Dhu al-Qarnayn, (Arabic:ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْن,romanized: Dhū l-Qarnayn,IPA:[ðu‿l.qarˈnajn];lit. "The Owner of Two-Horns"[1]) is a leader who appears in theQur'an,Surah al-Kahf (18),Ayahs 83–101, as one who travels to the east and west and sets up a barrier between a certain people andGog and Magog (Arabic:يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ,romanized: Yaʾjūj wa-Maʾjūj).[2] Elsewhere, the Qur'an tells how theend of the world will be signaled by the release of Gog and Magog from behind the barrier. Other apocalyptic writings predict that their destruction byGod in a single night will usher in theDay of Resurrection (Arabic:یوم القيامة,romanized: Yawm al-Qiyāmah).[3]
Dhu al-Qarnayn has most popularly been identified by Western and traditional Muslim scholars asCyrus the Great.[4][5][6][7][8] Historically, some tradition has parted from this identification[9][10] in favor of others,[11] likepre-Islamic Arabian kings such as the (mythical)Sa'b Dhu Marathid ofHimyar[12][13] or the historical figureal-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man of theLakhmid kingdom (d. 554).[11]Alexander the Great has also gained popularity among some Muslim commentators.[5]
The verses of the chapter reproduced below show Dhu al-Qarnayn traveling first to the Western limit of travel where he sees the sun set in a muddy spring, then to the furthest East where he sees it rise from the ocean, and finally northward to a place in the mountains where he finds a people oppressed by Gog and Magog:
| Verse Number | Arabic (Uthmani script) | English (Marmaduke Pickthall) |
|---|---|---|
| 18:83 | وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَن ذِى ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا | "They will ask thee of Dhu'l-Qarneyn. Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him."[Quran 18:83] |
| 18:84 | إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُۥ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَءَاتَيْنَٰهُ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ سَبَبًا | "Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road."[Quran 18:84] |
| 18:85 | فَأَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا | "And he followed a road."[Quran 18:85] |
| 18:86 | حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْمًا ۗ قُلْنَا يَٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْنًا | "Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness."[Quran 18:86] |
| 18:87 | قَالَ أَمَّا مَن ظَلَمَ فَسَوْفَ نُعَذِّبُهُۥ ثُمَّ يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِۦ فَيُعَذِّبُهُۥ عَذَابًا نُّكْرًا | "He said: As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him, and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, Who will punish him with awful punishment!"[Quran 18:87] |
| 18:88 | وَأَمَّا مَنْ ءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحًا فَلَهُۥ جَزَآءً ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۖ وَسَنَقُولُ لَهُۥ مِنْ أَمْرِنَا يُسْرًا | "But as for him who believeth and doeth right, good will be his reward, and We shall speak unto him a mild command."[Quran 18:88] |
| 18:89 | ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا | "Then he followed a road."[Quran 18:89] |
| 18:90 | حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا | "Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom."[Quran 18:90] |
| 18:91 | كَذَٰلِكَ وَقَدْ أَحَطْنَا بِمَا لَدَيْهِ خُبْرًا | "So (it was). And We knew all concerning him."[Quran 18:91] |
| 18:92 | ثُمَّ أَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا | "Then he followed a road."[Quran 18:92] |
| 18:93 | حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ بَيْنَ ٱلسَّدَّيْنِ وَجَدَ مِن دُونِهِمَا قَوْمًا لَّا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًا | "Till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying."[Quran 18:93] |
| 18:94 | قَالُوا۟ يَٰذَا ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ لَكَ خَرْجًا عَلَىٰٓ أَن تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَدًّا | "They said: O Dhu'l-Qarneyn! Lo! Gog and Magog are spoiling the land. So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou set a barrier between us and them ?"[Quran 18:94] |
