Hole in the Barrier of Gog & Magog Explained

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

وَ سَلٰمٌ عَلَی الۡمُرۡسَلِیۡنَ

وَ الۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

وَ الۡعَاقِبَۃُ لِلۡمُتَّقِیۡنَ

Allah, blessed and exalted, says:

فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا

So they [Gog & Magog] were unable to scale it, nor were they able to bore through it

(Juz 16, Surah 21, Ayah 97)

This Ayah is concerning the barrier constructed by Dhul-Qarnayn. Although what is stated about them being unable to scale or penetrate the barrier is in the past tense, the implication is that Gog and Magog shall never be able to penetrate this barrier. Of course, the barrier shall one day be destroyed:

فَاِذَا جَآءَ وَعۡدُ رَبِّیۡ جَعَلَہٗ دَکَّآءَ ۚ وَکَانَ وَعۡدُ رَبِّیۡ حَقًّا

‘But when the promise of my Lord shall come to pass, He will break it into pieces. And the promise of my Lord is true’

(Juz 16, Surah 21, Ayah 98)

The destruction of the barrier is an act attributed directly to Allah by Dhul-Qarnayn. The suggestion is, once again, that the barrier shall not be destroyed by Gog and Magog, but by some other means whereby it is more appropriate to attribute the act to Allah directly. The fact that a barrier matching the description in the Quran that was constructed by Dhul-Qarnayn can’t be located at present in the probable location, or for that matter anywhere on Earth, is a strong indication that the prophecy of Dhul-Qarnayn as quoted in the Quran has already transpired. A Hadith suggests that this destruction of the barrier occurred sometime during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَيْلٌ لِلْعَرَبِ مِنْ شَرٍّ قَدِ اقْتَرَبَ فُتِحَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ رَدْمِ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مِثْلُ هَذَا

There is none worthy of worship except Allah! Woe to the Arabs for an evil that has come close. Today a hole has been made in the barrier of Gog and Magog like this [and he made a gesture with his fingers indicating the size of the hole]

The Hadith does not state that Gog and Magog themselves have made this hole in the barrier, or even that the evil which is nearing that shall afflict the Arabs in particular is an attack by Gog and Magog. Al-Allamah Badr al-Din al-Ayni [d. 855 H] states regarding the Prophet’s gesturing about the size of the hole made in the barrier:

المُرَاد أَن التَّقْرِيب بالتمثيل لَا حَقِيقَة التَّحْدِيد

The intention is approximation by imagery and not a literal delineation [of the hole]

(Umdat al-Qari; v.15, p.238)

In other words, the Prophet (peace be upon him) intended to illustrate the proximity of an evil afflicting the Arabs by invoking a mental image of a hole made into the barrier constructed by Dhul-Qarnayn to repel Gog and Magog.

In another place in the Quran Allah says:

وَحَرٰمٌ عَلٰی قَرۡیَۃٍ اَہۡلَکۡنٰہَاۤ اَنَّہُمۡ لَا یَرۡجِعُوۡنَ

And it is an inviolable law for a township which We have destroyed that they shall not return

حَتّٰۤی اِذَا فُتِحَتۡ یَاۡجُوۡجُ وَمَاۡجُوۡجُ وَہُمۡ مِّنۡ کُلِّ حَدَبٍ یَّنۡسِلُوۡنَ

Until when Gog and Magog are let loose. And they shall hasten forth from every height

(Juz 17, Surah 21, Ayah 95 & 96)

The objective of this Quranic passage is to explain that the Resurrection shall not occur until Gog and Magog are set loose. The great mufassir Mujahid bin Jabr (d. 104 H) from among the Salaf, explained that the second clause ‘and they shall hasten forth from every height’ refers to all mankind, meaning at the time of the Resurrection, they shall come forth from their graves (Tafsir Ibn Jarir; v.16, p.405)

Shi'ite Blasphemy Against Prophet and Fatimah (peace be upon them)

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

وصلى الله وسلم وبارك على عبده ورسوله نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين

The Shi’ah often allege that the Hadith literature of Ahl-us-Sunnah contains material that is blasphemous against the holy Prophet and his family (peace be upon them). The truth, however, is that Shi’ite literature is filled with blasphemy and unspeakably nasty content that assaults the honor of the most holy Prophet Muhammad and his family (peace be upon them). Here I shall cite one such example:

الباقر والصادق عليهما السلام أنه كان النبي صلى الله عليه وآله لا ينام حتى يقبل عرض وجه فاطمة يضع وجهه بين ثديي فاطمة ويدعو لها وفي رواية حتى يقبل عرض وجنة فاطمة أو بين ثدييها

Al-Baqir and As-Sadiq (peace be upon them) narrate that the Prophet (blessing of Allah upon him and his family) did not sleep until he kissed the width of Fatimah’s face, placed his face between Fatimah’s breasts, and prayed for her. And in a narration: until he kissed the width of Fatimah’s cheek or between her breasts.

