18.Surah Al Kahf
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ
عَن ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ...
18: 83. They ask thee concerning Dhul al Qarnayn.
C2428. Literally, "the Two-horned one", the King with the Two Horns, or the Lord of the Two Epochs.
Who was he?
In what age, and where did he live?
The Quran gives us no material on which we can base a positive answer. Nor is it necessary to find an answer, as the story is treated as a Parable.
Popular opinion identifies Dhul al Qarnayn with Alexander the Great.
An alternative suggestion is an ancient Persian king, or a pre-historic Himyarite King.
Dhul al Qarnayn was a most powerful king, but it was Allah, Who, in His universal Plan, gave him power and provided him with the ways and means for his great work.
His sway extended over East and West, and over people of diverse civilisations. He was just and righteous, not selfish or grasping. He protected the weak and punished the unlawful and the turbulent.
Three of his expeditions are described in the text, each embodying a great ethical idea involved in the possession of kingship or power.
... قُلْ سَأَتْلُو عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا ﴿٨٣﴾
Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story."
إِنَّا
مَكَّنَّا لَهُ
فِي الْأَرْضِ
وَآتَيْنَاهُ
مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ
سَبَبًا ﴿٨٤﴾
18: 84. Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.
C2429. Great was his power and great were his opportunities ("ways and means"), which he used for justice and righteousness.
But he recognised that his power and opportunities were given to him as a trust by Allah. He had faith, and did not forget Allah.
18: 85. One (such) way he followed,
Asad’s Version:
18:83 [al-Kahf, Cave Mecca 69]
Asad AND THEY will ask thee about the Two-Horned One. Say: "I will convey unto you something by which he ought to be remembered." 81
Ali They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, "I will rehearse to you something
of his story."
Yuksel They ask you about the one who is from Two Eras, say, "I will recite to you a memory from him."
Wa
Yas'alūnaka
`An
Dhī
Al-Qarnayni
ۖ
Qul
Sa'atlū
`Alaykum
Minhu Dhikrāan
18:84
Asad Behold, We established him securely on earth, and endowed him with [the knowledge of] the
right means to achieve anything [that he might set out to achieve];
Ali Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.
Yuksel We had facilitated for him in the land, and We had given him the means of everything.
Asad 'Innā Makkannā Lahu Fī Al-'Arđi Wa 'Ātaynāhu Min Kulli Shay'in Sababāan
(18:85)
Asad and so he chose the right means [in whatever he did]."
Ali One
[such] way he followed,
Fa'atba`a Sababāan
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18:86
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[[ Asad’s notes - 81 Lit., "I will convey unto you a remembrance [or "mention"] of him" - i.e., something that is worthy of remembrance and mention: which, I believe, is an allusion to the parabolic character of the
subsequent story and the fact that is confined, like the preceding parable of Moses and the unknown sage,
to a few fundamental, spiritual truths. - The epithet Dhu'l-Qarnayn signifies "the Two-Horned One" or "He of the Two Epochs", since the noun qarn has the meaning of "horn" as well as of "generation"
or "epoch" or "age" or "century". The classical commentators incline to the first of these meanings ("the Two-Horned"); and in this they appear to have been influenced by the ancient Middle-Eastern imagery of "horns" as symbols of power and greatness, although the Qur'an itself does not offer any warrant for this interpretation. In fact, the term qarn (and its plural qurun) occurs in the Qur'an - apart from the combination Dhu'l-Qarnayn appearing inverses 83, 86 and 94 of this surah - twenty times: and each time it has the meaning of "generation" in the sense of people belonging to one particular epoch or civilization. However, since the allegory of Dhu'l-Qarnayn is meant to
illustrate the qualities of a powerful and just ruler, it is possible to assume that this designation is an echo of the above-mentioned ancient symbolism, which - being familiar to the Arabs from very
early times - had acquired idiomatic currency in their language long before the advent of Islam.
