18:98
He said: “This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true.”
Some classical Qurʾānic commentators, including al-Ṭabarī, interpreted the Qurʾānic references to Gog and Magog (Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj) as predicting a specific historical event. According to this view, the passage refers to the future emergence of powerful and destructive tribes that would break through the barrier mentioned in the narrative of Dhul Qarnayn. These tribes were often identified with the Mongols and Tatars, whose invasions were later seen as a possible historical fulfillment of the prophecy.
This interpretation draws support from a widely transmitted ḥadīth reported in the collections of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, al-Bukhārī, and Muslim. In this narration, the Prophet Muḥammad described a dream in which he awoke distressed and declared: “There is no deity except God! Woe to the Arabs from an approaching calamity: today a small opening has appeared in the barrier of Gog and Magog.” Beginning in the late medieval period, many Muslim scholars interpreted this prophetic statement as referring to the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, which led to the destruction of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate and the weakening of Arab political authority.
However, other interpreters emphasize that the Qurʾānic verses discussing Gog and Magog, particularly Qurʾān 18:99–101, connect their emergence with “the Day,” understood as the Day of Judgment. From this perspective, the phrase referring to “the promise of my Lord” is associated with the events preceding the Last Hour, when the current order of the world will ultimately be brought to an end. The Qurʾān frequently describes the Last Hour as “near,” yet these expressions are not meant to correspond to ordinary human measures of time. Consequently, some scholars argue that both historical and eschatological interpretations may be compatible: historical upheavals such as large-scale invasions could represent signs pointing toward the eventual arrival of the Last Hour.
A further interpretive approach suggests that the terms Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj may be symbolic rather than literal, representing destructive forces that periodically threaten human civilization. In this reading, the Qurʾānic references (particularly Qurʾān 21:96–97) indicate that Gog and Magog symbolize recurring social or political catastrophes that contribute to the gradual breakdown of human order prior to the final judgment.
References:
Asad, Muhammad (1980). The Message of the Quran.