| 18:95 | قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّى فِيهِ رَبِّى خَيْرٌ فَأَعِينُونِى بِقُوَّةٍ أَجْعَلْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ رَدْمًا | "He said: That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). Do but help me with strength (of men), I will set between you and them a bank."[Quran 18:95] |
| 18:96 | ءَاتُونِى زُبَرَ ٱلْحَدِيدِ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا سَاوَىٰ بَيْنَ ٱلصَّدَفَيْنِ قَالَ ٱنفُخُوا۟ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَعَلَهُۥ نَارًا قَالَ ءَاتُونِىٓ أُفْرِغْ عَلَيْهِ قِطْرًا | "Give me pieces of iron - till, when he had levelled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: Blow! - till, when he had made it a fire, he said: Bring me molten copper to pour thereon."[Quran 18:96] |
| 18:97 | فَمَا ٱسْطَٰعُوٓا۟ أَن يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا ٱسْتَطَٰعُوا۟ لَهُۥ نَقْبًا | "And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it)."[Quran 18:97] |
| 18:98 | قَالَ هَٰذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّى ۖ فَإِذَا جَآءَ وَعْدُ رَبِّى جَعَلَهُۥ دَكَّآءَ ۖ وَكَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّى حَقًّا | "He said: This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass, He will lay it low, for the promise of my Lord is true."[Quran 18:98] |
| 18:99 | وَتَرَكْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَمُوجُ فِى بَعْضٍ ۖ وَنُفِخَ فِى ٱلصُّورِ فَجَمَعْنَٰهُمْ جَمْعًا | "And on that day we shall let some of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one gathering."[Quran 18:99] |
| 18:100 | وَعَرَضْنَا جَهَنَّمَ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْكَٰفِرِينَ عَرْضًا | "On that day we shall present hell to the disbelievers, plain to view,"[Quran 18:100] |
| 18:101 | ٱلَّذِينَ كَانَتْ أَعْيُنُهُمْ فِى غِطَآءٍ عَن ذِكْرِى وَكَانُوا۟ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ سَمْعًا | "Those whose eyes were hoodwinked from My reminder, and who could not bear to hear."[Quran 18:101] |
The story of Dhu al-Qarnayn is related in chapter 18 of the Qur'an,al-Kahf, revealed to Muhammad when his tribe,Al-Quraysh, sent two men to discover whether theJews, with their superior knowledge of the scriptures, could advise them on whether Muhammad was truly a prophet of God. The rabbis told the Quraysh to ask Muhammad about three things, one of them "about a man who travelled and reached the east and the west of the earth, ask what his story was. If he tells you about these things, then he is a prophet, so follow him, but if he does not tell you, then he is a man who is making things up, so deal with him as you see fit." (Qur'an 18:83-98).[14]
A well known narration from a Companion of Muhammad,Ali denies that the term "Qarnayn" literally meant horns. He instead narrates that the term "Dhul Qarnayn" was not a literal term but instead referred to injuries that took place on the two sides of the head of the ruler.[15]
Cyril Glasse writes that the reference to "He of the two horns" also has a symbolical interpretation: “He of the two Ages”, which reflects the eschatological shadow that Alexander casts from his time, which preceded Islam by many centuries, until the end of the world. The Arabian wordqarn means both "horn" and “period” or “century”.[16] Classical commentary fromAl-Qurtubi has reported the narration fromAl-Suhayli commentaries that he favored the identification that Dhu al-Qarnayn were actually two different persons, where one lived during the time ofAbraham, while the other has lived during the time ofJesus.[17]
Regarding the Gog and Magog, a minority of Muslim commentators argue that Gog and Magog here refers to some barbaric North Asian tribes from pre-Biblical times which have been free from Dhu al-Qarnayn's wall for a long time.[18][19] Modern Islamic apocalyptic writers put forward various explanations for the absence of the wall from the modern world, such as "not everything in existence can be seen", similar to human intelligence and angels, or that God has concealed the Gog and Magog from human eyes.[19]
