Yajuj and Majuj: Quran and hadith references

Who are Gog and Magog in Islam?

Belief in the signs before the Hour is held by all Sunni schools of creed, and the Quran places knowledge of the Hour with Allah (Al-A'raf 7:187).

Yajuj and Majuj are named in the account of Dhul-Qarnayn and in a passage about the approach of the true promise. The Quran references are Al-Kahf 18:93 to 99 and Al-Anbiya 21:96 to 97.

The names identify the subject of these accounts. They do not give a reader a warrant to label a present-day community as Yajuj and Majuj. The passages cited here identify no contemporary nation.

Where are Yajuj and Majuj mentioned in the Quran?

The two passages give different parts of the account. Read them separately before combining their details.

This table is our reading aid, not a division supplied by the Quran.

What does the Quran say about their barrier?

In the account, a community asks Dhul-Qarnayn for protection from the corruption of Yajuj and Majuj. He asks for help and builds a barrier from pieces of iron and molten copper. They cannot climb over it or pierce it. He attributes the protection to Allah's mercy, and speaks of its levelling when the promise of his Lord comes.

The account gives no present-day location. Any modern identification of the barrier is an added claim that needs its own evidence.

What do the sahih hadith say?

Two sahih reports answer different questions: one concerns an opening in the barrier; the other describes their later emergence.

The report about an opening

Zaynab bint Jahsh, may Allah be pleased with her, reported that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, came to her in alarm and warned of an evil drawing near, and said woe to the Arabs from it. He said that an opening has been made today in the wall of Gog and Magog like this, and he made a circle with his thumb and the finger next to it (Sahih al-Bukhari 3346; sahih by collection convention).

1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 3346

She asked whether the people would be destroyed while righteous people were among them. He said yes, when wickedness increases. This wording reports an opening. It does not identify a modern conflict, and it gives no date for the final emergence.

The report about Isa and their emergence

In Sahih Muslim 2937a, narrated by Al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet describes the events that follow after Isa, peace be upon him, has killed the Dajjal. Allah instructs Isa to take His servants to al-Tur. Then Allah sends Yajuj and Majuj:

Isa and his companions are besieged and pray. Allah sends creatures (al-nagaf) that attack their necks, and in the morning they die together, as one soul dies.

2AuthenticSahih Muslim 2937a

Isa and his companions survive this ordeal in the narration, so the report does not say that Yajuj and Majuj kill everyone. A later part of the same report describes a wind that takes the soul of every believer and every Muslim, leaving only the worst of people, and then the Hour comes. The report gives no date for any of this.

The barrier warning and this longer account remain distinct reports. Details from another version need their own reference before being added.

Can their appearance be given a date?

The cited accounts give a sequence, not a calendar prediction. The Quran places knowledge of the Hour with Allah.

A date attached to a video clip is an additional claim, separate from these references.

How can I check a claim about Yajuj and Majuj?

Use these questions when a clip adds a striking detail.

Keep the original reference beside any notes you make. A retelling can make a report easier to follow, but its added details still need checking.