What is His Eminence Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani’s interpretation of Gog and Magog?
Muslims had superstitious and unreasonable interpretations of Gog and Magog, influenced by some weak and fabricated narrations. They described them as strange and terrifying creatures, like mythical beasts, who are far more numerous than other people and will emerge in the end time from an unknown place, absorbing all the water in any sea or river they pass! However, His Eminence Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani has a realistic interpretation of them, which one of his companions informed us of, saying:
«سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ -رُوحِي فِدَاهُ- يَقُولُ: إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ قَبِيلَتَانِ مِنْ قَبَائِلِ الْمُغُولِ كَانُوا يُغِيرُونَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ فِي شَمَالِ فَارِسَ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًا، فَاسْتَعَانُوا عَلَيْهِمْ بِكُورَشَ، فَبَنَى لَهُمْ بَيْنَ الصَّدَفَيْنِ سَدًّا، فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَنْ يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا، حَتَّى إِذَا فَتَحَ سَبِيلَهُمْ مَلِكُ خوارَزْمَ فِي الْقَرْنِ السَّابِعِ، فَأَقْبَلُوا كَالسَّيْلِ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنْسِلُونَ! قُلْتُ: وَاللَّهِ قُلْتَ قَوْلًا عَظِيمًا! قُلْتَ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ أَتَى فَمَضَى؟! قَالَ: نَعَمْ، إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ يَأْتِي فَيَمْضِي، وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ كَانُوا قَوْمًا مِنَ الْخَزَرِ أَوْ يَكُونُونَ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ! قَالَ: إِنَّ قَوْمًا مِنَ الْخَزَرِ كَانُوا مُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَشُبِّهُوا بِيَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ لِإِفْسَادِهِمْ، كَمَا يُقَالُ لِرَجُلٍ شَرِيرٍ إِبْلِيسُ لِشَرَارَتِهِ، فَكُلُّ مُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ، وَفِي كُلِّ قَرْنَيْنِ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ»[1]; “I heard Mansoor, may my life be sacrificed for him, say: ‘Indeed, Gog and Magog were two tribes of the Mongol tribes that would attack a people in the north of Persia (the current Iran) who could hardly understand a word. Then they sought help against them from Cyrus. So he built them a barrier between two mountains that they could not climb nor breach, until the king of Khwarazm (Khwarazmshah) opened the way for them in the seventh century AH. Then they approached like a flood and caused corruption on the earth while swarming down from every height!’ I said: ‘By Allah, you said a great saying! Did you say that Allah’s promise (in the Quran) had come and passed?!’ He said: ‘Yes. Surely, the promise of Allah comes and passes, but most people do not know!’ I said: ‘They say that Gog and Magog were a people from Khazar or will be a people in the end time!’ He said: ‘A people from Khazar caused corruption on the earth, so they were likened to Gog and Magog because of their corruption, as a wicked man is called a demon because of his wickedness. So all corruptors on the earth are Gog and Magog, and in every two centuries, there are Gog and Magog.’”
