Editing Gog and Magog (section)

==Islamic texts==
[[Image:Iranischer Meister 001.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Iskandar (Alexander) builds a wall to seal Yajuj and Majuj; here aided by [[Div (Persian mythology)|dīvs]] (demons). [[Persian miniature]] from a ''[[Falnama]]'', 16th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbl.ie/cbl_image_gallery/search/detail.aspx?imageId=1473&ImageNumber=D0006377&page=0 |title=Iskandar Oversees the Building of the Wall |work=image gallery |author=Chester Beatty Library |access-date=2016-08-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis|type=Ph. D|last=Amín |first=Haila Manteghí |title=La Leyenda de Alejandro segn el Šāhnāme de Ferdowsī. La transmisión desde la versión griega hast ala versión persa |publisher=Universidad de Alicante |year=2014 |url=https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/41360/1/tesis_manteghi_amin.pdf |at=p.&nbsp;196 and Images 14, 15}}</ref>]]
Two chapters of the [[Quran|Qur'an]], [[Al-Kahf|''Al Kahf'']] (Chapter 18) and ''[[Al-Anbiya]]'' (Chapter 21), discuss Gog and Magog. In the Qur'an, Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) are suppressed by [[Dhu al-Qarnayn]] ({{Langx|ar|ذو القرنين|lit=the two-horned one}}).{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|pp=57, fn 3}} Dhul-Qarnayn, having journeyed to the ends of the world, meets "a people who scarcely understood a word" who seek his help in building a barrier that will separate them from the people of Ya'juj and Ma'juj who "do great mischief on earth". He agrees to build it for them, but warns that when the time comes (Last Age), God will remove the barrier.<!--{{sfn|Hughes|1895|p=148}}-->{{r|dict-islam}}
[[File:Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-'i Nathani - The Monster of Gog and Magog - Walters W659190B - Full Page.jpg|thumb|The Monster of Gog and Magog, by [[Zakariya al-Qazwini|al-Qazwini]] (1203–1283).]]
[[File:Emperor Theophilos Chronicle of John Skylitzes.jpg|thumb|A Byzantine ruler protected by two [[Vikings]], often compared with Gog and Magog]]

The early Muslim traditions were summarised by [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]] (d. 1283) in two popular works called the Cosmography and the Geography. Gog and Magog, he says, live near to the sea that encircles the Earth and can be counted only by God; this sea is claimed to be the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian sea]], [[Black Sea|Black sea]] or [[Sea of Azov|the Sea of Azov]]. They are human, but only half the height of a normal man, with claws instead of nails, and a hairy tail and huge hairy ears which they use as mattress and cover for sleeping.{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|pp=65–68}} They dig into their wall each day until they almost break through. They break for the night saying, "Tomorrow we will finish", but each night God restores it. Then one day, as they stop digging for the night, one will say, "Tomorrow we will finish, God Willing", and in the morning, it is not restored as with every night. When they do break through, they will be so numerous that, "Their vanguard is in [[Syria (region)|Syria]] and their rear in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]".{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|p=74}}

=== Location of the wall ===
The wall dividing them from civilized peoples was normally placed towards today's [[Armenia]] and [[Azerbaijan]], but in the year 842 the [[Caliph]] [[Al-Wathiq]] had a dream in which he saw that it had been breached, and sent an official named Sallam to investigate (this may be related to [[Epic of Ergenekon|Ergenekon]]).{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|pp=xvii–xviii, 82}} Sallam returned a little over two years later and reported that he had seen the wall and also the tower where Dhul Qarnayn had left his building equipment, and all was still intact.{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|pp=xvii–xviii, 244}} It is not entirely clear what Sallam saw, but he may have reached [[Derbent]] in the Caucasus or the [[Jade Gate]] and the westernmost customs point on the border of China.{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|pp=xvii–xviii}} Somewhat later the 14th-century traveller [[Ibn Battuta]] reported that the wall was sixty days' travel from the city of [[Quanzhou|Zeitun]], which is on the coast of China; the translator notes that Ibn Battuta has confused the [[Great Wall of China]] with that built by [[Dhul-Qarnayn]].{{r|gibb-beckingham}}

