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)