Linguists have put forward different views about the origin of the words Gog and Magog. According to Raghib al-Isfahani and Ibn Manzur, these two words are Arabic (al-Mufradat, “ecc” article; Lisânü’l-ʿArab, “ecc” article; Qāmus Translation, I, 697-698). According to scholars such as Zamakhshari, Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Bayzāvī and Abu’l-Bakā al-Kafevī, they passed into Arabic from other languages ​​(al-Kashshaf, II, 498; Mafatīḥu’l-Ghayb, XXI, 170; al-Kulliyyāt, p. 3). Those who defend the first view state that the words in question are derived from the roots “ecc” meaning “fire flaring up and then calming down; water being salty and bitter; attacking the enemy, running fast”, “evc” meaning “white-hot fire, bright object” or “ycc” and “mcc” meaning “spreading, dispersing” and are also used metaphorically in the sense of “a person or group that moves quickly, spreads around; that burns and destroys like fire”. Those who accept that Gog and Magog entered Arabic from other languages ​​suggest that the languages ​​in question could have been Hebrew, Assyrian, Aramaic, Greek or Turkish. Those who claim that they came from Hebrew refer to Gog and Magog in the Old Testament. According to the Old Testament, Magog is one of the seven children of Noah's son Japheth (Genesis, 10/2) or the name of the country where the descendants of this generation lived (Ezekiel, 38/2), and Gog is the king of Meshech and Tubal or the people of the land of Magog (Ezekiel, 38/1-3; 39/1-2). In the Old Testament, Gog is described as a community that plagues the Jews, plunder their property, and kills their children (Deuteronomy, 28/49-57; Jeremiah, 5/15-18). According to the New Testament, Gog and Magog are a community with whom the Devil will cooperate to occupy the holy city (Revelation, 20/1-9). Based on the similarity between the words Gog and “sky”, Musa Jarullah says that the words Gog and Magog may be of Turkish origin (Gog According to the Miraculous Expressions of the Quranic Verses, pp. 11-12). This view is a claim that cannot be explained in any way. The information provided by Abu’l-Kelam Azad is as follows: The name of this community, who lived in the lands of today’s Mongolia in 600 BC and were called Mongols, comes from the word “mongog” or “monçuk”, which is very close to the word Magog. Jamal al-Dīn al-Qāsīmī, who tried to interpret the Qur'an with scientific and anthropological data, recorded that the Arabs spoke of two tribes called 'Aqūq and 'Maqūq living behind the Caucasus Mountains and called them Gog and Magog (Meḥāsinü't-teʾvīl, VII, 100).

While the Gog Magog story is only related to the future in the Bible, Gog and Magog mentioned in the Qur'an are mentioned twice, one in relation to events that occurred in the past and the other in relation to events that will occur in the future. In the Surah Kahf, Gog and Magog are mentioned as a community that lived in the past without specifying time and place, and it is stated that they caused harm to the surroundings and were prevented by the great dam built by Dhul-Qarnayn (18:93-97). In the Surah Anbiya, Gog and Magog are mentioned as a community that will appear in the future, and here, without mentioning place and time, it is recorded that the way will be opened for Gog and Magog when the true promise approaches (21:96-97). According to the majority of commentators, what is meant by the “true promise” is the coming of the apocalypse, therefore Gog and Magog are a sign indicating the approaching of the apocalypse or will appear in the first stage of the apocalypse. Based on the meaning of the verses, it is possible to say the following: Gog and Magog are a description of communities that spread and cause harm and destruction in the environment; the Quran informs us that communities with this characteristic will emerge in the future, as they did in the past. They are a very large community and will cause corruption on earth.

There is more detailed information on the subject in the narrations conveyed under the sections of the hadiths such as “Eşrâṭü’s-sâʿa”, “Fiten and Melâḥim”, “Ḳıyâmet”, “Enbiyâʾ”. According to these narrations, after waking up from sleep one day, the Prophet said, “Woe to the Arabs because of the approaching disaster!” and announced that a small hole would be opened in the wall of Gog and Magog (Bukhari, “Enbiyâʾ”, 7; “Menâḳıb”, 25; “Fiten”, 4; Muslim, “Fiten”, 1). It is also narrated that when the time of judgement comes, after Gog and Magog destroy the wall, they will flock from the hills and scatter over the earth, they will burn and destroy everywhere they go, people will take refuge in their castles and shelters out of fear, they will drink all the water on the earth and dry up Lake Tiberias, just when they think they have destroyed everyone, Allah Almighty will destroy them by sending a camel worm to hit their necks, and finally, people will leave the cities and castles and set their animals free (Musnad, III, 77; Ibn Majah, “Fitan”, 33). In some narrations that are considered weak, Hz. Muhammad, during the miraj, camel come out (Musnad, III, 77; Ibn Majah, “Fitan”, 33). It is also stated that he heard some news from Jesus on this subject, that as a result of Jesus’ prayer to Allah, Gog and Magog would be destroyed and their corpses would be swept away into the seas by rainwater (Musnad, I, 375; IV, 181; Muslim, “Fitan”, 110; Tirmidhi, “Fitan”, 33, 59).

