The Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj
During the reign of Hadhrat Isa (A.S.) people will live an extremely peaceful life filled with prosperity and abundance. Then the wall which imprisons Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj will break and they will surge forth in large numbers.
“But when Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj are let loose and they rush headlong down every hill” (Quran 21:97)
Who are the Ya’jooj and Majooj?
Zul Qarnain (A.S.) who was a pious and just Ruler travelled to many lands and conquered them, establishing justice and the Law of Allah therein. Allah Ta’ala provided him with all forms and material strength through which he was able to carry out his conquests and missions.
He once carried out a mission in three directions, the far west, the far east, and then in a northerly direction. It was here that he came across a tribe of people who complained to him about the tribes of Ya’jooj and Majooj which inhabited the land behind two huge mountains and often emerged from behind these mountains to perpetrate acts of anarchy and plunder among them. They requested Zul Qarnain (A.S.) to erect a barrier between themselves and the tribes of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj so that they could be saved from their atrocities. With the material strength at his disposal, Zul Qarnain (A.S.) enlisted their physical labor and set about erecting a high wall between the two mountains. The height of the wall or its exact length is unknown. What is known is that the height of this wall reaches that of the summit of both mountains. It is made with blocks or sheets of iron, which is further strengthened by molten lead. In this manner Ya’jooj and Majooj are unable to scale the wall, or cross it, except when it is the will of Allah.
“And when the promise of my Rabb approaces, He will level it to dust” (Quran 18:98)
They are situated in a land of ice which is hidden from our gazes and the exact location of which is unknown. Though many interpretations do exist in this respect, none of these can be said to absolute.
Ya’jooj and Majooj are human beings and according to a narration they are from the progeny of Yafith ibn Nooh (A.S.).
Some Ahadith…
In a lengthy hadith by Hadhrat Nawwas ibn Sam’aan (R.A.) Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) is reported to have said:
(Muslim)
Hadhrat Abu Saeed Khudri (R.A.) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Umar (R.A.) says that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) said:
(Bukhari and Muslim)
Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (R.A.) narrates that every day Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj break (dig) through the wall erected by Zul Qarnain (A.S.) until they reach the end of it to that extent that they can actually see the light on the other side. They then return (home) saying that ‘We will break through tomorrow.’ But Allah Ta’ala causes the wall to revert to its original thickness and the next day they start digging through the wall all over again, and this process continues each day until as long as Allah wills them to remain imprisoned. When Allah wishes them to be released, then at the end of the day they will say, “If Allah wills, tomorrow we will break through.” The following day they will find the wall as they had left it the previous day (i.e. it will not have returned to its orginal state) and after breaking the remaining part of it they will emerge.”
(Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah)
Commenting on the above hadith, Allamah Ibn Arabi says, Three miracles are evident in this Hadith:
from: “Signs of Qiyamah”
by Mohammed Ali Ibn Zubair Ali