Dhu al-Qarnayn

Dhu al-Qarnayn, (Arabic: ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْن, romanized: Dhū l-Qarnayn, IPA: [ðuː‿l.qarˈnajn]; lit. "The Two-Horned One") appears in the Qur'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 and Gog and Magog (Arabic: يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ, romanized: Yaʾjūj wa-Maʾjūj).^[1] Elsewhere, the Qur'an tells how the end of the world will be signaled by the release of Gog and Magog from behind the barrier. Other apocalyptic writings predict that their destruction by God in a single night will usher in the Day of Resurrection (Arabic: یوم القيامة, romanized: Yawm al-Qiyāmah).^[2]

Dhu al-Qarnayn has most popularly been identified by Western and traditional Muslim scholars as Alexander the Great.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Historically, some tradition has parted from this identification^[7]^[8] in favor of others,^[9] like the pre-Islamic Arabian kings Sa'b Dhu Marathid^[10]^[11] or al-Mundhir ibn Imru al-Qays.^[9] Cyrus the Great has also gained popularity among modern Muslim commentators.^[4]

^ Netton 2006, p. 72.
^ Cook 2005, p. 8,10.
^ Watt 1960–2007: "It is generally agreed both by Muslim commentators and modéra [sic] occidental scholars that Dhu ’l-Ḳarnayn [...] is to be identified with Alexander the Great." Cook 2013: "[...] Dhū al-Qarnayn (usually identified with Alexander the Great) [...]".
^ ^a ^b Maududi, Syed Abul Ala. Tafhim al-Qur'an. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019. 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...
^ Bietenholz 1994, pp. 122–123.
^ Stoneman 2003, p. 3.
^ Hämeen-Anttila, Jaakko (17 April 2018). Khwadāynāmag The Middle Persian Book of Kings. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-27764-9. Many Mediaeval scholars argued against the identification, though. Cf., e.g., the discussion in al-Maqrizi, Khabar §§212-232.
^ Maqrīzī, Aḥmad Ibn-ʿAlī al-; Hämeen-Anttila, Jaakko (2018). Al-Maqrīzī's al-Ḫabar ʻan al-bašar: vol. V, section 4: Persia and its kings, part I. Bibliotheca Maqriziana Opera maiora. Leiden Boston: Brill. pp. 279–281. ISBN 978-90-04-35599-6.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Cottrell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Wheeler, Brannon M.; Wheeler, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair of Comparative Religion Brannon M. (2002). Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis. Psychology Press. pp. 16–19. ISBN 9780700716036. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024. 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.
^ Zadeh, Travis (28 February 2017). Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the 'Abbasid Empire. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-1-78673-131-9. 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.

[FOOTNOTENetton200672-1] Netton 2006, p. 72.

[FOOTNOTECook20058,10-2] Cook 2005, p. 8,10.

[3] Watt 1960–2007: "It is generally agreed both by Muslim commentators and modéra [sic] occidental scholars that Dhu ’l-Ḳarnayn [...] is to be identified with Alexander the Great." Cook 2013: "[...] Dhū al-Qarnayn (usually identified with Alexander the Great) [...]".

[:02-4] Maududi, Syed Abul Ala. Tafhim al-Qur'an. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019. 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...

[FOOTNOTEBietenholz1994122–123-5] Bietenholz 1994, pp. 122–123.

[FOOTNOTEStoneman20033-6] Stoneman 2003, p. 3.

[7] Hämeen-Anttila, Jaakko (17 April 2018). Khwadāynāmag The Middle Persian Book of Kings. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-27764-9. Many Mediaeval scholars argued against the identification, though. Cf., e.g., the discussion in al-Maqrizi, Khabar §§212-232.

[8] Maqrīzī, Aḥmad Ibn-ʿAlī al-; Hämeen-Anttila, Jaakko (2018). Al-Maqrīzī's al-Ḫabar ʻan al-bašar: vol. V, section 4: Persia and its kings, part I. Bibliotheca Maqriziana Opera maiora. Leiden Boston: Brill. pp. 279–281. ISBN 978-90-04-35599-6.

[Cottrell-9] Cite error: The named reference Cottrell was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:13-10] Wheeler, Brannon M.; Wheeler, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Chair of Comparative Religion Brannon M. (2002). Moses in the Quran and Islamic Exegesis. Psychology Press. pp. 16–19. ISBN 9780700716036. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024. 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.

[11] Zadeh, Travis (28 February 2017). Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the 'Abbasid Empire. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-1-78673-131-9. 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.

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