The subject of Gog and Magog is also included in history, tafsir, theology and hadith commentary books. In such works, some narrations that are not found in early period sources are attributed to the Prophet (for their authenticity, see Musnad, VI, 20-21). Vehb b. In these narrations, attributed to narrators such as Munabbih and Ka'b al-Ahbar and described as "gharib" by hadith scholars, it is explained how the barrier built for Gog and Magog will be demolished (Tabari, XVII, 89; Ibn Kathir, II, 112). The subject is also discussed in history books and Gog and Magog are mentioned in connection with Dhul-Qarnayn (Makdisî, IV, 61; Sa'lebî, p. 362; Birûnî, p. 41; Katib Çelebi, pp. 377-379). The barrier built by Dhul-Qarnayn to prevent the attacks of Gog and Magog is known in history as the "Sedd-i İskender" (see SEDD-i İSKENDER). While Gog and Magog are mentioned in the context of explaining texts in tafsir and hadith books, this subject is touched upon under the title of "Eshrat al-sa'a" in books of theology. In particular, extensive explanations are made on issues such as the identities, numbers, locations and the time of their emergence (Şemsüleimme es-Serahsî, pp. 45-46; Barzancî, pp. 152-156; Siddiq Hasan Han, pp. 165-166). Accordingly, Gog and Magog are a community descended from Japheth, the son of Hz. Noah; they are divided into three branches as Tawil, Tayis and Mensik. The first are tall, the second are medium, and the third are short enough to use one of their ears as a mattress and the other as a quilt; none of them dies before giving birth to a thousand children from their own lineage. Before the descent of Hz. Jesus, they will emerge from behind the wall and cause mischief on earth. Moses Jarullah claims that Gog and Magog are not a single community but different communities, and that they emerged when people were weak. In some narrations, they are described as having broad faces, red skin, small eyes and flat noses. It has been said that they wear shoes made of hair and use leather shields, that this style of clothing belongs to eastern societies, and therefore they are of Turkish origin. However, no connection has been established between Gog and Magog and the Turks in any of the reliable narrations. It is possible to say that these attributions originate from the People of the Book, who claimed that Gog and Magog would emerge from the east, or from communities hostile to the Turks (Çelebi, pp. 128-132). In conclusion, Gog and Magog are mentioned in the Quran and authentic hadiths; however, it is open to debate whether these names are proper nouns or common nouns. Based on the information in the Quran about their past and future existence, it seems accurate to say that Gog and Magog were communities that spread out from their homeland and caused harm to their surroundings, burning and destroying everywhere, and that communities with this characteristic will emerge in the future, as it has been recorded in history.

Independent books have also been written on the subject of Gog and Magog, which is included in the books of Fitan and Melachim, and some of them are as follows: Seyyid Hâşim Feyyâz el-Hüseynî, Gog and Magog beyne’l-ḥaḳīḳati ve’l-ḫayâl (Kum 1325); Mehmed Tevfik, Gog and Magog (Istanbul 1327); Mûsâ Jârullah (see bibl.); Ukkasha Abdulmannan at-Tibi, Gog and Magog: The End of Times and Times and the Places of Death and the Places of Death and the Places of Death (Cairo 1989); Abdulhamid Muhyiddin, Gog and Magog (Cairo 1414/1994); Shafi'i Mahi Ahmad, Gog and Magog: Fitnatul-mazi wal-khadir wal-mustaqbal (Riyadh 1416/1996); Abdulhamid Hisham Kamal, Gog and Magog (Cairo 1998); Omar Faruk Kutay, Gog and Magog According to the Verses of the Holy Quran (Istanbul 1950); Muhammad Ali Lahuri, al-Masih al-Dajjal and Gog and Magog (Lahore 1931, 1932).

BİBLİYOGRAFYA

Kāmus Tercümesi, I, 697-698.

Müsned (Arnaût), I, 375; III, 77; IV, 181; VI, 20-21.

Taberî, Câmiʿu’l-beyân (Bulak), XVII, 89.

Makdisî, el-Bedʾ ve’t-târîḫ, IV, 61.

Sa‘lebî, ʿArâʾisü’l-mecâlis, Beyrut 1405/1985, s. 362.

Bîrûnî, el-Âs̱ârü’l-bâḳıye ʿani’l-ḳurûni’l-ḫâliye (nşr. C. E. Sachau), Leipzig 1923, s. 41.

Şemsüleimme es-Serahsî, Ṣıfatü eşrâṭi’s-sâʿa (nşr. Zeki Sarıtoprak), Kahire 1414/1993, s. 45-46.

Zemahşerî, el-Keşşâf (Beyrut), II, 498.

Fahreddin er-Râzî, Mefâtîḥu’l-ġayb, XXI, 170.

İbn Kesîr, el-Bidâye, II, 112.

Kâtib Çelebi, Cihannümâ, s. 377-379.

Ebü’l-Bekā, el-Külliyyât, Bulak 1287, s. 3.

Berzencî, el-İşâʿa li-eşrâṭi’s-sâʿa, Beyrut, ts. (Dârü’l-kütübi’l-ilmiyye), s. 152-156.

Sıddîk Hasan Han, el-İẕâʿa limâ kâne ve mâ yekûnü beyne yedeyi’s-sâʿa, Kahire 1379, s. 165-166.

Mûsâ Cârullah, Kur’ân-ı Kerîm Âyet-i Kerîmelerinin Mûciz İfadelerine Göre Ye’cûc, Berlin 1933, s. 11-12.

Elmalılı, Hak Dini, V, 3283-3293.

Cemâleddin el-Kāsımî, Meḥâsinü’t-teʾvîl (nşr. M. Fuâd Abdülbâkī), Beyrut 1398/1978, VII, 100.

İlyas Çelebi, İtikadî Açıdan Uzak ve Yakın Gelecekle İlgili Haberler, İstanbul 1996, s. 128-132.

Ebü’l-Kelâm Âzâd, “Şaḫṣiyyetü Ẕi’l-ḳarneyn el-meẕkûr fi’l-Ḳurʾân”, S̱eḳāfetü’l-Hind, I/3, New Delhi 1950, s. 26-27.

A. J. Wensinck, “Yecûc ve Mecûc”, İA, XIII, 369-370.

E. van Donzel – Claudia Ott, “Yad̲j̲ūd̲j̲ wa Mad̲j̲ūd̲j̲”, EI² (İng.), XI, 231-234.