Theater Room SPs UIN Jakarta, SCHOOL NEWS: The Graduate School of the State Islamic University (SPs UIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta held the 2752nd Thesis Exam in the Theater Room of SPs UIN Jakarta, on Tuesday, February 25, 2025 with candidate Lilmushthafa Ridhallathif.

Lilmushthafa Ridhallathif, a student of the Master of Islamic Studies Study Program with a concentration in Tafsir. He wrote a thesis entitled "Continuity and Change of Interpretation of Yakjuj and Makjuj in Classical to Contemporary Interpretation".

This thesis aims to map and analyze the continuity and changes in the interpretation of the Qur'an regarding Yakjuj and Makjuj in various tafsir books, ranging from the classical era to the contemporary. Lilmushthafa uses descriptive-analytical research methods with a qualitative approach to literature, as well as comparative methods and historical approaches of thought.

Four prominent works of tafsir were selected for comparison, namely Jāmi' al-Bayān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān by Ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, al-Durr al-Manthūr fī al-Tafsīr bi al-Ma'thūr by Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī, al-Taḥrīr wa al-Tanwīr by Ibn 'Āshūr, and al-Ma'mūn 'alā Minhaj al-Tanzīl wa Ṣaḥīḥ al-Masnūn by Mamoon Hamoosh. This research focuses on two verses of the Qur'an, namely al-Kahfi (18) verse 94 and al-Anbiya (21) verse 96, which are then analyzed and compared with a continuity approach and a change in interpretation.

The results of the study show that there is a dynamic interpretation of Yakjuj and Makjuj from time to time. Classical and contemporary interpretations tend to understand Yakjuj and Makjuj as a people confined between two mountains. Meanwhile, medieval interpretations identify them as Turkic peoples, and modern interpretations link them to the Mongols and Tatars.

This research also highlights how differences in interpretation are natural in the context of Qur'an interpretation. Factors such as the interpreter's reference, the context of the locality, and the background of the interpreter can influence the interpretation, including in the case of Yakjuj and Makjuj which are steeped in Islamic eschatology and theology.

Furthermore, the dissertation refutes Imran Nazar Hosin's claims linking Yakjuj and Makjuj to the American nation and the NATO alliance as well as Russia and its allies. On the other hand, this study also criticizes Musa Jarullah Bigiev's understanding that tends to symbolize Yakjuj and Makjuj in a political-socialist way.

Lilmushthafa Ridhallathif successfully defended her thesis under the guidance of Dr. Eva Nugraha, M.Ag and tested in front of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Yusuf Rahman, MA; Dr. Eva Nugraha, M.Ag; Prof. Kusmana, MA, Ph.D; Dr. Lilik Ummi Kaltsum, MA.

After paying attention to the writing of the thesis, the comments of the examining team and the candidates' answers, the examining team determined that Lilmushthafa Ridhallathif was declared to have graduated with the title of Very Satisfactory and became the 2752nd master's in the field of Islamic Studies at the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta.(JA)