The Qur’an
introduces the subject of Gog and Magog
Let us begin with the text of that
critically important passage from Surah al-Kahf of the Qur’an
(18:82-97) which has introduced the subject of Gog and Magog:
And they question you (Oh Muhammad) about Dhul
Qarnain. Say: “I will narrate to you something about him.” (18:83)
• Commentary:
Dhul Qarnain literally means someone who possesses two ‘qarns’.
The Arabic word ‘Qarn’ can have the meaning of ‘horn’ but it can also
mean ‘epoch’ or ‘age’. Whenever the word occurs in the Qur’an however,
it is always used in the latter sense. The implication is that Surah
al-Kahf has here presented a narration that finds application in, or
impacts upon, two ages. Our view is that they are an age in the past and
another that would be the Last Age. The two ages would be so different that
they would be opposite to each other.
The Jewish Rabbis in Yathrib (now
renamed Madinah al-Nabi) had posed a question to Prophet Muhammad
(sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) concerning the great traveler who had
traveled to the two ends of the earth. If he could answer this question (as
well as two others) it would constitute conclusive proof that he was indeed a
true Prophet of the One God. It is to this question that the Qur’an now
responds in this passage.
-------------------------------
“Behold, We established him (with power) in
the Earth and endowed him with the ways and means (i.e. capacity) for journeying
therein in order to accomplish whatever he wanted to do .
. . " (18:84)
• Commentary:
Dhul Qarnain was a man of faith, and his Divinely-ordained political
and military power in his world-order (Pax Qarnain) rested on the foundations
of faith. What is the most essential aspect of the relationship that
should exist between politics and morality? When Divinely-ordained power in a
world-order rests on the foundations of faith, what kind of a world-order would
it establish and sustain? Surah al-Kahf proceeds to teach a
lesson that makes it possible for us to recognize the reality of the
second of the Qarnain (i.e. two ages) which would be exactly
opposite to the one now described. Our view is that the second of the two ages
is today’s world-order that Judeo-Christian
modern European civilization has created.
-------------------------------
“(Here is an instance of how he used his
power). He followed a way (by marching westwards and by choosing the right
means to achieve a right end). (18:85)
-------------------------------
(He traveled) until, when he came to the
setting sun, (since there was no land beyond, it appeared like the end of the
Earth) and he found it setting in a dark, turbid sea; and nearby he found a
people. We said, “O Dhul-Qarnain! (you have authority),
either punish them, or treat them kindly.” (18:86)
• Commentary:
Power can be used to create and sustain a
political culture that rests on the foundations of moral and spiritual values.
It can be used to so assist and reward as to promote values. But power can also
be used unjustly to punish and oppress. The purpose of the story of this journey
is to demonstrate how power is used when it is founded on faith!
Many scholars of Islam have, over the ages,
identified that the dark turbid sea described in the verse to be the Black
Sea.
-------------------------------
He answered: “In time, (we will use our
power) to punish he who is guilty of oppression, injustice, wrongdoing, etc.
and when he returns to his Lord-God then He (Allah) would also inflict upon him
terrible punishment . . . ”
(18:87)
• Commentary:
When power is anchored in faith, it is used
justly to punish the oppressor and those who act unjustly. Peace and happiness
are not possible in an unjust world. In firmly establishing justice, Dhul
Qarnain’s world-order would thus make peace and happiness on Earth
possible. This is how the world could
have been if mankind had accepted Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam) and followed him.
Surah al-Kahf thus makes it possible for us to recognize the reality
of the second of the two ages (Qarnain) i.e. the Last Age, or the Age of
Fitan. In that second age mankind which had rejected Prophet Muhammad pbuh
and did not follow his way of life would experience the exact opposite of Dhul
Qarnain’s world-order. Power in that age would eventually rest on
foundations which would be godless (otherwise known as secular), and instead of
being used to punish the oppressor, it would be used unjustly to oppress the
innocent. Peace and happiness would disappear in such a world-order of
universal oppression.
-------------------------------
“
. . . but as for him who has faith and whose
conduct is righteous, he would have the ultimate good (of the life to come) as
his reward; and we will use our power to ensure that he has ease (here in his
life on Earth).” (18:88)
• Commentary:
When power is founded on faith it is also
used to support and reward those living lives of faith and whose conduct is
righteous. That would be the best of all worlds and it would deliver maximum
peace and happiness to people living in it.