According to some historians, the story ofDhu al-Qarnayn has its origins in legends ofAlexander the Great current in the Middle East, namely theSyriac Alexander Legend.[20] The first century Josephus repeats a legend whereby Alexander builds an iron wall at a mountain pass (potentially at theCaucasus Mountains) to prevent an incursion by a barbarian group known as theScythians, whom elsewhere he identified asMagog.[21][22] The legend went through much further elaboration in subsequent centuries before eventually finding its way into the Quran through a Syrian version.[23] However, some have questioned whether theSyriac Legend influenced the Quran on the basis of dating inconsistencies and missing key motifs,[24][25][26] although others have in turn rebutted these arguments.[27]
While theSyriac Alexander Legend references the horns of Alexander, it consistently refers to the hero by his Greek name, not using a variant epithet.[28] The use of the Islamic epithetDhu al-Qarnayn "Two-Horned", first occurred in the Quran, though it may be derived from traditions describing Alexander as being horned in Syriac texts.[26] The reasons behind the name "Two-Horned" are somewhat obscure: the scholaral-Tabari (839-923 CE) held it was because he went from one extremity ("horn") of the world to the other,[29] but it may ultimately derive from the image of Alexander wearing the horns of the ram-godZeus-Ammon, as popularised on coins throughout theHellenistic Near East.[30]
The wallDhu al-Qarnayn builds on his northern journey may have reflected a distant knowledge of theGreat Wall of China (the 12th-century scholarMuhammad al-Idrisi drew a map forRoger II of Sicily showing the "Land of Gog and Magog" inMongolia), or of variousSasanian walls built in theCaspian Sea region against the northern barbarians, or a conflation of the two.[31]
Dhu al-Qarnayn also journeys to the western and eastern extremities ("qarns", tips) of the Earth.[32] Ernst claims thatDhu al-Qarnayn finding the sun setting in a "muddy spring" in the West is equivalent to the "poisonous sea" found by Alexander in the Syriac legend. In the Syriac story Alexander tested the sea by sending condemned prisoners into it, while the Quran refers to this as an administration of justice. In the East both the Syrian legend and the Quran, according to Ernst, have Alexander/Dhu al-Qarnayn find a people who live so close to the rising sun that they have no protection from its heat.[33]
Some exegetes believed that Dhu al-Qarnayn lived near the time ofAbraham following accounts byal-Azraqi and Ibn Abi Hatim.[34] To avoid this chronological discrepancy, several medieval exegetes and historians did not identify Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander.Al-Tabari inferred that there were two Dhu al-Qarnayn's: the earlier one, called Dhu al-Qarnayn al-Akbar, who lived in the time ofAbraham, and the later one, who was Alexander.[35] In one account concerning Abraham building a well atBeersheba, Dhu al-Qarnayn seems to have been placed in the role ofAbimelech as described in Gen 21:22–34.[36]
Other notable Muslim commentators, includingibn Kathir,[37]:100-101ibn Taymiyyah,[37]:101[38] andNaser Makarem Shirazi,[39] have used theological arguments to reject the Alexander identification: Alexander lived only a short time whereasDhu al-Qarnayn (according to some traditions) lived for 700 years as a sign of God's blessing, though this is not mentioned in the Quran, and Dhu al-Qarnaynworshipped only one God, while Alexander was a polytheist.[40]
The various campaigns ofDhu al-Qarnayn mentioned in Q:18:83-101 have also been attributed to the South ArabianHimyarite KingṢaʿb Dhu-Marāthid (also known as al-Rāʾid).[41][42]Ibn Hisham gives an extensive forty-five page account of King Ṣaʿb in his workThe Book of Crowns on the Kings of Himyar, relying on the Yemeni authorWahb ibn Munabbih.[43][44][45] In this account, King Ṣaʿb was a conqueror who was given the epithet Dhu al-Qarnayn after meeting a figure named Musa alKhidr in Jerusalem. He then travels to the ends of the earth, conquering or converting people until being led by al Khidr through theLand of Darkness.[46] Other elements include a journey to a valley of diamonds,[47] a castle with glass walls,[43] and a campaign as far as theAndalusia region (classical era Spain).[48] However, according toAl-Qurtubi, the original opinion of Wahb ibn Munabbih identified the legendary conqueror as a Roman, contradicting Ibn Hisham's commentary.[17]Al-Tabari also reports that Wahb believed Dhu al-Qarnayn was a man fromByzantium named Iskandar.[49]
