سُوْرَةُ الْكَهْفِ
Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 83
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَن ذِى ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا ﴿83﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnain. Say: "I shall recite to you something of his story."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ
wayasalūnaka
And they ask you
عَن
ʿan
about
ذِى
dhī
Dhul-qarnain
ٱلْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ
l-qarnayni
Dhul-qarnain
قُلْ
qul
Say
سَأَتْلُوا۟
sa-atlū
I will recite
عَلَيْكُم
ʿalaykum
to you
مِّنْهُ
min'hu
about him
ذِكْرًا
dhik'ran
a remembrance
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
83. 1. This is the answer to the third question of the polytheists, which they had asked the Prophet ﷺ at the suggestion of the Jews, regarding Dhul-Qarnayn. The literal meaning of Dhul-Qarnayn is "the one with two horns." This name was given either because he actually had two horns on his head, or because he reached both the eastern and western edges of the world and witnessed the "qarn" (ray) of the sun. Some say that he had two locks of hair on his head, as "qarn" also means a lock of hair, i.e., the one with two locks, two braids, or two tresses. The ancient commentators generally identified him as Alexander the Roman, whose conquests extended to both the east and the west. (For details, see the commentary "Tarjuman al-Qur'an").