Secondly, when he uses power to punish the
unjust and the oppressor and to reward and support those who lead lives of
faith and righteous conduct, Dhul Qarnain points to the essential
harmony that would then exist between his world-order (Pax Qarnain) here
below and the heavenly world above.
Surah al-Kahf here delivers an ominous warning that the
second of the Qarnain (i.e. two ages) would witness the emergence of a
world-order in which power would rest on essentially godless foundations devoid
of moral and spiritual values. Expediency, opportunism, oppression, a cynical
disregard for the godly life of faith, mockery of piety and righteousness would
characterize that world-order. Such a world-order would target and oppress
those who sincerely follow the religious way of life. Indeed it would wage war
on Islam and Muslims. In consequence such a world-order would display disharmony
between the world hereunder and the heavenly world above. That is precisely the
world in which we now live.
-------------------------------
“Again, (for a second time) he chose to
pursue an objective (or a goal) through the right means .
. . (18:89)
• Commentary:
Here is another instance of how he used his
power. He marched eastwards and, once again, he chose the right means
to achieve the right goal.
-------------------------------
“.
. until when he (eventually) came
to the rising sun (i.e. to the farthest point eastwards that he could go since
there was no land beyond and it appeared like the end of the Earth and that the
sun was rising from beyond that land); he found it rising on a people for whom We
had provided no covering (for protection from sunshine, weather, environment)
other than (the natural) covering. (18:90)
• Commentary:
The implication is that he encountered
another large sea while traveling East, as he had done while traveling West,
and it was from beyond that sea that he saw the sun rising. If the sea to the
West was the Black Sea, it would imply that the sea to the East would be the Caspian
Sea.
Surah al-Kahf now delivers a second lesson on the use of power. How
would Dhul Qarnain use power when, for example, the rights of a primitive
people stand in the way of such material progress as the exploitation of huge
(Caspian) oil reserves that are located in their territory? Would he give
preference to the material value of the oil or to the value of human rights of
even a poor primitive people? Would he wage war and wreak havoc and destruction
in order to gain control of Caspian oil or would he give priority to human
rights over greed for oil resources?
The verse may also indicate that people
living in that region of the Earth may one day need more protection from the
elements (such as, for example, atmospheric pollution or fallout from nuclear
warfare etc.) than that which was given by nature.
-------------------------------
“Thus (did he meet them and thus did he
wisely and compassionately leave them undisturbed in their natural way of
life); and We (i.e. Allah Most High) did encompass with Our knowledge his grasp
of the situation (and his response to it). (18:91)
• Commentary:
When power rests on the foundations of
faith, it upholds a standard of justice, wisdom, compassion and good sense that
allows even those who live a primitive way of life, or who live contentedly in
a state of bare subsistence (as the native tribes did in North America,
Australia, etc. prior to the arrival of the modern European) to continue to do
so undisturbed by the demands of modernization, industrialization and the
exploitation of resources, etc.
Surah al-Kahf here delivers a profound warning of a second Qarn
(i.e. age) of the Qarnain (i.e. two ages) when those who wield power in the
world would be essentially godless and would act in a manner completely
opposite to that of Dhul Qarnain. They will uphold no standard of
justice, wisdom, compassion or even good sense except on the basis of
expediency (i.e. when it is advantageous for them to do so). Those who relentlessly exploit the resources
of the Earth in pursuit of even greater wealth than they already possess and to
sustain a lifestyle they created, would mercilessly attack primitive people and
destroy their way of life. They would do so in the name of godless modernity,
globalization and economic demands that would take precedence over human
rights. In addition, those who live contentedly in a subsistence economy would
have their way of life attacked and destroyed and they would experience
unimaginable suffering. Such is the fate that has already overtaken North
America, Australia, Africa and indeed, most of the rest of the world and such
is the fate that now awaits the oil-rich region of the Caspian basin.
Dhul Qarnain was, perhaps, also aware that the second of the two ages
(Qarnain) would be an age in which great events would eventually occur
in that Eastern location. Those events would be mysteriously linked to ‘Signs
of the Last Day’. As a consequence he left the area undisturbed. It is possible
that the struggle for control of Caspian oil would eventually lead to great
wars that would be linked to Signs of the Last Day and Allah Knows best.