Academic scholars consider the Sa'b story to be an appropriation of the Syriac Alexander Legend.[47][50] While Ibn Hisham's book made use of Wahb's earlier material, Tilman Nagel doubts that Wahb's text included this particular story given Ibn Hisham's sceptical attitude to the claims of Southern Arabians, and notes that al-Tabari relied on Wahb's Alexander story yet included no Himyarite (South Arabian) elements. Following a detailed analysis, Nagel instead defines the milieu in which this version emerged as that of South Arabians in early eighth-century Egypt,[51] and observes that Southern Arabs were one of two factions who vied for power in the Umayyad empire.[47]
Richard Stoneman notes that Wahb was known for the composition ofqisas, in which folklore is served up as history. According to Stoneman, the South Arabian legend was composed within the context of thedivision between the South Arabs and North Arabs that began with theBattle of Marj Rahit in 684 AD and consolidated over two centuries. He too dates the story to the 8th century CE, intended to give a parallel for, and to justify, the Islamic conquests in the west, representing a glorification of the South Arabian traditions and their conquests in Egypt.[52] Anna Akasoy agrees with Alfred Beeston that Sa'b's entire existence is fictional and a product of Yemeni chauvinism, noting that later Yemeni Kings whose existence is confirmed were assigned similar exploits borrowed from legends of Alexander.[51] According to Wheeler, it is possible that some elements of these accounts that were originally associated with Ṣaʿb have been incorporated into stories which identify Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander.[53]
In modern times, some Muslim scholars have argued in favour ofDhu al-Qarnayn being actuallyCyrus the Great, the founder of theAchaemenid Empire and conqueror of Persia and Babylon. Proponents of this view citeDaniel's vision in theOld Testament where he saw a two-horned ram that represents "the kings ofMedia and Persia" (Daniel 8:20).[46] Brannon Wheeler argues that this identification is unlikely on the basis of a lack of Arab histories viewing him as a conqueror in the sense described in the Dhu al-Qarnayn narrative, and the lack of any early commentaries identifying Dhu al-Qarnayn as Cyrus.[46]
Archeological evidence cited includes theCyrus Cylinder, which portrays Cyrus as a worshipper of the Babylonian godMarduk, who ordered him to rule the world and establish justice in Babylon. The cylinder states that idols that Nabonidus had brought to Babylon from various other Babylonian cities were reinstalled by Cyrus in their former sanctuaries and ruined temples reconstructed. Supported with other texts and inscriptions, Cyrus appears to have initiated a general policy of permitting religious freedom throughout his domains.[54][55][56]
A famous relief on a palace doorway pillar inPasagardae depicts a winged figure wearing aHemhem crown (a type of ancient Egyptian crown mounted on a pair of long spiral ram's horns). Some scholars take this to be a depiction of Cyrus due to an inscription that was once located above it,[57][58] though most see it as atutelary genie, or protective figure and note that the same inscription was also written on other palaces in the complex.[59][60][61]
This theory was proposed in 1855 by the Germanphilologist G. M. Redslob, but it did not gain followers in the west.[62] Among Muslim commentators, it was first promoted bySayyed Ahmad Khan (d. 1889),[56] then byMaulana Abul Kalam Azad,[63] and generated wider acceptance over the years.[5][8]
Other persons who either were identified with the Quranic figure or given the titleDhu al-Qarnayn:
Dhu al-Qarnayn, the traveller, proved a popular subject for later writers. InAl-Andalus, for instance, an Arabic translation of theSyriac Alexander Legend appeared, entitledQissat Dhulqarnayn. This work explores Dhu al-Qarnayn's life – his upbringing, journeys, and eventual death. The text identifies Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander the Great and portrays him as the first person to complete the Hajj pilgrimage.[71]
