in Qur'an: Who was Zul-Qarnain?
Zul-Qarnain story was narrated in Qur'an by series of verses (18:83-98).
Here let me cite a few verses related to Zul-qarnain story:
They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say "I will rehearse to you something
of his story." Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave
him the ways and means to all ends.
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 !
Thou hast authority either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness."
Until, when he came to the rising of the Sun, he found it rising on a
people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the Sun.
They said: "O Zul-qarnain ! The Gog and magog (people) do great mischief
on earth, shall we then render thee tribute in order that thou mightiest
erect a barrier between us and them?"
to ponder: If Allah did not consider the earth FLAT how in the world He
sent Zul-qarnain to the (end of the world) place where sun was setting?
Or. To the place where sun was rising? Does anybody need to reach
a setting or rising place to observe sun-set or sun-rise?
Islamic thinkers and intellectuals consider that the said Zul-Quarnain
mentined in Quran is the Greek conqueror Alexander the great. Here
are some sources from where Islamic thinkers perhaps got this idea of
Quranic Zul-qarniain as Alexander the great. The famous Quranic translator
maulana A. Yousuf Ali gave a long story as Appendix Vll (titled: Who was
Zulqarnain; page 760-765) detailing the facts and figures why most Islamic
scholars including himself considered very strongly that, Quranic Zulqarnain
was nobody but Alexander the Great. In this long Appendix, maulana yousuf
Ali tried to justify why he thought that the person in Quran by the name
of Zul-qarnain was nobody but Alexander the Great. Readers please see
for yourself the above mentioned appendix in the Maulana Yousuf ali's
Translated Quran. Because, here in this essay I will only illustrate some
important quotations (supporting Maulana Yousuf ali's assertion) from
this Appendix. Readers please note that, Maulana Yousuf ali's
quotations are in italics:
Yousuf Ali stated, "I have not the least doubt that Zul-qarnain
is meant to be ALEXANDER THE GREAT,
the historic Alexander, and not the legendary Alexander,
of whom more presently. My first appointment after graduation was
that of lecturer in Greek history. I have studied the details of Alexander's
extraordinary personality in Greek historians as well as in modern writers,
and have since visited most of the localities connected with his brief
but brilliant career."
is the meaning of the name Zul-qarnain? According to Maulana Yousuf
Ali-"Lord of the two Qarns (horn). And other meanings may be
applicable as implying: (1) is a man or a great king; (2) Lord of East
and West, Lord of wide territory or of two kingdoms; (3) Lord of two crests
on his diadem, typifying two kingdoms , or rank superior to that of an
ordinary king; (4) Lord of more than one Epoch-one whose power and
influence extend far beyond his lifetime."
Yousuf Ali stated, "If we accept the popular identification
of Zulqarnain with Alexander, all the three
letter designations would be applicable to
him, as he was the Lord of the West and the East, Lord of the
Greek states united for the first time (Hellenic Captain-General) and
of the widely-extended Persian Dominion which included all Western Asia,
Egypt, central Asia, Afghanistan, and the Punjab. He was represented on
his coins with two horns on his head: considered himself a son of Jupiter
Amon (who had the two horns of ram), with a divine mission."
the generality of the world of Islam have accepted Alexander the Great
as the one meant by the epithet Zul-qarnain. But some of our Ulama have
raised doubts about it and made other suggestions: (1) An earlier pre-historic
king contemporary with Abraham, because they say Zul-qarnain was a man
of faith (Quran-18:88-98) while Alexander the Great was a pagan
and believed in Grecian Gods."
suggestion was made that, Quranic Zul-qarnain was an ancient king of Persia.
But there is nothing in our literature to suggest that Zul-qarnain came
to any such ignominious end. If it is argued that it was some old
prehistoric Persian king who built the iron gates (Quran:18:96) to keep
the Gog and magog tribes (Quran:18:94), this is no identification at all.
Another suggestion made is that it was some old prehistoric Himyarite
king from Yemen, about whom nothing else is known. An identification
with a supposed pre-historic king, about whom nothing is known, is no
identification at all."
question of Yajuj and majuj (Gog and Magog) and the iron barrier built
to keep them out is of some interest. It is practically agreed that they
were the wild tribes of Central Asia (Manchus and Mongols) which have
made inroads on settled kingdoms and Empires at various stages of the
Barrier in the text must have been more in the nature of iron gates then
a iron wall. Two iron gates, geographically far apart, have been suggested
in the alternative. Sometimes they have been mixed up by writers not strong
in geography. Both of them have local association with the name of Alexander
the great. Both are near a town Derbend, and have borne the name
of bab-ul-hadid (Arabic word for iron gate). The best known iron gate
in modern times is at the town and seaport of derbend in the middle of
the western coast of the Caspian Sea. In the early days, when Muslims
spread to all parts of the world, local legends were started by ignorant
people connecting the places they knew with places referred to in the
We now come to the "iron gate" which
corresponds exactly to the Quranic description, and has the
best claim to be connected with Alexander's story. It is near another
Derbend in Central asia, Hissar District, about 150 miles south-east of
Bukhara. There is no iron gate there now, but there was one in 7th
century when the Chinese traveler Hiouen Tsiang saw it on his journey
to India. He saw two folding gates cased with iron and hung with bells.