Within the context of our Qur'anic allegory, the "two horns" may be taken to denote the two sources of
power with which Dhu'l-Qarnayn is said to have been endowed: namely, the worldly might and prestige of kingship as well as the spiritual strength resulting from his faith in God. This last point is
extremely important - for it is precisely the Qur'anic stress on his faith in God that makes it
impossible to identify Dhu '1-Qarnayn, as most of the commentators do, with Alexander the Great (who is represented on some of his coins with two horns on his head) or with one or another of the pre-Islamic, Himyaritic kings of Yemen. All those historic personages were pagans and worshipped a plurality of deities as a matter of course, whereas our Dhu '1-Qarnayn is depicted as a firm believer in the One God: indeed, it is this aspect of his personality that provides the innermost reason of the Qur'anic allegory. We must, therefore, conclude that the latter has nothing to do with history or even legend, and that its sole purport is a parabolic discourse on faith and ethics, with specific reference to the problem of worldly power (see the concluding passage in the introductory note to this surah).
82 According to Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, 'Ikrimah, Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak (all of
them
quoted by Ibn Kathir), the term sabab - lit., "a means to achieve [anything]" - denotes, in this
context, the knowledge of the right means for the achievement of a particular end.
83 Lit., "he followed [the right] means": i.e., he never employed wrong means to achieve even
a righteous goal.
-578-
84 I.e., the westernmost point of his expedition (Razi).
85 Or: "abundance of water" - which, according to many philologists (cf. Taj al-'Arus), is one of
the meanings of 'ayn (primarily denoting a "spring"). As for my rendering of the phrase "he
found it (wajadaha) setting...", etc., as "it appeared to him that it was setting", see Razi and
Ibn Kathir, both of whom point out that we have here a metaphor based on the common optical
illusion of the sun's "disappearing into the sea"; and Razi explains this, correctly, by the fact
that the earth is spherical. (It is interesting to note that, according to him, this explanation
was already advanced in the - now lost - Qur'an-commentary of Abu 'Ali al-Jubba'i, the famous
Mu'tazili scholar who died in 303 H., which corresponds to 915 or 916 of the Christian era.)
86 This divine permission to choose between two possible courses of action is not only a
metonymic
statement of the freedom of will accorded by God to man, but establishes also the important
legal
principle of istihsan (social or moral preference) open to a ruler or government in deciding as
to what might be conducive to the greatest good (maslahah) of the community as a whole: and
this
is the first "lesson" of the parable of Dhu'l-Qarnayn. ]]
18:87
He answered: "As for him who does wrong [unto others 87 ] - him shall we, in time, cause to
suffer; and thereupon he shall be referred to his Sustainer, and He will cause him to suffer
with unnameable suffering. 88
Qāla
'Ammā
Man
Žalama Fasawfa Nu`adhdhibuhu
Thumma
Yuraddu 'Ilá Rabbihi
Fayu`adhdhibuhu
`Adhābāan
Nukrāan
(18:88)
Asad But as for him who believes and does righteous deeds -
he will have the ultimate good [of the life to come] as his reward; and [as for us,] we shall
make binding on him [only] that which is easy to fulfill." 8 '
Yuksel "As for he who acknowledges and does good, then he will have the reward of goodness, and we will speak to him simply of our plan."
Wa
'Ammā
Man 'Āmana
Wa `Amila Şāliĥāan
Falahu
Jazā'an
Al-Ĥusná
ۖ
Wa
Sanaqūlu
Lahu
Min 'Amrinā
Yusrāan
18:89
And once again' he chose the right means [to achieve a right end].
