contemporary and historical facts and connecting them to verses from the Qur’an.
For the last 25 years, I have been conducting independent research on the nature of meaning in the Qur’an (Qur’an semantics). The principles that I arrived at support Shaykh Hosein's methodology outlined in Chapter Three. World events must be judged by a special kind of Qur’an analysis called ta'weel. Ta'weel is the use of analogical reasoning to properly connect the possible meanings of Qur’an verses to historical and political data. The precious ta'weel insights of a scholar like Shaykh Hosein are not simply the outcome of his elaborate studies of data and meaning, but also are made possible by special light (noor) from Allah that he is lucky to receive from time to time. Moreover, Shaykh Hosein is right to point out that allegorical ta'weel sometimes must be consulted, especially on spiritual issues where there is no physical data.
In the following section, I will introduce the principles of ta'weel and Qur’an semantics. Then, I will use these principles to develop fresh ta'weels of verses about Gog and Magog and their patterns of behavior. My ta'weels largely coincide with Shaykh Hosein's own fresh ta'weels of such verses. Both sets of ta'weel equally show that when we apply the verses of the Qur’an to judge the facts of reality, we must conclude that Gog and Magog were unleashed long ago.
Ta'weel: principles of Qur’an semantics
To correctly understand the language of the Holy Qur’an, one needs to remember that Allah subhanahu wata'ala, not the Arabs, designed and created the Arabic language. This is precisely why Allah can compose a text that no Arab can ever make the like of, not even a single short surah.
The way Allah uses Arabic in the Qur’an is often very different from the way Arabs use Arabic. Arabs regularly make mistakes in the use of their own language and frequently misunderstand Arabic terms. Even great Arab poets, lexicographers (dictionary makers) and mufassiroon (writers of Qur’an commentaries) often misunderstand and misuse Arabic. On the other hand, Allah's use of Arabic is perfect, clear and self explanatory (wa haadha lisaanun 'arabiyyun mubeen, Qur’an, an Nahl, 16:103).
Therefore, the study of Qur’an meanings, Qur’an semantics, must rely on the Qur’an itself. I have developed a theory of Qur’an semantics over many years of study. I recently read that Dr. Fazlur Rahman Ansari rahimahullah (Shaykh Hosein's teacher) believed that the Qur’an has a system of meaning which consistently relates all the verses to each other and also serves to explain and interpret them. This is my experience, too.
A stand-alone term usually is ambiguous (has multiple meanings). For example, daraba means to hit, to propose an argument, to impose, to travel, and so on. Each of these meanings often is like a formula that can be used in different ways to model real-life situations (hit the rock with your cane, the angels hit their faces). This two-dimensional flexibility (multiple meanings, each with a multi-purpose formula) is the basis of human intelligence. It is found in every language. It allows the mind to wander, explore and research. It is the power that Allah granted to Adam 'alaihissalaam, and just because of this power, He ordered the angels to prostrate to him out of respect. To make a term (e.g., daraba) useful, two things must happen:
1. Put term in context to limit choice of meaning. Put this term in a sentence (the context). For example, wa daraba lanaa mathalan . . . (he proposed to us an argument by way of analogy [likeness], Qur’an, Yaaseen, 36:78). The context often dictates that we have fewer meanings to choose from, maybe only one (propose an argument). But at this stage, a single meaning simply is a broad formula with an open ended range of possible applications (unknown purpose of argument). It usually is too abstract to be useful.
2. Connect meaning formula to reality (ta'weel). With Allah's permission, one can connect the meaning formula that is chosen by the context to a real situation. The verse continues: wa nasiya khalqahu qaala man yuhyil 'idhaama wa hiya rameem (but he forgot his own creation; he said, “who could bring crumbled bones to life?”). By being connected to a real situation, the meaning formula (propose an argument) becomes useful. Now we can use this formula to understand reality (someone, who forgot his own creation, is proposing an analogical argument about bringing bones to life), and then to deal with it (understand the analogy and see that it is false). This connection between meaning formula and reality is called realization of formula or ta'weel.
Meaning formulas usually allow analogical ta'weel: connecting to something in reality that is similar to the formula. This is the basis of analogical reasoning which is the main tool of thinking and jurisprudence. For different situations in reality, the same meaning formula may have different ta'weels, depending on what guidance we receive from Allah.
Depending on context, allegorical ta'weel may be the proper thing to do: connecting to something that is apparently similar to the formula but not of the same kind of reality. Dreams and spiritual meaning formulas often are only meant to be allegorical. The spiritual reality is different from the physical reality. Moreover, allegorical ta'weel may become necessary because the reality of this world is deceptive and non-final (mataa'ul ghuroor: experience of deception). Reality is absolutely factual and final only in the hereafter.
But Allah may decide to block the connection between meaning formula and reality altogether. The verse “fa darabna 'alaa aadhaanihim fil kahfi sineena 'adadaa” (Qur’an, al-Kahf 18:11) is translated: therefore, we caused them to “sleep” in the cave for many years by doing “daraba,” something unspecified, to their ears. The ta'weel of this meaning formula is impossible. We are not told about the reality of what Allah did to those young men's ears. We cannot make the connection between the meaning formula (darabnaa 'alaa aadhaanihim, we “struck on” or “sealed off” or “placed something on” their ears) and the reality of what Allah did to their ears. Such a verse is called mutashabih (bears false similarity to our reality). Only Allah knows the ta'weel of such verses. When the deviant-minded pursue them, they only make wild ta'weel guesses about the hereafter, thus creating occult concepts or false prophethood.
All important terms in the Qur’an are put in one or more contexts (verses containing the term) that limit the choice of meaning, and also enable us to make connections between the meaning formula and real situations. Ta'weel is possible. The section below entitled “What is fasaad?” illustrates this approach.
If a verse has a ta'weel of any kind (analogical or allegorical), then the verse is called muhkam (literally: made firm, Qur’an, Aal 'Imraan 3:7). The meaning formula of a muhkam verse usually allows analogical ta'weel, and consequently, analogical reasoning. In some muhkam verses, only allegorical ta'weel is possible.
Muhkam verses are the basis of the Qur’an (ummul kitab). They are part of Allah's promise to preserve the Qur’an. They are the framework, system of meaning, that preserves and controls the ta'weel of the Qur’an's essential rules and messages. Allah wishes each of us, not just scholars, to use muhkam verses to perform ta'weel—connect them to reality according to our mental capability, with light (noor) from Him, and with His help (tawfeeq, arrangement of favorable circumstances)—in order to judge reality by what Allah has sent down (hukm bi maa anzalallah). This includes all aspects of reality, not just what is usually contained in books of fiqh (interpretation of law).
As many scholars have pointed out, applying the muhkam verses of Allah to such things as politics and social issues was frowned upon by Muslim authorities, beginning with the Umayyad period. Tafseers must have been censored accordingly. If Gog and Magog were released just before Islam, wouldn't they have quickly started gaining power over Muslims? The Prophet sallalahu 'alaihi wasallam told us that Umar radiallahu 'anhu was like a closed gate (a barrier) standing between Muslims and the dreaded wave-like fitnah (difficult test, Gog and Magog), and that this gate would be broken so that it could never be closed again. Wouldn't Gog and Magog have broken this barrier (assassinated Umar)? Wouldn't they have censored discussing Gog and Magog in Islamic literature and scholarship, just as Zionists nowadays censor their own mention in the American media by calling it anti-Semitic?