Thousands of years ago, the barbarous tribes of Gog Magog (Yajuj Ma’juj) were imprisoned behind an iron wall built by Zul-Qarnain. Referred to in the Qur’an in Surah Al-Kahf, Zul-Qarnain was a pious and just king. He believed in Allah as the one and only god. Allah provided him with all forms of strength through which he was able to carry his conquests. He is a mysterious figure. Zul-Qarnain seems to be just a title which has two meanings in Arabic: (a) the one who has two horns, (b) the one who affects two Ages. It is unknown who he is or the period in history in which he actually lived and ruled. Many scholars have suggested that he could be Alexander the Great because Alexander the Great is known in Arabic as Alexander Zul-Qarnain. However, many modern Muslim scholars disagree with this conclusion because Alexander the Great was not a monotheistic believer in God.
Once Zul-Qarnain carried out a expeditions in three directions, the far West, far East, and then in a northerly direction. Travelling first in the westerly direction, Zul-Qarnain conquered the lands he passed through establishing the laws of Allah therein until he reached the setting of the sun. There, Zul-Qarnain met people that didn’t believe in Allah. Given a choice of punishing them for their Kufr (Disbelief) or being lenient by inviting them first to Islam; he chose the latter and addressed them, ”Those evil-doers who do injustice to themselves by rejecting Allah will be punished by death in this World and in the hereafter, the fire of Hell is their abode. As for those who accept theinvitation and believe in Allah, they will be treated leniently and in the hereafter Paradise is their place of rest.”
After the expedition towards the West, Zul-Qarnain made preparation for the expedition towards the East. Conquering the lands he passed through, establishing he laws of Allah therein. Zul-Qarnain continued travelling in an easterly direction until he reached the rising of the sun. In this area of the East, he saw a nation receiving the sunshine without any obstruction. He dealt with them in the same manner he dealt with the people in the West.
After the expedition to the East, Zul-Qarnain started his northern expedition. He kept on travelling until he reached the midst of two mountains, it was here that Zul-Qarnain came across a tribe who complained to him about the tribes of Ya’juj and Ma’juj. Ya’juj and Ma’juj inhabited the land behind the mountains, plundered them, committed bloodshed, and then ran away. Observing Zul-Qarnain’s power, they asked to set a barrier in return for a tribute for their protection from the atrocities and bloodshed, which they often bore at the hands of Ya’juj Ma’juj. Refusing to accept any tribute, he built an iron wall (or barrier) with their help which Ya’juj Ma’juj could not cross or pierce. (Qurtubi, Ibn-Kathir)
Abu Huraira [radhiyallahu 'anhu] said that the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
“Ya’juj and Ma’juj dig into the barrier every day, until when they almost see the light of the sun, the one in charge of them says: “Go back home and dig again tomorrow.” So they go home, and it returns to being as thick as it was before.
Then when their time has come, and Allah ['azza wa-jall] wishes to send them upon the people, they will dig until when they almost see the light of the sun, the one in charge of them will make an exception by saying: “Go back home and dig again tomorrow, if Allah wills.” Then they will come back to it and find it as they had left it. So they will dig through it, and come out upon the people. They will drink all the water, and the people will go for protection to their fortresses. (Musnad Ahmed)
Allah promised that one day he will destroy the barrier and will release gog and magog into the world. As a result, they will spread out in all directions and take control of the world and will cause oppression in the world. Some scholars believe gog and magog were released by god a long time ago and an overwhelming majority believe that the barrier is still there and gog and magog have not been released in the world. We will use evidence from religious scriptures to try to figure out if they were released or not.
THE FOLLOWING IS TAKEN FROM Sheikh IMRAN HOSEINS BOOK “JERUSALEM IN THE QURAN.”
“They said: “O Dhul-Qarnain! Gog and Magog (people) do great mischief on earth: may we render tribute to you in order that you might erect a barrier between us and them? (Quran, al-Kahf, 18:94)
“The part of knowledge should never be studied apart from, or in isolation of, the “whole” to which it belongs. Secondly the proper gathering of knowledge about a subject of study requires that it should also be organized as a whole. But such is not possible unless one locates the unitary principle that binds the parts together. That is unitary principle “system of meaning”. It is that system of meaning that must be discovered when we attempt to study the subject of Gog and Magog. Unless this method of study is adopted then the subject of Gog and Magog is such that even the greatest scholars can be mislead”(Hosein 118).