Another Hispano-Arabic legend featuring Dhu al-Qarnayn, representing Alexander, is theHadith Dhulqarnayn (or theLeyenda de Alejandro). In one of the many Arabic andPersian versions depictingAlexander's encounter with Indian sages, the Persian Sunni Sufitheologianal-Ghazali (1058–1111) describes a scene where Dhu al-Qarnayn meets a people who own nothing but dig graves outside their homes. Their king explains that death is life's only certainty, a reason for their practices. Ghazali's interpretation found its way into theOne Thousand and One Nights.[72]
The esteemed medieval Persian poetRumi (1207-1273) wrote about Dhu al-Qarnayn's eastward travels. Here, the hero climbsMount Qaf, the emerald 'mother' of all mountains encircling the Earth, its veins spreading below every land. Upon Dhu al-Qarnayn's request, the mountain reveals how earthquakes occur: when God wills it, one of its veins pulsates, triggering a tremor. Atop this grand mountain, Dhu al-Qarnayn encountersIsrafil (archangelRaphael), prepared to sound the trumpet on Judgement Day.[73]
The Malay epicHikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain links several Southeast Asian royal lines to Iskandar Zulkarnain;[74] this includes theMinangkabau royalty ofCentral Sumatra[75] and theCholan emperorRajendra I in theMalay Annals.[76][77][78]
The identification ... has been a controversial matter from the earliest times. In general the commentators have been of the opinion that he was Alexander the Great but the characteristics of Zul-Qarnain described in the Qur'an are not applicable to him. However, now the commentators are inclined to believe that Zul-Qarnain was Cyrus ... We are also of the opinion that probably Zul-Qarnain was Cyrus...
Many Mediaeval scholars argued against the identification, though. Cf., e.g., the discussion in al-Maqrizi,Khabar §§212-232.
Of particular relevance to the origins of the later Alexander stories is the possible identification of Dhu al-Qarnayn with a South Arabian, Himyarī king, variously named Şa'b Dhu Marāthid, ... In al-Tabarī, for example, the king, ...conquers the Turks in Azerbaijan, ... There are a number of elements in Ibn Hisham's account that parallel elements not found in the early Greek and Syriac recensions ... This suggests that Ibn Hisham's account, coupled with Q 18:83-101, upon which he comments, could represent the immediate source for the stories which attribute these elements to the Alexander stories. These elements originally associated with Sa'b as Dhu al-Qarnayn were incorporated, along with the elements attributed to Dhu al-Qarnayn in Q 18:83-101, into the stories which identified Dhu al-Qarnayn with Alexander. ... It is not possible to show that the Ethiopic and Persian versions of the Alexander stories are derived directly from the Syriac versions. There are a number of problems with the dating of the Syriac versions and their supposed influence on the Quran and later Alexander stories, not the least of which is the confusion of what has been called the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes, the sermon of Jacob of Serugh, and the so-called Syriac "Legend of Alexander." Second, the key elements of Q 18:60-65, 18:83-101, and the story of Ibn Hisham's Șa'b Dhu al-Qarnayn do not occur in the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes.
In the early history of Islam there was a lively debate over the true identity of Dhū 'l-Qarnayn. One prominent identification was with an ancient South Arabian Ḥimyarī king, generally referred to in the sources as al-Ṣaʿb b. Dhī Marāthid. [...] Indeed the association of Dhū 'l-Qarnayn with the South Arabian ruler can be traced in many early Arabic sources.
The Qur'anic exemplum is highly allusive, and makes no reference to vast tracts of the narrative line attested in the Neṣḥānā. Where the two sources would appear to utilize the same motif, there are substantial differences to the way these motifs are framed. These differences are sometimes so significant as to suggest that the motifs might not, in fact, be comparable at all.[permanent dead link]
ArabicWikisource has original text related to this article:Account of Sa'b dhu al-QarnaynOn ancient coins, he was represented as Jupiter Ammon Alexander with a horn in profile so that the imagination of two horns was incorporated in this picture. But this representation of mighty kings is much more ancient than Alexander, as is proved by the relief of Cyrus. (p.263)
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