[7]:16, According to Muslim records, the Dhu al-Qarnayn story was revealed on the inquisition of Jews who held a high opinion of Cyrus and is also honoured in the Bible; the "He of the Two Horns" (lit. The material of this article is mainly taken from. Abu Karb Shammir Yar'ash, the King of Himyar, https://en.wikishia.net/index.php?title=Dhu_l-Qarnayn&oldid=133794, Articles with quality and priority assessment, C grade priority and c grade quality articles, Cyrus's justice, good treatment of the peasants, generosity, and fairness in wars, according to the Old Testament and historians such as. [4] Some have argued that the origins of the Quranic story lies in the Syriac Alexander Legend,[5] but others disagree citing dating inconsistencies and missing key elements. For example, Mundhir b. Ma' al-Sama' al-Lakhmi was called "Dhu l-Qarnayn". 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! The second Dhu l-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great whose lineage goes back to Ibrahim (a). To decorate the crown with two horns was a symbol of glory and splendor of Majestic Kings at that time. Pearls from Surah Al-Kahf: Exploring the Qur'an's Meaning, Yasir Qadhi Kube Publishing Limited, 4 Mar 2020, meeting of Alexander with the Indian sages, "The Alexander Legend in the Qur'an 18:83-102", "Did the Qurʾān borrow from the Syriac Legend of Alexander? This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 10:03. Dhul Qarnayn trapped a people behind two mountains using a dam or gate of copper and iron These people are constantly digging from this trapped location until Allah allows them to escape and they will wreak havoc on humanity. Dhul-Qarnayn - Dhul-Qarnayn, (Arabic: ذو القرنين‎ ḏū'l-qarnayn, IPA: [ðuːlqarˈnajn]), (Lit. According to these, the Scythians, the descendants of Gog and Magog, once defeated one of Alexander's generals, upon which Alexander built a wall in the Caucasus mountains to keep them out of civilised lands (the basic elements are found in Flavius Josephus). Found 0 sentences matching phrase "Dhu al-Hijjah".Found in 0 ms. Proper noun (Islam) The ruler who built the wall that keeps Gog and Magog from attacking mankind. Thus, it is probable that the Jews may have asked the Prophet (s) about a king with whom they were already familiar. Al-Tha'labi found this view plausible. He is considered by some people as a first generation of human beings—a son of Yafith (Japheth), the son of Nuh (a)—and by others as contemporary with the prophets Ibrahim (a) (Abraham) and Isma'il (a) (Ishmael). (thou hast authority), either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness. Moreover, some other kings of Yemen are also identified with Dhu l-Qarnayn, including Tubba' al-Aqran, the son of Shammir Yar'ash, Sa'b b. Harith, or Sa'b b. Hammal, or Sa'b b. Dhi Yazan, a son of Wa'il b. Himyar. Dhu al-Hijjah translation in English-Arabic dictionary. He was the one who provided … The main reason for the identification was that Alexander was historically known as a king who conquered different parts of the world, and it seemed that Dhu l-Qarnayn in the Qur'an also conquered different parts of the world. Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: near it he found a people: We said: "O Zul-qarnain! The Syriac manuscripts were translated into English in 1889 by E. A. Wallis Budge. Others believed that he was not a prophet; rather he was a righteous person and a just king. The story of Dhu al-Qarnayn is related in Surah 18 of the Quran, al-Kahf ("The Cave"). "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." Dhul-Qarnayn or Zulqarnayn, (Arabic: ذو القرنين‎ ḏū al-qarnayn), "he of the two horns", appears in Surah 18 verses 83-98 of the Qur'an as a figure empowered by Allah to erect a wall between mankind and Gog and Magog, the representation of chaos. Dhul Qarnain was a righteous and just king, who traveled the lands from West to East. [2], Early Muslim commentators and historians assimilated Dhu al-Qarnayn to several figures, among them Alexander the Macedonian, the Parthian king Kisrounis,[3] the South-Arabian Himyarite king Sa'b Dhu Marathid, and the North-Arabian Lakhmid king al-Mundhir ibn Imru al-Qays. In recent periods, some people identified Dhu l-Qarnayn with Cyrus the Great (reign: 530BC-590BC). The story of Dhul-Qarnayn (in Arabic ذو القرنين, literally "The Two-Horned One", also transliterated as Zul-Qarnain or Zulqarnain) is found in the 18th Surah of the Qur'an, al-Kahf (the Cave). Before that, in a dream by the prophet Danial, a ram with two horns appears which is referred to in Hebrew as "קרנים" (qarnim). The verses of the chapter reproduced below show Dhu al-Qarnayn traveling first to the Western edge of the world 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: A minority[citation needed] of Muslim commentators argue 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. 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. And on that day we shall let some of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep mountain sides, he said, "Blow (with your bellows)" then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said: "Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead. According to Muslim accounts, this chapter was revealed to Muhammad when his tribe, Quraysh, sent two men to discover whether the Jews, with their superior knowledge of the scriptures, could advise them on whether Muhammad was a true prophet of God. Dhul-Qarnayn motivates the people to help themselves rather than allowing them to accept a handout. He said: "That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). Sign in to disable ALL ads. Thus, "Dhu l-Qarnayn" is used in Persian poetry as referring to Alexander the Great. ", "But whoever believes, and works righteousness, he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as we order it by our command. In addition to Cyrus, other Persian kings have also been suggested as possible candidates for the identification of Dhu l-Qarnayn, such as Fereydun, Xerxes I, and Darius III. In fact, in all these