Who are Ya'juj and Ma'juj mentioned in the Noble Qur'an?
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The questioner : This questioner from Sudan says, "O honorable Shaykh, who are Ya'juj and Ma'juj who are mentioned in the Qur'an? This is the first part of the question."
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Ya'juj and Ma'juj are two great, large tribes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They are from the descendants of Adam, based on the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith that when the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will call out, "O Adam!" and he will say, "Here I am, at your service." Then Allah the Exalted will say, "Bring forth from your offspring a group for the Fire." He will say, "O my Lord, what is the group for the Fire?" He will say, "Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand," meaning that all of these are in the Fire from the descendants of Adam, and one is in Paradise. This was a great burden on the Companions, and they said, "O Messenger of Allah, who is that one?" He said (peace and blessings be upon him) So they are two great tribes, but they are people of evil and corruption. The evidence for this is two matters: a past matter and an expected matter. As for the past matter, it is what Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) related about Dhul-Qarnayn, that he reached the barriers and found between them a people who hardly understood speech [Al-Kahf 18:94] to the end of what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned. The point of this is their saying [Al-Kahf 18:94] and their request of Dhul-Qarnayn to make a barrier between them and them.
As for the expected evil and corruption, it is what came in the long hadith of al-Nu'man ibn Sam'an that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will inspire in Isa (Jesus) that He has sent forth servants of Allah against whom no one can fight, and that they will spread corruption in the earth, and that they will besiege Isa and those with him at Mount Tur. This is the corruption expected from them. They will emerge at the end of time, slipping out from every height, and they will spread corruption in the earth until Isa ibn Maryam calls upon his Lord against them, and they will become dead as a single soul. These are Ya'juj and Ma'juj.
As for what is mentioned in the Isra'iliyyat (Jewish traditions) that some of them are extremely tall and some are extremely short, and some have ears that spread out, with one ear covering them and the other serving as a blanket, and the like of that, all of this is not authentic. Rather, the truth, without doubt, is that they are like the rest of the descendants of Adam in their bodies, what they feel, and what they perceive; they are human beings like other human beings, but they are people of evil and corruption. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Ya'juj and Ma'juj are two great, large tribes.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : They are from the descendants of Adam, based on the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the authentic hadith that when the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will call out, "O Adam!" and he will say, "Here I am, at your service." Then Allah the Exalted will say, "Bring forth from your offspring a group for the Fire." He will say, "O my Lord, what is the group for the Fire?" He will say, "Nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand," meaning that all of these are in the Fire from the descendants of Adam, and one is in Paradise. This was a great burden on the Companions, and they said, "O Messenger of Allah, who is that one?" He said (peace and blessings be upon him)
Rejoice, for you are among two tribes that have never been in anything but they have increased it: Ya'juj and Ma'juj. One is from you, and nine hundred and ninety-nine are from them.
أبشروا فإنكم في أمتين ما كانتا في شيء إلا كثّرتاه يأجوج ومأجوج، منكم واحد ومنهم تسعمائة وتسعة وتسعونThey said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an expenditure that you might make between us and them a barrier?"
قالوا يا ذَا القَرنَينِ إِنَّ يَأجوجَ وَمَأجوجَ مُفسِدونَ فِي الأَرضِ فَهَل نَجعَلُ لَكَ خَرجًا عَلى أَن تَجعَلَ بَينَنا وَبَينَهُم سَدًّاindeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land
إِنَّ يَأجوجَ وَمَأجوجَ مُفسِدونَ فِي الأَرضِAs for the expected evil and corruption, it is what came in the long hadith of al-Nu'man ibn Sam'an that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) will inspire in Isa (Jesus) that He has sent forth servants of Allah against whom no one can fight, and that they will spread corruption in the earth, and that they will besiege Isa and those with him at Mount Tur. This is the corruption expected from them. They will emerge at the end of time, slipping out from every height, and they will spread corruption in the earth until Isa ibn Maryam calls upon his Lord against them, and they will become dead as a single soul. These are Ya'juj and Ma'juj.
As for what is mentioned in the Isra'iliyyat (Jewish traditions) that some of them are extremely tall and some are extremely short, and some have ears that spread out, with one ear covering them and the other serving as a blanket, and the like of that, all of this is not authentic. Rather, the truth, without doubt, is that they are like the rest of the descendants of Adam in their bodies, what they feel, and what they perceive; they are human beings like other human beings, but they are people of evil and corruption. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.