It is understood from here that, in the view of His Eminence Allamah , Gog and Magog are the Mongols, and this agrees with the Quran and the authentic narrations; because the Quran has described Gog and Magog as a savage people who plundered and raided in the past, stating: ﴿إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾[2]; “Indeed, God and Magog are corrupters on the earth,” and this characteristic was not evident or well-known in any other people as it was in the Mongols. Furthermore, the Quran has reported that this people would emerge from their land once more and surge into various lands like a torrent. This event has no more prominent or well-known historical precedent than the Mongol invasion in the seventh century AH after the king of Khwarazm opened their way. Then they emerged from their land under the leadership of Genghis Khan, surged into various lands like a torrent, leveled many inhabited countries to the ground, and committed great crimes unparalleled in history. The evidence that this interpretation is correct is that Gog and Magog in the Quran were a people who existed and were known in history as a savage people who plundered and raided, not strange creatures that would emerge only in the end time. Therefore, interpretations that describe them as strange and terrifying creatures with inhuman bodies cannot be correct; because there is no valid historical or scientific evidence for the existence of such monsters in the past or present. In contrast, there are many pieces of evidence that the Mongols were known at various points in history as a savage people who plundered and raided, invading the neighboring lands from time to time; as it has been said that the purpose of building the Great Wall of China was to protect this country from the invasion of the Mongols; because they lived north of this country, and therefore, Qin Shi Huang, who united various parts of China, ordered the construction of the Great Wall of China, fearing that the Mongols would invade China at any time, and then his successors continued its construction after him. However, none of them achieved his purpose of building the wall; because the wall was breached in many places, providing the Mongols with an opportunity to invade China. This is exactly what Dhu al-Qarnayn did for a people who ﴿لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًا﴾[3]; “could hardly understand a word,” meaning that they did not speak in his language, according to the verses of the Quran; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿قَالُوا يَا ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ لَكَ خَرْجًا عَلَى أَنْ تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَدًّا قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّي فِيهِ رَبِّي خَيْرٌ فَأَعِينُونِي بِقُوَّةٍ أَجْعَلْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ رَدْمًا آتُونِي زُبَرَ الْحَدِيدِ ۖ حَتَّى إِذَا سَاوَى بَيْنَ الصَّدَفَيْنِ قَالَ انْفُخُوا ۖ حَتَّى إِذَا جَعَلَهُ نَارًا قَالَ آتُونِي أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَنْ يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا﴾[4]; “They said: ‘O Dhu al-Qarnayn! Gog and Magog are corrupters on the earth. Can we pay you to erect a barrier between us and them?’ He said: ‘What my Lord has given me is far better. So help me with strength and I will make between you and them a barrier. Bring me chunks of iron.’ When he had filled in (the gap) between the two mountains, he said: ‘Blow!’ When he had made (the iron) as red hot as fire, he said: ‘Bring me molten copper to pour over it.’ Then (God and Magog) could not climb or breach it.” The similarity between this work and that of the kings of China reveals the existence of a similar threat and indicates that constructing a barrier between the Mongols and the tribes neighboring them was a common practice in history. This has been explicitly reported from Ali