-------------------------------
“(Finally
here is the third instance of how he used his power. He marched in a third
direction and once again) he chose the right means (to achieve a right end).
(18:92)
-------------------------------
“(And he marched on) till, when he reached
(a pass) between the two mountain-barriers, he found before them a people who
could scarcely understand anything spoken (i.e. any utterance in his language).
(18:93)
• Commentary:
The implication of coming upon people who
could not understand anything of the language spoken by the ruler of the world
is either that they had a unique language not connected to other languages
spoken in that part of the world, or that they lived in a state of isolation
from the rest of the world.
-------------------------------
(Eventually, when they were able to
communicate with each other) they said, “O Dhul Qarnain! Behold,
Gog and Magog are corrupting (and destroying) this land (in which we live). May
we offer (to pay) you tribute on the condition that you build a barrier (saddan)
between us and them (to protect us from them)?”
(18:94)
• Commentary:
Who are Gog and Magog, the two tribes that
have descended from Nabi Adam (‘alaihi al-Salam)?
Whoever they are, Gog and Magog are similar to Dhul Qarnain
in respect of the power they possess. This is clear from the fact that the
people who were under attack from Gog and Magog had to request Dhul
Qarnain to build a barrier to protect them. That power which they possessed
was also confirmed in a Hadith al-Qudsi recorded in the Sahih
of Imam Muslim in which Allah Most High is reported to have said,
“I have created creatures of mine (i.e. Gog and Magog) so powerful that none
but I can destroy them.”
But Surah al-Kahf also
delivered the extraordinary news that Gog and Magog used their power in exactly
the opposite way from that of Dhul Qarnain. They inflicted Fasad
fil Ard, i.e. they destroyed everything that they targeted with their
indestructible oppressive power. Random murder, organized murder, spreading of
fear, acts of terrorism, oppression, etc. are all recognized as Fasad
fil Ard. Those convicted of Fasad fil Ard are to be punished
in accordance with Allah’s decree, either by “being put to death, crucifying
after cutting off hand and foot on opposite sides or by banishment from
society” (Qur’an, alMaidah, 5:36). These punishments correspond
to the different types of Fasad. This is by far the most
severe of all divinely ordained punishments promulgated in the Qur’an.
The amazing implication of the above is that
when Gog and Magog are finally released into the world, mankind would be
subjected to a world-order that would be the opposite of that of Pax Qarnain.
That second Qarn (i.e. age) of the Qarnain (i.e. two ages) would
be one in which Gog and Magog would inflict universal Fasad upon
mankind. This verse must qualify as one of the most important in Surah
al-Kahf in so far as the Surah explains the modern age.
-------------------------------
He answered, “That wherein my Lord-God has
so securely established me is better (than any tribute that you could offer
me); hence, do but help me with (your) manpower, (and) I shall fill up a
barrier between you and them!” (18:95)
• Commentary:
Dhul Qarnain agreed to construct a structure, which he described as Radmun.
He thus gave a specific description of the kind of barrier (Saddun) he
was going to build. The act of “filling up” describes perfectly the
construction of a dam that would ‘fill up’ a narrow pass or defile in between
mountains. He must have put the blocks of iron one on top of the other starting
at the bottom until he reached the top of the mountains, filling the width and
height of the gap.
In agreeing to ‘fill up’ a barrier that
would contain Gog and Magog and so protect the people from their evil, Dhul
Qarnain also provided further evidence confirming that they (i.e. Gog and
Magog) were people with unique power which he could only endeavor to contain
since even he could not destroy them.
-------------------------------
“Bring me ingots of iron!” Then, after he
had (piled up the iron and) filled the gap between the two shell-shaped
mountainsides, he said, “(Light a fire and) ply your bellows!” At length, when
he had made it (glow like) fire, he commanded: “(Now place the copper in the
fire and then) bring me molten copper, which I may pour upon it .
. . ” (18:96)
• Commentary:
Only a barrier built of the strongest
possible metal could contain Gog and Magog. The Qur’an confirmed
in Surah al-Hadid (57:25) that iron was a metal that
possessed such strength. After Dhul Qarnain built that iron barrier, he
then poured molten copper on the iron in order, perhaps, to prevent rust.