Near by is a lake named Iskandar Kul, connecting the locality
with Alexander the Great. We know from history that Alexander,
after his conquest of Persia and before his journey to India, visited
Sogdiana (Bukara) maracanda (Samarqand). We also know from Muqaddasi,
the Arab traveler and geographer, who wrote about A.H. 375 (A.D. 985-6)
the Abbasi Khalifa Wathiq (842-846 A.D.) sent out a mission to Central
asia to report on this iron gate. They found the defile 150 yards
wide: on two jambs made with bricks of iron welded together with molten
lead, were hung two huge Gates, which are kept closed. NOTHING
COULD CORRESPOND MORE EXACTLY WITH THE DESCRIPTION IN HOLY QURA'N (18:
then the Barrier (in Quran:18:95-98) refers to the Iron gate near Bukhara,
we are able to proceed to a consideration of the Gog and Magog people
with some confidence. They were the Mongol tribes on the other
side of the Barrier, while the industrious men who did not understand
Zul-qarnain's language were the turks, with their agglutinative language,
so different from the languages then spoken in Western Asia. This
Barrier served its purpose for the time being. We need not bother
about the legends of Gog and Magog people. They were reputed to be Giants,
and two tiny hills in flat Cambridgeshire are derisively called the Gog
and Magog hills. In the Alexander legends of medieval Europe, Gog and
magog are said to have come with 400,000 men to the help of Porus
whom Alexander defeated, and to have fled after that defeat. They fled
to the mountains, and Alexander built a wall with brass gates to prevent
their irruption (Paul Meyer, Alexander le Grand dans la literature fraqaise
du Moyen age: Paris, 1886; Vol.2, pp:386-389)."
Alexander's westward journey Maulana Yousuf Ali writes:
such point in the mention of Alexander's westward journey (Quran:18:86): "He saw the sun set in a piece of murky water which is described as
a spring. Most commentators have understood the "spring" to be the
sea, and takes the "murky water" to be the dark blue water--..to
the west of the town of Lychnis is a lake 170 square miles in area fed
by underground springs that issue through limestone rocks and give out
murky water. Both town and lake is now called Ochrida, about 50 miles
west of Monastir. The water is so dark that the river which forms the
outlet of the lake to the north is called the Black Drin. Looking
at the Sun-set from the Town, the observer would see the sun set in a
pool of murky water (Quran-18:86). History tell us that, it was a question
before the boy King Alexander-the dreamy, impulsive, fearless rider,
whether he would put the barbarous Illyriccans to the sword or show them
mercy. He showed true discrimination and statesmanship. He
punished the guilty and showed kindness to the innocent, and
thus consolidated his power in the west. This I (Yousuf Ali) construe
to be the meaning of verses (18:86-87); otherwise these verses do not
seem to be perfectly clear. Another point may be noted. Three episodes
mentioned are: (1) journey to the west, (2) the journey
to the east, (3) and journey to the "Iron Gate":
The journey to the west I have just explained. The journey to the east
was to the Persian Empire. Here he found a people who lived in the open
and wore little clothing. This might apply to people
who lived in an inland place in the latitude of Persepolis or Multan.
He left them alone as they were (Quran:18:91)."
Yousuf Ali was an educated Mullah who frequently gave a very sensible/modern
explanation to Quranic Ayats (unlike other Madrasa educated Mullah) and
by doing that he put Quranic diviness in clear jeopardy. Therefore, to
save Quranic diviness, he at the same time made some incongruous arguments
to save Allah's integrity. Here in this explanation of Quranic Folklore
story about Alexander he created very logical historical background but
by doing this he put Allah in a precarious situation because of the fact
that Alexander was not a believer as Quran postulated by various Ayats.
So to save Allah's side, Maulana erected some ludicrous logic:
was a focus of Christian and Jewish learning for some centuries. The Christians
also made Alexander a saint. The Jews carried the Alexander cycle into
the east. Our Persian poet Jami (A,H. 535-599, A.D. 1141-1203) worked
it up into his epic the Iskandar-nama. He is careful to show
the historical or semihistorical and the ethical parts separately. The
one relates to action or exploits (Iqbal) and the other to wisdom (Khirad).