=== Identifications ===
[[File:Quran Surah Al Kahf.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Surah Al Kahf Story of Gog and Magog]]
Various nations and peoples in history were identified as Ya'juj and Ma'juj. At one point, it was the Turks, who threatened [[Baghdad]] and northern Iran;{{sfn|Van Donzel|Schmidt|2010|pp=82–84}} later, when the Mongols destroyed Baghdad in 1258, it was they who were Gog and Magog.{{sfn|Filiu|2011|p=30}} Others regarded the [[Vikings]] and their descendants as Gog and Magog, since the unknown group from [[Scandinavia]] had made their sudden and considerable entry into the [[history of Europe]].<ref name="auto"/> Viking travelers and colonists were seen at many points in history as violent raiders. Many historical documents suggest that their conquests of other territories was retaliation in response to the encroachment upon tribal lands by [[Christian mission]]aries, and perhaps by the [[Saxon Wars]] prosecuted by [[Charlemagne]] and his kin to the south.<ref name="Rudolf Simek 2005, p. 24–25">Simek, Rudolf (2005) "the emergence of the viking age: circumstances and conditions", "The vikings first Europeans VIII&nbsp;– XI century&nbsp;– the new discoveries of archaeology", other, pp. 24–25</ref><ref name="Bruno Dumézil 2005">Bruno Dumézil, master of Conference at Paris X–Nanterre, Normalien, aggregated history, author of conversion and freedom in the barbarian kingdoms. 5th&nbsp;– 8th centuries (Fayard, 2005)</ref><ref name="annals R.20">"Franques Royal Annals" cited in Sawyer, Peter (2001) ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings''. {{ISBN|0-19-285434-8}}. p. 20</ref><ref name="Decaux 1981 pp. 184">Decaux, Alain and Castelot, André (1981) ''Dictionnaire d'histoire de France''. Perrin. {{ISBN|2-7242-3080-9}}. pp. 184–85</ref><ref name="Boyer, R. 2008 p. 96">Boyer, R. (2008) ''Les Vikings: histoire, mythes, dictionnaire''. R. Laffont. {{ISBN|978-2-221-10631-0}}. p. 96</ref> Researches of professors and philosophers such as [[Muhammad Iqbal|Allama Muhammad Iqbal]], [[Abul A'la Maududi|Syeed Abul Ala Mawdudi]], who played important roles in British and South Asian politics, and American academic [[Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi]] and Caribbean eschatologist [[Imran N. Hosein]], compare the languages, behaviors and sexual activities of the tribes of Gog and Magog with those of Vikings.<ref name="Lund">Lund, Niels "The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age", in Sawyer, ''History of the Vikings'', pp. 167–181.</ref><ref>[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/Sweyn.aspx The Royal Household, "Sweyn"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012256/http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/Sweyn.aspx |date=29 November 2014 }}, ''The official Website of The British Monarchy'', 15 March 2015, accessed 15 March 2015</ref><ref name="Lawson">Lawson, M K (2004). "Cnut: England's Viking King 1016–35". The History Press Ltd, 2005, {{ISBN|978-0582059702}}.</ref><ref>[http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/CanutetheGreat.aspx The Royal Household, "Canute The Great"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012257/http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/KingsandQueensofEngland/TheAnglo-Saxonkings/CanutetheGreat.aspx |date=29 November 2014 }}, ''The official Website of The British Monarchy'', 15 March 2015, accessed 15 March 2015</ref><ref name="Badsey et al.">Badsey, S. Nicolle, D, Turnbull, S (1999). "The Timechart of Military History". Worth Press Ltd, 2000, {{ISBN|1-903025-00-1}}.</ref>

Some scholars further attempt to relate Yajuj and Majuj to the Lake of Tiberias, currently known as the [[Sea of Galilee]], the [[Earth]]'s lowest freshwater lake, and the Dead Sea.<ref>[[Sahih Muslim]], 2937, The Book of Tribulations and Portents of the Last Hour</ref> Historian and exegete [[Ibn Kathir]] mentioned similar theories in his book ''[[Al-Bidaya wa'l-Nihaya]]'' and mentions "Gog and Magog are two groups of Turks, descended from Yafith (Japheth), the father of the Turks, one of the sons of Noah".<ref>(Shahadat-ul-Qur’an, Ruhani Khazain, Volume 6, Pages 361–362</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://ghayb.com/tag/gog-and-magog/ | title=Gog and magog Archives }}</ref>