who said: «إِنَّ التُّرْكَ -يَعْنِي الْمُغُولَ- سَرِيَّةٌ خَرَجُوا مِنْ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ يُغِيرُونَ عَلَى النَّاسِ، فَرَدَمَ ذُو الْقَرْنَيْنِ دُونَهُمْ فَبَقُوا»[5]; “Indeed, the Turks—meaning the Mongols—were a group that emerged from Gog and Magog, raiding people. Then Dhu al-Qarnayn built a barrier against them, so they remained there,” and this is an explicit statement. Therefore, al-Dahhak (d. 105 AH) has said: «إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ جِيلٌ مِنَ التُّرْكِ»[6]; “Indeed, Gog and Magog are a generation of the Turks,” and Abu Ishaq al-Sabi‘i (d. 127 AH) has said: «بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ التُّرْكَ مِمَّا سَقَطَ مِنْ دُونِ الرَّدْمِ مِنْ وُلْدِ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ»[7]; “I have been informed that these Turks are from (the lineage of) those who remained below the barrier, from the descendants of Gog and Magog,” and Muqatil ibn Sulayman (d. 150 AH) has said: «إِنَّمَا سُمُّوا التُّرْكَ لِأَنَّهُمْ تُرِكُوا خَلْفَ الرَّدْمِ»[8]; “They were called Turks because they were left behind the barrier.”[9]
Moreover, what is considered a seal of approval on this interpretation is a narration from the Messenger of Allah which has informed of the attack of Gog and Magog on Islamic lands in the future and described them as a people with «عِرَاضُ الْوُجُوهِ، صِغَارُ الْعُيُونِ، شُهْبُ الشِّعَافِ»; “broad faces, small eyes, and tied black and white hair”; because this is the most obvious feature of the Mongol Turks; as it has been stated in it: «إِنَّكُمْ تَقُولُونَ: لَا عَدُوَّ، وَإِنَّكُمْ لَا تَزَالُونَ تُقَاتِلُونَ عَدُوًّا حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ، عِرَاضُ الْوُجُوهِ، صِغَارُ الْعُيُونِ، شُهْبُ الشِّعَافِ، مِنْ كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنْسِلُونَ، كَأَنَّ وُجُوهَهُمُ الْمَجَانُّ الْمُطْرَقَةُ»[10]; “You say: ‘There is no enemy anymore.’ However, you will continue to fight an enemy until Gog and Magog come, with broad faces, small eyes, and tied black and white hair, while swarming down from every height. Their faces are like hammered shields.” There is no doubt that the intended meaning of Gog and Magog in this narration is the Mongol Turks; as they have been explicitly mentioned in another narration: «لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى يُقَاتِلَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ التُّرْكَ قَوْمًا وُجُوهَهُمْ كَالْمَجَانِّ الْمُطْرَقَةِ»[11]; “The Hour (of Resurrection) will not come until Muslims fight the Turks, a people whose faces are like hammered shields,” and in another narration: «لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تُقَاتِلُوا التُّرْكَ، صِغَارَ الْعُيُونِ، حُمْرَ الْوُجُوهِ، ذُلْفَ الْأُنُوفِ، كَأَنَّ وُجُوهَهُمُ الْمَجَانُّ الْمُطْرَقَةُ»[12]; “The Hour (of Resurrection) will not come until you fight the Turks, who have small eyes, red faces, and short noses. Their faces are like hammered shields” and in another narration: «يَجِيءُ بَنُو قَنْطُورَاءَ عِرَاضُ الْوُجُوهِ، صِغَارُ الْعُيُونِ، حَتَّى يَنْزِلُونَ عَلَى جِسْرٍ لَهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُ دِجْلَةُ»[13]; “Banu Qantura’ (meaning the Mongol race) will come, with broad faces and small eyes, until they camp by the bridge of a river called Dijlah,” and in another narration: «يَأْتِيكُمْ قَوْمٌ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَشْرِقِ، عِرَاضُ الْوُجُوهِ، صِغَارُ الْعُيُونِ، كَأَنَّمَا ثُقِبَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِي الصَّخْرِ كَأَنَّ وُجُوهَهُمُ الْمَجَانُّ الْمُطْرَقَةُ»[14]; “A people will come to you from the East, with broad faces and small eyes, as if their eyes were pierced in the rock. Their faces are like hammered shields.” For this reason, the Messenger of Allah
according to some narrations, warned against opening the door to the Mongol Turks and said: «اتْرُكُوا التُّرْكَ مَا تَرَكُوكُمْ؛ فَإِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَنْ يَسْلُبُ أُمَّتِي مُلْكَهُمْ وَمَا خَوَّلَهُمُ اللَّهُ بَنُو قَنْطُورَاءَ»[15]; “Leave the Turks alone as long as they leave you alone; because the first ones to seize my nation’s kingdom and what Allah has granted them are Banu Qantura’ (meaning the Mongol Turks).” However, the king of Khwarazm did not heed this warning, leading to the Mongol Turks’ invasion of Islamic lands.
Considering these historical and narrative pieces of evidence and attestations, there remains no doubt that the interpretation of His Eminence Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani is correct and that the intended meaning of Gog and Magog is the Mongol Turks who invaded Islamic lands. Nevertheless, according to His Eminence’s statement, it is permissible to apply the terms Gog and Magog to any corrupt people on Earth as a comparison and a metaphor; perhaps it has occurred at times, and every two centuries, there is a people who spread corrupt on Earth as if they were Gog and Magog!