I began my study of Gog and Magog more than fifteen years ago in

the early 90’s while resident in New York. My subsequent public lectures
on the subject never failed to provoke keen interest from my Muslim
audiences in several parts of the world. The evidence and arguments
presented in the chapter on Gog and Magog in my book, ‘Jerusalem in
the Qur’an’, succeeded in convincing many who read the book that we
now live in a world dominated by Gog and Magog. They were easily
convinced that the ‘town’ mentioned in the Qur’ā n in Sū rah al-Anbiyā h’
(21:95-6) was Jerusalem and hence, that Gog and Magog (and Dajjā l)
explained the ominously unfolding ‘war on Islam’ with slaughter and
destruction of Muslims in so many parts of the world. As a consequence,
such readers also understood Israel’s mysterious imperial agenda, and
many have been making efforts to extricate themselves and their families
from the embrace of Gog and Magog – an embrace that will take 999 out
of every 1000 of mankind into the hellfire.
Despite my best efforts, however, I failed miserably, again and
again, to convince my learned peers, the scholars of Islam, that Gog and
Magog were even released into the world. I earnestly hope and pray that
this book might make a difference Insha’ Allah.
Praise and thanks are due to Allah Most High on the successful
completion of this humble pioneering book entitled ‘An Islamic View of
Gog and Magog in the Modern World’, the third in our quartet of books
on Sū rah al-Kahf of the Qur’ā n. The previous two books were entitled:
‘Sū rah al-Kahf: Text Translation and Modern Commentary’ and ‘Surah
al-Kahf and the Modern Age’. The fourth and last book would be
devoted, Insha’ Allah, to the subject of Dajjā l the false Messiah or
Antichrist. It is part of the miracle of Islam that these books should be
written in a tiny Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela in South
America by someone whose ancestors were brought from India
12
generations ago to work as indentured laborers in the Britsh-owned
sugarcane plantations.
I am profoundly grateful to Dr Tammam Adi, the Qur’ā n
Semanticist who has been resident in USA since 1986, for his valuable
advice, guidance and assistance during the writing of this book. I also
thank him for kindly consenting to write an Introduction in which he has
expressed views which largely coincide with mine. I recognize his
expertise in Qur’ā n Semantics, of which we have more than a glimpse in
this brilliantly-written Introduction, to be a precious asset of the
contemporary world of Islam. He was born in Damascus in a family
which traces its origins to the clan of Umar (radiallahu 'anhu). A
computational linguist with a Ph.D in computer science, he inherited a
keen interest in Arabic and linguistics and his research of the use of
Arabic in the Holy Qur'ā n has led him to discover a theory of language.
He has agreed to soon begin work on an essay on ‘The Qur’ā n and the
Return of Jesus (‘alahi al-Salā m.).’
Muhammad Alamgir, Dr Imran Chaudhry and Dr Hatim Zaghloul
were all kind enough to go through the manuscript correcting mistakes
and offering valuable suggestions. Tarek Jammal and his team of
independent film-makers (wakeupproject.com; hashemsfilms.com) in the
Arab world also went through the manuscript and responded with
valuable suggestions, as did Salman al-Haq and his team of university
students in Islamabad. My dear wife Aisha who has shown infinite
patience with me, also assisted. May Allah Most Kind bless them all.
Amīn!
The writing of this book was kindly sponsored in the names
of Rabia Aboobakar Hussein Jakhura and Aboobakar Hussein Jakhura of
Malawi in Africa. May Allah Most Kind have mercy on them both.
Ā mīn!
Imran N. Hosein
Safar 1430
In the Caribbean island of Trinidad
13
14
INTRODUCTION
Dr. Tammam Adi
We are witnessing destruction on a global scale. There is an
urgent need to understand the nature of this destruction and to find
out what we can do about it. Religious scholars are competing to
deliver answers. The religion that delivers the most useful answers
will prevail in the minds of those who honestly seek the truth.
Muslim scholars put Islam at a great disadvantage in this
competition because they offer a solid alibi to the primary suspects
of global destruction. The scholars say that Gog and Magog, a
destructive force that is prophesied to spread everywhere, are still
locked up behind a barrier.
This belief makes Muslims look like the foolish man whose
house began crumbling down around him because termites filled
up the walls. Still, this man goes to bed every night thanking Allah
that the bug inspector has not found any termite infestation in the
house.