=== In Indomalayan tradition ===
In [[Malaysia]]n-[[Indonesia]]n tradition, stories about Gog and Magog were introduced by way of translation from [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]]-era [[Arabic]] texts by religious authorities. They increasingly became prominent during the 16th century, a period of heightened political rivalry and conflict. For example, a text known as the ''Hikayat Ya’juj wa-Ma’juj'' was read by some Malay warriors fighting against the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]]. Similarly, a poem originating in early 19th century [[Surakarta]], a city located on the Indonesian island of [[Java]], goes as far as to subvert Quranic teaching in order to use the story of Gog and Magog to vilify colonists from the [[Dutch colonial empire]]. Another text was the ''Hikayat Raja Iskandar'' ("Story of King Alexander"). This version argued, contrary to other traditions where both Gog and Magog variously descend from Adam, Noah, or Jesus, that Gog descended from the semen Adam produced while he dreamt of intercourse with Eve, and that Magog descended from the menstrual blood of Eve. Alexander ("Iskandar") is taught this story by the prophet [[Khidr]]. Nūr ad-Dīn ar-Ranīrī (d. 1658), a Gujariti scholar, depicted Gog and Magog as infidel tribes that eat dogs, descendants of Noah, and originally from Turkey.<ref>{{Citation |last=Daneshgar |first=Majid |title=Gog and Magog |chapter=Gog and Magog in Malay-Indonesian Islamic Exegetical Works |date=2023-12-31 |pages=597–616 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110720235-022/html |access-date=2024-03-09 |publisher=De Gruyter |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110720235-022 |isbn=978-3-11-072023-5|chapter-url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== In Sunni and Shia sources ===
According to a tradition in Shia sources, Yajooj and Majooj are not from the Children of Adam (the human race). Al-Kafi, one of their primary collections of ahadith although by a non-Shia chain, states that it has been narrated from [[Ibn Abbas]] that when he asked [[Ali]] about the "creatures", he responded by saying God has created "1,200 species on the land, 1,200 species in the sea, 70 species from the Children of Adam and the people are the Children of Adam except for the Yajooj and Majooj".<ref name="Kulayni">{{cite book |last1=al-Kulayni |first1=Muhammad ibn Ya‘qūb |title=Al-Kafi |date=2015 |publisher=Islamic Seminary Incorporated |isbn=9780991430864 |edition=Volume 8}}</ref> Al-Majlisi, an influential Shia scholar, quotes another tradition linking them to Chinese, Slavs, and Turkic people, and saying they are from the children of Adam, then saying that it is stronger than the former tradition and takes priority.<ref>[http://shiaonlinelibrary.com/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A8/1437_%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%8A-%D8%AC-%D9%A6/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%AD%D8%A9_316 Bihār al-Anwār, v06, p314].</ref>

Sunni sources, including those in [[Sahih Al-Bukhari]] and [[Sahih Muslim]], indicate that they are from the Children of Adam, and this is the belief of the overwhelming majority of Islamic scholars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Story of Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) form The Quran – Link To Islam |url=https://www.linktoislam.net/islamic-articles/article.aspx?id=40 |website=www.linktoislam.net}}</ref>  The "Abbasid orthodoxy" believed the [[Ilkhanate]] Mongol invaders who laid [[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|siege to and then sacked Baghdad]], were Gog and Magog.{{sfn|Filiu|2011|p=54}} According to [[Sahih Muslim]], prophet Muhammad said:
{{blockquote|Then a people whom God had protected from him (dajjal) would come to Isa, son of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Maryam]], and he would wipe their faces and would inform them of their ranks in Paradise and it would be under such conditions that God would reveal to Isa (alaihis salam) these words: I have brought forth from amongst My servants such people against whom none would be able to fight; you take these people safely to Tur, and then God would send Gog and Magog and they would swarm down from every slope. The first of them would pass the lake of Tiberias and drink out of it. And when the last of them would pass, he would say: There was once water there.}}