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• Gog and Magog are human beings (Qur’an and Hadith)
Are Gog and Magog strange creatures with strange shapes, height, etc., or are they human beings? Are they Jinn or angels? Or are they like Dajjal the false Messiah, neither human, Jinn nor angels, but like Dajjal would one day appear as human beings? It is to the blessed Qur’an that we must first turn in order to answer this question.
Verse 94 of Surah al-Kahf (above) informs us that a community of human beings complained to Dhul Qarnain about Gog and Magog and their acts of Fasad (i.e. conduct which corrupts to the extent of reducing to a state of destruction) in their territory. They requested him to build a barrier containing Gog and Magog and thus protecting them from Fasad. He responded by building a material barrier with blocks of iron and in doing so, successfully contained them behind that barrier.
The Islamic moral code distinguishes between sins which result in punishment in the hereafter and those (recognized as crimes) which are punishable in this world. The Islamic penal code recognizes Fasad (i.e. conduct that is destructive in nature such as organized murder, interest-banking (because it destroys the fair market), organized robbery, starvation, mass poisoning with drugs and vaccines, forced worship of idols (destruction of souls) as the greatest of all such crimes (crimes which can destroy society itself) and has prescribed deterrent punishment for Fasad which includes banishment, cutting off hands and legs on opposite sides, and crucifixion:
‘The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main to commit Fasad through the land is: execution crucifixion cutting off hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world and a heavy punishment is theirs in the Hereafter. (Qur’an, al-Maidah, 5:33)
The implication of the use of the word Fasad to describe the behaviour of Gog and Magog indicates that they are beings who are responsible for their deeds which thus qualify as ‘conduct’. But such would be possible only if Gog and Magog possessed a ‘self-directed will’ with capacity for ‘choice’ and could thus be held accountable for their sinful conduct.
Angels do not possess a self-directed will and cannot commit sin, thus they cannot commit acts of Fasad. Nor can invisible angels be contained behind a material barrier. Although Jinn possess a self-directed will and are hence responsible for their conduct, they are invisible to human beings who therefore cannot identify them as perpetrators of acts of Fasad. In addition invisible Jinn exist in a dimension of space and time other than our own and hence, like angels, cannot be contained behind a material barrier.
The only other created beings who possess a self-directed will, can commit sin, and hence can commit acts of Fasad are human beings. In addition, unlike angels and Jinn, human beings can be contained behind a material barrier. The inescapable conclusion is that Gog and Magog are human beings.
When we turn to the Ahadith we find information which supports the conclusion that Gog and Magog are human beings:
Abu Saeed al- Khudri narrates that the Prophet said: "On Judgment Day Allah will ask Adam to pick out from his entire progeny those who would enter the hellfire. Adam will ask: 'O Lord-God, who are they?' Allah will say: 'Nine hundred and ninety nine of a thousand are for the hellfire while one is for heaven.' On hearing this, the companions were overtaken by fear and they asked, "O Messenger of Allah who will that one for heaven be?' The Prophet said: 'Do not grieve, the nine hundred and ninety nine will be Ya’juj and Ma’juj while you will be the one for heaven."' (i.e. your numbers in relation to them will be one in a thousand). (Bukhari, Muslim)
“Verily Gog and Magog are of the progeny of Adam”. (Kanz al-Ummal, Hadith No 2158)
The above Ahadith confirm Gog and Magog to be human beings, who belong to the progeny of Adam (‘alaihi al-Salam).
There is also a Hadith al-Qudsi recorded in Sahih Muslim in which Allah Himself describes Gog and Magog as His ‘Ibad (i.e. servants or slaves):
“I have created servants of mine (i.e. Gog and Magog) so powerful that none but I can wage war on them.” (Sahih Muslim)
Servants of Allah who have the capacity to wage war and to defeat armies, are usually human beings.
Our conclusion, based on substantial evidence derived from both the Qur’an and Hadith, is that Gog and Magog are human beings.
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