Gog and Magog

Yajuj [Gog] and Majuj [Magog] are two peoples who have been mentioned in earlier scriptures. The reason why they are so called is that they make extensive use of Ajij [fire], and would reign supreme on earth and dominate every height. At the same time, a great change will be ordained from heaven and will usher in days of peace and amity.

[Lecture Sialkot, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 20, p. 211]

I have also proved that it is essential for the Promised Messiah to appear at the time of Gog and Magog. Since Ajij, from which the words Gog and Magog are derived, means ‘fire’, God Almighty has disclosed to me that Gog and Magog are a people who are greater experts in the use of fire than any other people. Their very names indicate that their ships, trains and machines will be run by fire. They will fight their battles with fire. They will excel all other people in harnessing fire to their service. This is why they will be called Gog and Magog. These are the people of the West, as they are unique in their expertise in the use of fire. In Jewish scriptures too it was the people of Europe who were described as Gog and Magog. Even the name of Moscow, which is the ancient capital of Russia, is mentioned. Thus it was preordained that the Promised Messiah would appear in the time of Gog and Magog.

[Ayyam-us-Sulh, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 14, pp. 424-425]

Religious Disputes at the Time of Gog and Magog

There is yet another prophecy in the Holy Qur’an, which predicts a spiritual union to follow physical union. It is as follows:

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This means that in the latter days, which will be the age of Gog and Magog, people will become involved in religious disputes and fights and nations will attack nations just as one wave of a river surges against another, and there will be many other conflicts as well. In this way, great division will spread in the world and great contentions, rancour and hatred will be generated among the peoples. And when these events reach their climax, God will blow His trumpet, that is to say, He will transmit a voice to the world through the Promised Messiah, who is like His trumpet, and upon hearing this voice all good people will come together under the banner of one religion. All dissension will disappear and the people of the world will become one. In another verse, He says:

2

Hell will be presented to those who do not respond to the call of the Promised Messiah on that day. That is to say, God will send down various kinds of calamities which will be a foretaste of hell. Then He says:

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Meaning that these will be people whose eyes will be veiled against the Call and Message of the Promised Messiah. They will not be prepared even to listen to him and will be full of aversion for him. This is why the punishment will be sent down. Here the word ‘Trumpet’ refers to the Promised Messiah, inasmuch as the Prophets of God are His trumpets into whose hearts He breathes His voice. This idiom has been employed in earlier scriptures, and Prophets of God have been called His trumpets. Just as the trumpeter blows his tune into the trumpet, so does God breath His Word into the hearts of Prophets. The reference to Gog and Magog also conclusively proves that the trumpet mentioned here is the Promised Messiah, for it is fully established by the authentic Ahadith that the Promised Messiah would appear in the age of Gog and Magog.

European Powers Are Gog and Magog

On the one hand, it is proved from the Bible that the Christians of Europe are Gog and Magog, and, on the other, the Holy Qur’an has mentioned specific signs concerning Gog and Magog which can only be applied to European powers, as, for instance, it is written that they will scale every height, i.e., they will overcome all other powers and be supreme in all worldly matters. Similarly, it is also mentioned in the Ahadith that no country will be able to stand up to them. Thus it is conclusively established that these powers are Gog and Magog. To deny this is sheer obstinacy and opposition to God’s Word. Who can deny that in accordance with the Word of God Almighty and the explanation of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), these are the people who, in their worldly power, are superior to every other people. They have no equal in the art of war and statecraft. Their inventions and machines have established new patterns, both in war and in worldly comforts and luxuries. They have brought about an amazing revolution in the culture of mankind and have displayed such mastery in statecraft and in providing equipment for war and peace, as has no parallel since the creation of the world.

Thus, centuries after the prophecy of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the rise of European powers is the event in accordance with the sign specified in his prophecy. As God has disclosed the meaning of Gog and Magog and events have proven that a certain people fit the signs that have been mentioned, refusal to acknowledge this would be denial of an established verity. No one can stop a person from persisting in his denial, but every just-minded one who is a seeker after truth would, on being informed of all these particulars, testify with full confidence that these people are Gog and Magog.

[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp. 83-88]

There would seem to be a contradiction in the Ahadith, for on the one hand it is stated that, at the time of the advent of the Promised Messiah, Gog and Magog will have spread all over the world, and, on the other, it is stated that the Christians will prevail in the world; for instance, it is said that the Promised Messiah will break the cross, which means that the Christians will be dominant at that time. Another Hadith also indicates that the Romans, i.e., the Christians, will be in power. At the time of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the Roman Empire was Christian, as Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

4

Here the word Romans refers to Christians. Some Ahadith also indicate that at the time of the appearance of the Promised Messiah, Dajjal would be supreme all over the world with the exception of Mecca.

Now will any Maulavi Sahib tell us how this contradiction can be reconciled? If Dajjal prevails over the earth, where will the dominion of the Christians lie, and where will Gog and Magog go, whose world empire is foretold by the Holy Qur’an? These are the errors from which those who reject me and call me a disbeliever suffer. Events bear out that the characteristics of both Gog and Magog and of the Dajjal are to be found in the European powers. As described by the Ahadith concerning Gog and Magog, no power will be able to withstand them in battle, and the Promised Messiah too will only have recourse to prayer against them. These characteristics are unquestionably found in the European powers. The Holy Qur’an too confirms this, as it says:

5

About Dajjal, it is stated in Ahadith that he will use deception and create religious mischief and turmoil. According to the Holy Qur’an, this particular characteristic belongs to the Christian clerics. For instance it says:

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All this shows that all these three groups are actually one. That is why Surah Al-Fatihah teaches definitively that we should seek security against the mischief of Christians. We have not been taught to pray for security against Dajjal. Had there been another Dajjal, whose mischief was to be greater than that of the Christian clergy, the Word of God would never have ignored the greater mischief and taught us to pray for security against the mischief of the Christians, nor would we have been warned that the Christian mischief was such that it might rend heaven apart and shatter the mountains into pieces. Instead, we would have been warned that the evil of the Dajjal is such as might well cause heaven and earth to rent asunder. To ignore a greater mischief and warn against a smaller one would have been totally unreasonable.

[Chashma-e-Ma‘rifat, Ruhani Khaza’in, Vol. 23, pp 85-87, footnote]