The implication of the above is that when
Gog and Magog are released by Allah Most High into the world in that second of
the Qarnain (i.e. two ages) they would resume their Fitnah or
evil reign of terror with which they would terrorize mankind. At that time believers
would have to protect themselves behind very strong barriers that would keep
them out. One possible further implication is that believers may have to build
an invisible barrier with two things that would be analogous to iron and molten
copper. The verses of the Qur’an would represent the ‘blocks of
iron’ while the ‘Sunnah’ would be the ‘molten copper’ which would flow
between the ‘blocks of iron’ and thus perfect the construction of that
impregnable invisible barrier. We have suggested that such an invisible barrier
be built around Muslim Villages located in the remote countryside.
The reference in this verse to the two
shell-shaped mountain sides is a perfect geographical description of the two
sides of the narrow pass or defile in the Caucasus Mountains. Those mountains
are located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
-------------------------------
“And thus (the barrier was built and Gog and
Magog) were unable to scale it, and neither were they able to penetrate it (by
digging through it. As a consequence, mankind was safe from their
attacks).” (18:97)
• Commentary:
So long as that barrier built by Dhul
Qarnain remained intact, mankind was safe from the ravages of Gog and
Magog. We can now discern the two ages represented in the name Dhul
Qarnain. The first is the age of safety from the ravages of Gog and Magog.
It would last for as long as the barrier remained intact. The second would be
the age of Fasad and Fitnah which would overwhelm mankind
when Allah Most High chose to destroy/demolish/level the barrier and let Gog
and Magog loose upon mankind. It is in that second Qarn (i.e. age) that
‘Signs of the Last Age’ would constantly unfold. The believers whose conduct is
righteous would then have to shield themselves from Gog and Magog’s Fasad
(i.e. universal corruption and destruction) with an invisible barrier built
with the Qur’an and Sunnah.
-------------------------------
(Dhul Qarnain) said, “(Our success in constructing this
barrier) is mercy from my Lord-God! Yet when the time appointed by my Lord-God
has come (i.e. the Last Age), He would destroy/demolish/level it (i.e. make
flat) (the natural implication being that He would reduce the barrier to
ruins): and my Lord God’s promise (i.e. warning) would have come true .
. . ” (18:98)
• Commentary:
Surah al-Kahf has here delivered the momentous warning that Allah
Most High would Himself one day demolish or level the barrier and release Gog
and Magog into the world. When He, Most High, does so, the implication would be
that power in the world would eventually rest on godless foundations and that
power would be used to oppress, corrupt, destroy and wage war on Islam. Such a
world-order would be dual-poled, with Gog as one pole and Magog as the other.
That is precisely the world-order in which we now live.
-------------------------------
“
. . . and
on that Day We shall (begin a process which would eventually) cause some of them
to surge like waves (that merge with or crash against) others of them and the
trumpet (of judgment) would be blown, and We shall gather them all together.”
(18:99)
• Commentary:
The Qur’an informs us that the blowing of
the trumpet will take place on several occasions (18:99; 23:101; 36:51; 39:68
twice; 50:20; 69:13). The blowing of the trumpet in the above verse could
indicate the commencement of the age of Fitan. It is more likely,
however, that it indicates the arrival of the Sa‘ah’, i.e. the moment
of general destruction followed by resurrection from graves. But this
extraordinary verse of Surah al-Kahf may also anticipate
universal conflict and strife caused by a voracious Gog and Magog world-order
as well as the amazing spectacle of globalization.
Dr Tammam Adi, the Qur’an semanticist, is
indeed very perceptive in his comment that “Gog and Magog would be unleashed as
waves that later merge into each other and support each other - one wave fails,
the next succeeds, describing precisely what has already happened. Gog and
Magog infiltrated all nations and religions in waves after waves and those
waves later came together as the victim nations were merged and mixed, often manipulated
or so coerced as to migrate to godless melting pots set up by Gog and
Magog. This points to America and other interracial
mergers where the Khazars from different origins come together and collaborate
with each other to accomplish nation wrecking.” (personal correspondence with this
writer).
