Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 83

(Ayah 83) ➊ { وَ يَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ عَنْ ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ:} The story of Dhul-Qarnayn is connected to the story of Musa (peace be upon him) with the conjunction "waaw." Al-Biqa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: In the story of Musa (peace be upon him) with Khidr (peace be upon him), journeys for the acquisition of knowledge were mentioned, and in the story of Dhul-Qarnayn, journeys for striving in the path of Allah are mentioned. Since knowledge is the foundation of action, its mention came first. Another relevance is that after mentioning the arrogance of the man with two gardens and Iblis and their outcomes, the mention is made of a resolute prophet like Musa (peace be upon him), who, despite his high rank, and a great king like Dhul-Qarnayn, who had dominion over the east and west, were both free from all forms of pride and arrogance and adopted utmost humility, so that people may follow in their footsteps.

➋ Who was Dhul-Qarnayn, from which country was he, there is no mention of this in the Qur'an and Hadith. However, it is clear that the Arabs were familiar with him. He is also mentioned in their poetry, which is why they asked about him, but from among the past conquering rulers, no specific identification is made, which is why there is much difference of opinion among the commentators regarding him. Al-Alusi (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Abu Rayhan al-Biruni mentioned in his book {’’ اَلْآثَارُ الْبَاقِيَةُ عَنِ الْقُرُوْنِ الْخَالِيَةِ ‘‘} that Dhul-Qarnayn is (from Yemen) Abu Karb Himyari, being his descendant, dominion over the east and west, and being Muslim, Tubba' Yamani expressed pride in his poetry, which is quoted in Ruh al-Ma'ani. Al-Biruni wrote that one piece of evidence for this view is that the titles of the kings of Yemen began with the word "Dhu," such as Dhu Nuwas and Dhu Yazan, etc. Some have identified him as the Greek conqueror Alexander of Macedonia, such as Allama Qasimi (may Allah have mercy on him) and others, while many commentators, such as Ibn Qayyim, Tantawi, and Alusi, have strongly refuted this, because this Alexander was a student of Aristotle and an idolater, whereas the Dhul-Qarnayn mentioned in the Qur'an was a believer, monotheist, and God-fearing. A commentator from the subcontinent tried to apply the qualities mentioned in the Qur'an about Dhul-Qarnayn to the Persian king Cyrus, and a later person, using history and the Bible, declared Cyrus to be the most deserving of being identified as Dhul-Qarnayn.

In Ashraf al-Hawashi, it is mentioned that according to some, he was another king who was a contemporary of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), and by the supplication of Ibrahim (peace be upon him), Allah granted him extraordinary means and resources. His minister was Khidr, which is why his story is mentioned alongside that of Khidr. Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) in Fath al-Bari and Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) in his Tafsir preferred this view. Ibn Kathir also stated his name as Iskandar. These are the statements of the great scholars or reformers whose sources are pre-Islamic poetry, which has no chain of transmission, or pre-Christian era history, whose historians' reliability is neither known from trustworthy sources nor are they reliable, or ancient relics whose extinct languages have been interpreted by European disbelievers based on conjecture, which are in no way trustworthy, or the Bible, whose statements (which are neither in accordance with nor contrary to the Qur'an and Hadith) we, according to the statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), can neither affirm as true nor false. Then how can one have certainty about such things!? The irony is that the newer the commentator, the more he piles up new things from ancient history, relics, pre-Islamic poetry, and statements from the Bible, the greater he is considered, whereas none of these provide certainty. The reality is that the Qur'an does not narrate any story as history, but highlights those aspects from which lessons and admonition can be drawn. According to the Qur'an, Dhul-Qarnayn was a righteous servant of Allah who, through striving in the path of Allah, made Allah's religion dominant from east to west, established peace in his protected (subordinate) lands, and made excellent arrangements to protect them from enemies. If we cannot identify him with certainty from any reliable source or do not know his detailed circumstances, it does not affect the purpose and intent of the Qur'an. After all, how many prophets are there whose names are not mentioned in the Qur'an and Hadith? See Surah al-Mu'min (78). So, just because Allah has said that there has been a warner in every nation, will we waste time in futile efforts to identify the names of prophets who came to India, China, Russia, Europe, and Africa from unreliable sources, just so people will say, "Wow! What a discovery"?

➌ Various reasons have been given for this title of Dhul-Qarnayn, because "qarn" has several meanings: horn, edge, braid of hair. "The one with two horns" refers to a brave man, because the Arabs call a brave man "kabsh," as a ram strikes with its horns. The second reason is that his crown had two horns on it. The third is that he reached both the eastern and western edges of the earth. The fourth is that he had two braids of hair on his head. All four of these could simultaneously be reasons for the name.

➍ {قُلْ سَاَتْلُوْا عَلَيْكُمْ مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا : ’’ ذِكْرًا ‘‘} Because of the tanween, the translation is "some mention," meaning not his entire history but some mention will be made from which you may take admonition and lesson.