(Bihar ul-Anwar; v.43, p.42)

انا لله وانا اليه راجعون

نقل کفر کفر نباشد

Muhammad bin Karram and the Karramiyyah

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

وصلى الله تعالى على نبيه الكريم

Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Karram as-Sijistani رحمة الله عليه (d. 255 H) was a great theologian and zahid (ascetic) of this Ummah. It is important to understand that Ibn Karram and his followers, the Karramiyyah, attributed themselves to Ahl us-Sunnati wal-Jama’ah and to the Hanafi madhhab. Ibn Karram was a disciple of the great saint Ahmad bin Harb رحمة الله عليه. Yahya bin Yahya at-Tamimi is reported to have said about him:

‌إِنْ ‌لَمْ ‌يَكُنْ ‌أَحْمَدُ ‌بنُ ‌حَرْبٍ ‌مِنَ ‌الأَبْدَالِ ‌فَلَا ‌أَدرِي ‌مَنْ ‌هُمْ

“If Ahmad bin Harb is not from the Abdal then I do not know who they are!” (Sir A’lam an-Nubala; v.11, p.34)

Ibn Karram was an apocalyptic preacher and emigrated with some of his close followers to Al-Quds (Jerusalem), where he passed away. However, it must be admitted that Ibn Karram was a controversial figure. He was accused of heresy by most of the Sunni theologians and scholars. Ibn Karram was from among the mutakallimin who mastered ilm al-kalam. He taught that Allah is a jism (body), but unlike the bodies of creation. He differed with the other mutakallimin in saying that Allah is a unique, eternal body without beginning Who was once devoid of a’rad اعراض (incidental attributes). For this reason he and his followers, the Karramiyyah, were considered heretical Mujassimah (those who believe God is corporeal, possessing a physical body). But the intent of the Karramiyyah with the term jism is that Allah is قائم بنفسه “established by Himself”. The Karramiyyah were also accused of the heresy of Irja for they said that faith is established on the tongue alone, and not from the heart or the actions of the limbs. The polemic against them was that according to their definition of faith a munafiq (hypocrite) would have to be considered a Believer. However, this was merely a semantical difference, because the Karramiyyah intended by this definition to define what a Believer is from the Earthly perspective, and not the reality of a Believer in the sight of Allah. The Karramis were concentrated in the land of Khorasan, at one time in history being strong in the towns of Nishapur, Ghazni and Ghor. But today this religious tendency has vanished. They were simply absorbed into the mainstream of Hanafi Maturidis of present day Afghanistan. The Karramiyyah were an apocalypticist and pietist movement within Sunni Islam. Their differences from the other schools of Sunni theology were relatively minor, which is why I don’t consider them a heretical movement. If it is accepted that they are not Sunni, it must still be acknowledged that they are closer to the mainstream Sunnis, including Atharis, Asharis and Maturidis, than to the truly non-Sunni factions like the Shi’ah, Mu’tazilah and Khawarij. Adh-Dhahabi said about Muhammad bin Karram:

‌مُحَمَّدُ ‌بنُ ‌كَرَّامٍ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ المُبْتَدِعُ

شَيْخُ الكَرَّامِيَّةِ كَانَ زَاهِداً عَابِداً رَبَّانِيّاً بَعِيْدَ الصِّيْتِ كَثِيْرَ الأَصْحَابِ

Muhammad bin Karram as-Sijistani, the innovator. Shaikh of the Karramiyyah, he was a zahid (ascetic), abid (worshiper), rabbani, notorious, with many followers.

(Sir A’lam an-Nubala; v.11, p.523, #146)

Despite his declaring Ibn Karram an innovator, adh-Dhahabi admitted that he was also a pious worshiper, known for his zuhd and closeness to Allah. Historically, the Karramiyyah were the ones who pioneered the institution of the Khanaqah within the Ummah, which became essential to Sufism.

Interestingly, Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyah رحمة الله عليه not only praises Ibn Karram, but says that he was a defender of the Sunni madhhab:

‌وقام ‌أيضا ‌أبو ‌عبدالله ‌محمد ‌بن ‌كرام ‌بسجستان ‌ونواحيها ‌ينصر ‌مذهب ‌أهل ‌السنة ‌والجماعة والمثبتة للصفات والقدر وحب الصحابة وغير ذلك ويرد على الجهمية والمعتزلة والرافضة وغيرهم

And likewise rose Abu Abdullah Muhammad bin Karram in Sijistan and its vicinity, supporting the doctrine of ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah, affirming the [divine] Attributes, Qadar, love of the Sahabah, etc. He refuted the Jahmiyyah, the Mu’tazilah, the Rafidah, and other than them.

(Sharh al-Isbahaniyah; p.378)