Finally, the verse can also mean that
horrendous nuclear ‘star wars’ clashes between Gog and Magog would eventually
take place, which would reduce large parts of the Earth to barren dust bowls (See
Qur’an, al-Kahf, 18:8, “and verily, in time We shall reduce all that is on it
to barren dust.”) That in turn, would lead to the end of the world and the
resurrection. In fact the verse is specific in declaring that Gog and Magog
would surge (as waves) against each other. The implication is that either Gog
or Magog would not be content with a dual-poled world-order and would surge
against the other in order to reduce it to a uni-polar world-order. Dajjal
needs a uni-polar world-order under his control if he is to succeed in ruling
the world. It is that conflict that would eventually lead to the blowing of the
trumpet.
-------------------------------
“
. . . and
on that Day (when the time comes for the horrendous Gog vs Magog clash to take
place and for Dukhan or smoke in the form of nuclear mushroom
clouds to appear in the sky) We shall place hell, for all to see, before those
who denied the truth . .
. ” (18:100)
• Commentary:
The verse indicates that very large numbers
of people would perish in those wars and hence that the population of the Earth
would be substantially reduced. Most of those who perish would be a people who
would have Hell spread out before their horrified eyes. Muslims do not need any
more evidence confirming that they now live in such a world and hence, they
should now separate themselves from increasingly godless and decadent
mainstream society that is doomed for horrific destruction when that momentous
Gog vs Magog (Armageddon) clash takes place..
-------------------------------
“
. . . they
(would be a people) whose eyes had been veiled against any remembrance of Me
because they could not bear to listen (to the word of truth).” (18:101)
• Commentary:
The implication of this verse is that those
who had eyes and yet could not see, ears and yet could not hear, hearts and yet
did not comprehend, would have been unable to recognize the second of the Qarnain
(i.e. two ages) and hence recognize the essentially godless and decadent reality
of the world in which they lived. They would not recognize that second of two
ages itself constituting a ‘Sign’ of the Last Day. (Qur’an, al-Kahf, 83-101)
It is from the above passage of the blessed Qur’an
(with our commentary) as well as from relevant Ahadith quoted
throughout the text of this book that we carefully extracted a profile of Gog and
Magog. We discovered them to be ‘human
beings’ who are ‘double-faced’ and are capable of swift motion. They possess extraordinary
military “power” but they use ‘power’ to oppress. Of critical importance in
identifying them is the very clear ‘Sign’ delivered in the Qur’an
that Gog and Magog would make it possible for “people” who were expelled by
divine decree from their ‘town’ (destroyed by Allah Most High) to one day
return to that ‘town’ and reclaim it as their own (Qur’an, al-Anbiyah’,
21:95-6). Since Gog and Magog are a major Sign of the Last Day, and since
this is the only Sign concerning their release into the world given in the Qur’an,
it follows that the ‘town that was destroyed’, ‘the people who were
expelled’ and the Gog-and Magog-assisted ‘return of those people to that
town’, must also be connected to the subject of ‘Signs of the Last Day’.
In a crucially important chapter of this
book devoted to methodology we explained that the system of meaning of
the subject of ‘Signs of the Last Day’ must be grasped before we can interpret
and understand any verse of the Holy Book or any Hadith which
relates the Gog and Magog. In the
previous chapter devoted to terminology we argued that the Qur’an
had itself identified Jesus as the ‘Ilm of the Sa‘ah, or
the ‘key’ to understanding the subject of the Last Hour.
There are those who adamantly refuse to
accept our identification of the ‘town’, derived through the application of
that methodology, to be Jerusalem. Hence they also refuse to recognize Gog and
Magog as dominant actors in the restoration of a State of Israel in the Holy
Land, and in the ever escalating oppression with which that imposter state
seeks to achieve its rule over the world. They turn a blind eye to the obvious
fact that the unfolding drama in the Holy Land will culminate with the return
of Jesus (‘alaihi alSalam), and that his miraculous return is the ‘Ilm
of the Sa‘ah’. Such doubters should be challenged to provide
the explanation in the Qur’an with which it explains the
unfolding drama in the Holy Land and thus fulfills its claim to “explain all
things” (Qur’an, al-Nahl, 16:89).
to be continued . . . .