languages it implies power and glory. Some people believed that he was a prophet, though he was not sent by God to guide people. According to an old belief, he is the same as Alexander the Great (reign: 356BC-323BC). [10] Modern Islamic apocalyptic writers, holding to a literal reading, put forward various explanations for the absence of the wall from the modern world, some saying that Gog and Magog were the Mongols and that the wall is now gone, others that both the wall and Gog and Magog are present but invisible. A number of different views—amounting to 20—have been developed about why Dhu l-Qarnayn was called so. Ghazali's version later made its way into the Thousand and One Nights. (He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him. This is simply false. Those whose eyes were hoodwinked from My reminder, and who could not bear to hear. The view was reflected in other Islamic sources as well. : "He of the Two Horns"), also spelled Zu al-Qarnayn, appears in the Quran, Surah Al-Kahf (18), Ayahs 83-101 as one who travels to east and west and erects a wall between mankind and Gog and Magog (called Ya'juj and Ma'juj). Sentient Creation. This is consistent with the title, "Dhu l-Qarnayn" (holder of two horns). ", ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib ibn Hashim, Current Ummah of Islam (Ummah of Muhammad), Safety of high-energy particle collision experiments, Existential risk from artificial intelligence, Self-Indication Assumption Doomsday argument rebuttal, Self-referencing doomsday argument rebuttal, List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events, List of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dhu_al-Qarnayn&oldid=991352230, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2019, Wikipedia articles with TDVİA identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story. - till, when he had made it a fire, he said: "Bring me molten copper to pour thereon.". 'Dhu'l Qarnayn' as History In the Islamic tradition of scholarship, it is widely acknowledged that the Qur'anic theme of 'Dhu'l Qarnayn' has multiple layers of meanings- as of course, a narrative of 'history'; as a metaphor of ideal statecraft/just ruler-ship and as 'prophecy'. In his travel to the northern Persia, Cyrus was asked by people there to construct an iron dam over the Darial Gorge, located in the Caucasus Mountains. The view has been rejected because the similarity between the names of the kings of Yemen and Dhu l-Qarnayn is not sufficient for the identification. So (it was). In recent sources, and in particular, in contemporary scholarships, the views were informed by archeological and linguistic findings as well as some ancient sources of history. The legend allegedly went through much further elaboration in subsequent centuries before eventually finding its way into the Quran through a Syrian version. In order to solve some discrepancies with regard to Dhu l-Qarnayn, Ibn Kathir believed that there were people known as Alexander and Dhu l-Qarnayn, tracing the errors of earlier authors to regarding these two persons as identical. Listen to the audio pronunciation of Dhul-Qarnayn on pronouncekiwi. On this view, Gog and Magog refer to the Moguls. The king traveled eastwards and westwards. Cyrus's travels to the west to conquer the capital of Lydia and to the east to combat Bedouin tribes agree with Dhu l-Qarnayn's travels westwards and eastwards. He said: "Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard-of (before). [7]:16, 18-19, In modern times, many Muslim scholars have argued in favour of Dhu al-Qarnayn being actually Cyrus the Great, the founder of the first Persian Empire. The view was first developed by western scholars in the middle of the 13th/19th century, although it found its way among Persian readers about 60 years later through a different route. Moreover, the kings did not conquer the world, and none of them constructed an iron dam. Dhul-Qarneyn means having two horns in the head. [1] Elsewhere the Quran tells how the end of the world would be signaled by the release of Gog and Magog from behind the wall, and other apocalyptic writings report their destruction by God in a single night would usher in the Day of Resurrection (Yawm al-Qiyāmah). Thus, the story of Dhul-Qarnain holds both a historical and spiritual significance and hence, warrants particular focus in research. Moreover, the main text of the Book of Daniel talks about "kings", rather than the "king", of Persis and Medes, and so, it does not apply to one and the same person. The passage from the tafsir can be found in section 1.1 of the article (Dhul-Qarnayn in early Islamic literature). Furthermore, Cyrus' conquests[7]:16 also align with the account of Dhu al-Qarnayn as Cyrus was also a great King who expanded his empire in three directions, excluding the South. Yet, taking into consideration the attributes of Dhul-Qarnayn that the Quran has mentioned, one can conclude that Dhul-Qarnayn was actually Cyrus the Great. 2 – Dhu’l-Qarnayn who is mentioned in the Qur’aan is not Alexander the Macedonian or Greek who built Alexandria. [32][33] According to Wahb ibn Munabbih, as quoted by Ibn Hisham,[34] King Ṣaʿb was a conqueror who was given the epithet Dhu al-Qarnayn after meeting al-Khidr in Jerusalem. Dhul-Qarnayn is regarded by some Muslims as a prophet, while other say that he was "a friend of God". Opponents of the view have cast doubts on all the above evidence for the view. : "He of the Two Horns"), appears in Quran 18:83-101 as one who travels to … Pronunciation of Dhul-Qadah with 2 audio pronunciations, 1 synonym, 3 translations and more for Dhul-Qadah. Dhu l-Qarnayn (Arabic: ذوالقَرنَین) is the title of a character mentioned in the Qur'an. We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road. Among contemporary Sunni exegetes, Sayyid Qutb referred to Dhu l-Qarnayn only as Dhu l-Qarnayn and did not try to identify him, because, he believed, there is no assuring source at our disposal except the Qur'an, and exegetical views are mixed with myths and Isra'iliyyat.