Allah subhanahu wata'aala promised to preserve the Holy
Qur’ā n. But He did not promise to preserve Hadith (reports about
what the blessed Prophet of Islam said or did) or tafseer (Qur’ā n
commentary). The confusion about Gog and Magog results from
two sources:
1. accepting errors and omissions in tafseer
2. accepting false ahadeeth (hadiths) or hadith
misinterpretations that are contrary to the Qur’ā n
15
The latter problem can be resolved by adhering to the
principle that all ahadeeth must be based on the Holy Qur’ā n.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya rahimahullah was a prolific scholar
of Qur’ā n and Hadith. He memorized the Qur’ā n and countless
ahadeeth, and was able to instantly recall all the verses and
ahadeeth on any subject. He confirmed the above-mentioned
principle in his Fatawa and stated that for every good hadith he
knew, he was able to cite one or more Qur’ā n verses upon which
that hadith was based. The Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam
would state a hadith (containing a decision, a judgment, or an
instruction) and then he would cite a supporting Qur’ā n verse. The
Companions of the Prophet, radiyallahu 'anhum, regularly used
this method.
On the other hand, tafseer errors and omissions on the subject
of Gog and Magog are so pervasive that we can no longer find a
tafseer that discusses even the remote possibility that they may
have been released. To find out what the Qur’ā n really says about
Gog and Magog, one is better off starting from scratch. Shaykh
Imran Hosein has done just that.
In this book, Shaykh Hosein challenges the scholars to revisit
the belief that Gog and Magog have not been released yet. He
shows that—although apparently supported by a hadith—the belief
contradicts the Qur’ā n. He makes a compelling case that Gog and
Magog were unleashed long ago. He does so by examining
contemporary and historical facts and connecting them to verses
from the Qur’ā n.
For the last 25 years, I have been conducting independent
research on the nature of meaning in the Qur’ā n (Qur’ā n
16
semantics). The principles that I arrived at support Shaykh
Hosein's methodology outlined in Chapter Three. World events
must be judged by a special kind of Qur’ā n analysis called ta'weel.
Ta'weel is the use of analogical reasoning to properly connect the
possible meanings of Qur’ā n verses to historical and political data.
The precious ta'weel insights of a scholar like Shaykh Hosein are
not simply the outcome of his elaborate studies of data and
meaning, but also are made possible by special light (noor) from
Allah that he is lucky to receive from time to time. Moreover,
Shaykh Hosein is right to point out that allegorical ta'weel
sometimes must be consulted, especially on spiritual issues where
there is no physical data.
In the following section, I will introduce the principles of
ta'weel and Qur’ā n semantics. Then, I will use these principles to
develop fresh ta'weels of verses about Gog and Magog and their
patterns of behavior. My ta'weels largely coincide with Shaykh
Hosein's own fresh ta'weels of such verses. Both sets of ta'weel
equally show that when we apply the verses of the Qur’ā n to judge
the facts of reality, we must conclude that Gog and Magog were
unleashed long ago.
Ta'weel: principles of Qur’ā n semantics
To correctly understand the language of the Holy Qur’ā n, one
needs to remember that Allah subhanahu wata'ala, not the Arabs,
designed and created the Arabic language. This is precisely why
Allah can compose a text that no Arab can ever make the like of,
not even a single short surah.
The way Allah uses Arabic in the Qur’ā n is often very
different from the way Arabs use Arabic. Arabs regularly make
17
mistakes in the use of their own language and frequently
misunderstand Arabic terms. Even great Arab poets,
lexicographers (dictionary makers) and mufassiroon (writers of
Qur’ā n commentaries) often misunderstand and misuse Arabic. On
the other hand, Allah's use of Arabic is perfect, clear and selfexplanatory
(wa haadha lisaanun 'arabiyyun mubeen, Qur’ā n, an-
Nahl, 16:103).
Therefore, the study of Qur’ā n meanings, Qur’ā n semantics,
must rely on the Qur’ā n itself. I have developed a theory of Qur’ā n
semantics over many years of study. I recently read that Dr. Fazlur
Rahman Ansā ri rahimahullah (Shaykh Hosein's teacher) believed
that the Qur’ā n has a system of meaning which consistently relates
all the verses to each other and also serves to explain and interpret
them. This is my experience, too.