He had the advantage of Quran's story before him. The story mentions
three historical episodes incidentally, but draws our attention to matters
of the weightiest spiritual significance, and that is the chief thing
to note in the story. All that is known about Alexander the Great shows
that he was a man of lofty ideals. He died over three centuries before
the time of Jesus, but that does not mean that he was not a man of faith,
for God revealed Himself to men of all nations in all ages. Alexander
was an disciple of philosopher Aristotle, noted for his pursuit of sound
Truth in all departments of thought. "
question to all Islamists of the opposing group who do not consider Zul-qarnain
as the Alexander the great: How can you deny all these (above) arguments
by Maulana Yousuf Ali? Apologists are in real problem with this
simulation of Zul-qarnain story because ancient history does not give
us any such character which fits with Zul-qarnain story in Quran. Zul-qarnain
story exactly fits with the historical facts of the Alexander the
Great. But Mullahs are in real problem to accept Alexander as Zul-qarnain,
as because, Alexander was a pagan. Interestingly, if the
Alexander was a believer or at least somebody from any of the three monotheistic
religions of the world, Mullahs would immediately jump to the conclusion
that-Zul-qarnain is no one but Alexander the Great. Readers
should ponder-why Quranic Zul-qarnain story matches 100% with the story
of Alexander the Great? Could it be a mere co-incidence?
Muslims (especially Bangladeshi) who experienced "Waz-Mehfil" of
a half-educated, or Madrasha (Taliban Factory) educated maulana-have
definitely enjoyed the superstitious and mythological description of "Yajuj
and majuj" (of this fanciful Zul-qarnain story) as the terrible
Giants who will erupt from some parts of Syria and will destroy this beautiful
world of Islam. Then it is the Prophet Issa (Jesus Christ) who will
come again to fight this "Yajuj and majuj" to save the world.
This colorful superstitious story is believed by hundreds of millions
of blind-faith Muslims, just the way they believe that Qur'an is the
word of Allah. However, this historical statement in Qur'an is seriously
erroneous. Because the ancient history tells us that Alexander was a licentious,
belligerent, idolatrous, and claimed to be the son of Amun, the God of
Egypt. And Qur'an amazingly stated that, the Alexander was the one who
reached the west point of flat earth (?), to a end point where sun set
down in a well of muddy water, and also he reached the point of east end
of the earth where he saw sun was rising. Several years ago, America's
PBS telecast a multi-part series on Alexander the Great. In one episode,
it was shown that two Qur'anic scholars from Middle East (Arab) read a
passage on Alexander. He was described in Qur'an as a demon with two horns
who caused much destruction on earth. The commentator, an English professor,
remarked that Alexander's disheveled hairdo and the shape of his head
indeed portray him as a person with two horns. Perhaps it was a folklore
that this brute Alexander--a devil with two horns had passed through a
big chunk of Arab land. Still now, people can visit some remote parts
of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, NWFP of Pakistan, and Punjab and hear
some folk melodies in which a man name Eskander or Sikander is glorified
as a fierce fighter. The bottom line is that Qur'an has obviously borrowed
this folklore story that was prevailing in Arab peninsula.
the one I just described above, there are many stories in the Quran which
were taken from: local folklore, the fanciful details of Jewish writers,
local stories from Arab heretical Christians, mythological stories from
Zoarostrians who apparently got from Hindu mythology. Here are some examples
of folklore which Quranic author obviously borrowed from various sources:
Story of Azazil
took this name "Azazil" from Jews who call the evil spirit by the
same name. But the story of Azazil was taken from Zoroastrian book of
5. Let us see the comparison of the two:
(Muslim) version of the story: Allah created Azazil, who
in the seventh hell worshiped the Almighty for a thousand years; he then
ascended, spending a similar term at each stage, till he reached the earth.
Elsewhere we read that the Devil (Azazil) stayed three thousand years
close by the gate of the paradise, with hostile intentions against Adam
and Eve, of whom he entertained the utmost jealousy.
version of the story: He remained in the abyss, dark and
ignorant, there to commit hurt and injury, and such mischief and darkness
is the place that they term the dark region. Ormazed (Zoarostrian name
of God), who knew everything was aware of Ahriman's (evil) existence
and designs. Both remained thus for 3000 years, without change or action.
The evil spirit was ignorant of Ormazed's existence; but eventually
rising out of the pit, at least behind the light of Ormazed; then filled
with hostility and envy, he set to work to destroy.
folklore stories which I have no scope to describe here in this essay
are: (a) Legend of the Companions of the cave (Quran-18:8-25), (b) The
story of Harut and Marut (Quran-2:96), (c) Origin of "The Balance"
(in Quran: 7: 7-8; 21: 48). I will try to bring them in my future
apologists will always attempt to defend Quranic flaws by following ridiculous
and incogitant arguments: (a) They will blame the translation, (b) will
say human being can not understand Allah's Qudraat, (c) Quran has to
be taken (when there is serious flaws) as Allegory/parable, (d) Quranic
verses (which has flaws) are only a poetry and not to be taken as real,
or (e) at least will say "mission impossible", Or, (f) will attack
the messenger leaving messages by saying Mr. X or Y is not an intellectual
(high quality enough) to comment on Holy Quran-even though Allah repeatedly
said: "I (Allah) made the Quran in simple Arabic so that
ordinary Arabs can understand it."
Quran-translated by Mauolana Yousuf Ali
Quran-translated by Maoulana Mahiuddin Khan