The very first Quranic reference to gog and magog thus declares them to be essentially agents of oppression and corruption. Prophet Muhammad PBUH explained that Gog was a community of human beings who had descended from the first man, Adam. similar was the case with magog. The hadith complements the quran to warn that god almighty endowed these human communities composed of “Fasad”(oppression, corruption and wickedness) with such power that they are, by worldly standards, invincible:
“God will reveal to Jesus PBUH these words: I have brought forth among my servants such people against whom none will be able to fight” (SAHIH MUSLIM). This has been taken from a very lengthy hadith. It should be read because prophet muhammad PBUH is talking about a time when God will send Gog and Magog against Jesus(PBUH) and how God will tell Jesus (PBUH)to seek refuge with his followers.
Prophet Muhammad PBUH mentioned Gog and Magog’s release as one of the 10 major signs of the end times. In other words, when the barrier was brought down and Gog and Magog were released, that would be one of the major signs that man kind had entered into the Last Age. How do we know gog and magog have been released?
Zainab bint Jahsh reported that Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) got up from sleep saying: There is no god but Allah; there is a destruction in store for Arabia because of turmoil which is at hand, the barrier of Gog and Magog has opened so much. And Sufyan made a sign of ten with the help of his hand (in order to indicate the width of the gap) and I said: Allah’s Messenger, would we be perished in spite of the fact that there would be good people amongst us? Thereupon he said: Of course, but only when the evil predominates. Hadith found in ‘The Book Pertaining to the Turmoil and Portents of the Last Hour (Kitab Al-Fitan wa Ashrat As-Sa`ah)‘ of Sahih Muslim.
“The Qur’an went on to provide believers with a momentous sign by which they would not only have concrete evidence of the release of Gog and Magog but, more than that, they would have the evidence that the world was now in the control of Gog and Magog. They would thus be able to identify Gog and Magog as the ruling power in the world”(Hosein 123).
“But there is a ban on a city which we have destroyed: that they(the residents) shall not return-until Gog and Magog are let through(their barrier) and they swiftly swarm down from every height (or spread out in every direction).” (Quran, al-Anbiyah, 21:95-6)
Gog and Magog responsible for the return of the Jews to the Holy Land:
There are at least three verses of the Qur’an that point distinctly in the direction of divine punishment for the Jews when they are brought back to the Holy Land. Here are two of these three verses:
“But there is a ban on a city which We destroyed: that they (i.e, the people of the city)shall not return (to that city), unless and until Gog and Magog were released, and they swiftly descend from every height (or spread out in every direction).”
(Qur’an, al-Anbiyah, 21-95-6)
While the identity of the ‘city’ has not been explicitly stated, it is quite clear that it cannot be other than Jerusalem. There is an indirect Qur’anic identification of the city as follows: The Rabbis in Madina responded to the appeal of the Quraish for a means whereby they could determine whether Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was indeed a Prophet. Their response was to pose three questions. If he could answer them all correctly then he would be a true Prophet. Allah Most High responded by revealing the answers to all three questions in Qur’anic revelation.
The answers to the first two questions, i.e., the young men who fled into the cave and the ‘great traveller’ who traveled to the two ends of the earth, were placed in Surah al-Kahf. (see al-Kahf, 18:9-26; 83-98) But the answer to the third question concerning the ruh was placed in Surah Banu Israil, 17:85. The implication of this strange arrangement was a principle of interpretation that linked together the two Surahs of the Qur’an as a pair. Dr. Israr Ahmad, the eminent scholar of the Qur’an, has presented an abundance of evidence that confirm the pairing of the two Surahs. And so, in order to locate the identity of the young men in the cave as well as the identity of Dhul Qarnain, Y’ajuj and M’ajuj and the Qaryah (city), we need to turn to Surah Banu Israil for assistance. When we do so we find that the Surah deals with
only one Qaryah (city), Jerusalem.
The Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), on the other hand, directly establish the identity of the city. Not only is Jerusalem mentioned by name in the Ahadith concerning Y’ajuj and M’ajuj but also no other such city, destroyed by Allah Most High, is mentioned. The following Hadith that describes and narrates the event of the return of Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam) would suffice to establish the link between Y’ajuj and M’ajuj and the Holy Land, as well as Jerusalem, and hence identify the qaryah (city) as none other than Jerusalem:
“Narrated al-Nawwas ibn Sam’an: ….It will be under such conditions that Allah will reveal to Jesus (‘alaihi al-Salam) these words: I have brought forth from among My servants such people against whom none will be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then Allah will send Gog and Magog and they will swarm down from every slope. The first of them will pass the lake of Tiberius (i.e., the Sea of Galilee) and drink out of it. And when the last of
them passes, he will say: There was once water there. Jesus and his companions will then be besieged here at Tur, (and they will be so hard pressed) that the head of the ox will be dearer to them than one hundred dinars …. ”
(Sahih Muslim)
The Sea of Galilee is in the Holy Land. Secondly, the Tur (mountain) mentioned in the Hadith is a mountain in Jerusalem. This is mentioned in another version of the same Hadith on the authority of the same chain of transmitters:
“Gog and Magog would walk until they reach the mountain of al-Khamr, and it is a mountain of Bait al-Maqdis (i.e., Jerusalem) and they would say: We have killed those who are on the earth. Let us now kill those who are in the sky. They would shoot their arrows towards the sky and the arrows would return to them smeared with blood.”
(Sahih Muslim)
We are now in a position to recognize the return of the Jews to Jerusalem in the ‘End Time’ as a Sign, revealed in the Qur’an, which not only confirms the release of Gog and Magog, i.e., Y’ajuj and M’ajuj but also reveals that they now control the world with a power which is indestructible. Now Y’ajuj and M’ajuj are agents of universal fasad. (see Qur’an, al-Kahf, 18:94). Fasad means “corruption, decay, wickedness, viciousness, immorality, perverseness, etc.” When Y’ajuj and M’ajuj embrace a people they lead that people into the hell-fire. The Hadith reveals that globalization, in the age of Y’ajuj and M’ajuj, will culminate with 999 out every 1000 entering the hell-fire:
Then he said: I hope that you will be one-third of the people of Paradise. We again said: Allahu-Akbar! Then he said: (I hope that you will be) one-half of the people of Paradise. So we said: Allahu-Akbar.” (Sahih Bukhari)
The Jewish return to Jerusalem, and the restoration of the State of Israel, was made possible through Gog and Magog (Y’ajuj and M’ajuj), and by the False Messiah (alMasih al-Dajjal). It thus constitutes the greatest possible danger to which Jews have ever been exposed in all their history. In fact their fate is now sealed. But they are not even aware of it. Only by embracing the Qur’an as the divinely revealed word of the God of Abraham, and the teachings of Muhammad the Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), the Last Prophet, would it have been possible for the Jewish people to realize the reality that now confronts them. The references to the Qur’an and Ahadith in this book should assist them in understanding that reality
This means that when Gog and Magog were released, the people of that town that were banished from that town or city would now be brought back to that town or city. If one studies, the town has to be Jerusalem! The jews were expelled from Jerusalem 2,000 years ago and now they are back
So, we also can link Dajjal to this as well. Prophet Muhammad PBUH also said that they would drink up the water of the sea of Galilee (Sahih Muslim). That is the sea located in Israel and is 50 miles north of Jerusalem! The sea of Galilee is disappearing fast according to statistics. From the evidence of the Quran and the hadith so far we can come to the conclusion that Gog and Magog have been released a long time ago. (Keep reading and you will find out our view of who Gog and Magog are and who is drinking the sea of Galilee. Remember, Gog and Magog are human beings.
Here is a video of Sheikh Imran hosein talking about Jerusalem and Gog and Magog
M. Hamiddullah writes in Mohammed Rasoolullah, 
known as