Thumma 'Atba`a Sababāan
(18:90) [And then he
marched eastwards] till, when he came to the rising of the sun" he found that it was rising on a
people for whom We had provided no coverings against it:
Ĥattá
'Idhā
Balagha
Maţli`a
Ash-Shamsi
Wajadahā
Taţlu`u
`Alá Qawmin
Lam Naj`al
Lahum
Min
Dūnihā
Sitrāan
(18:91) thus [We had made them,
and thus he left them' 3 ]; and We did encompass with Our knowledge all that he had in mind.' 3
Kadhālika Wa Qad 'Aĥaţnā Bimā Ladayhi Khubrāan
18:92
And once again he chose the right means (to achieve a right end].
Thumma 'Atba`a Sababāan
(18:93) [And he marched
on] till, when he reached [a place] between the two mountain-barriers,' 4 he found beneath them
a people who could scarcely understand a word [of his language].
Ĥattá 'Idhā Balagha Bayna As-Saddayni Wajada Min Dūnihimā Qawmāan Lā Yakādūna Yafqahūna Qawlāa
18:94
They said: "O thou Two-Horned One! Behold, Gog and Magog' 5 are spoiling this land. May
we, then, pay unto thee a tribute on the understanding that thou wilt erect a barrier between us
and them?"
Qālū Yā Dhā Al-Qarnayni 'Inna Ya'jūja Wa Ma'jūja Mufsidūna Fī Al-'Arđi Fahal Naj`alu Laka Kharjāan `Alá 'An Taj`ala Baynanā Wa Baynahum Saddāan
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[[87 Cf. 11:117 and the corresponding note 149.
88 I.e., in the hereafter - implying that nothing that pertains to the life to come could ever be
imagined or defined in terms of human experience.
89 Since righteous behaviour is the norm expected of man, the laws relating thereto must not be
too demanding - which is another lesson to be drawn from this parable.
90 For this rendering of the particle thumma, see surah 6, note 3 1 .
91 I.e., the easternmost point of his expedition (similar to the expression "the setting of the
sun" in verse 86).
92 This is Razi's interpretation of the isolated expression kadhalika ("thus" or "thus it was")
occurring here. It obviously relates to the primitive, natural state of those people who needed
no clothes to protect them from the sun, and to the (implied) fact that Dhu'l-Qarnayn left them
as he had found them, being mindful not to upset their mode of life and thus to cause them misery. 93 Lit., "all that was with him" - i.e., his resolve not to "corrupt [or "change"] God's creation"
(cf. the second half of my note 141 on 4:119)- which, I believe, is a further ethical lesson to be derived from this parable.
94 This is generally assumed to be the Caucasus. However, since neither the Qur'an nor any authentic Tradition says anything about the location of these "two mountain-barriers" or the people who
lived there, we can safely dismiss all the speculations advanced by the commentators on this score as irrelevant, the more so as the story of Dhu 1-Qarnayn aims at no more than the illustration of certain ethical principles in a parabolic manner.
95 This is the form in which these names (in Arabic, Yajuj and Majuj) have achieved currency in
all European languages on the basis of certain vague references to them in the Bible (Genesis x, 2,
I Chronicles i, 5, Ezekiel xxxviii, 2 and xxxix, 6, Revelation of St. John xx, 8). Most of the
post-classical commentators identify these tribes with the Mongols and Tatars (see note 100
below). ]]
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18:95
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18:96
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18:97
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18:98
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18:99
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18:100
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Ali’s version
101. [Unbelievers] whose eyes had been under a veil from remembrance of Me, and
who had been unable even to hear.
102. Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors
besides Me? Verily We have prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for [their]
entertainment.
Ali’s version
143
86. 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."
87. 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].
88. "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."
89. Then followed he [another] way,
90. 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.
91. [He left them] as they were: We completely understood what was before him.
92. Then followed he [another] way,
93. Until, when he reached [a tract] between two mountains, he found, beneath
them, a people who scarcely understood a word.
94. 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 mightest erect a barrier between us and them?
95. He said: "[The power] in which my Lord has established me is better [than
tribute]: Help me therefore with strength [and labour]: I will erect a strong
barrier between you and them:
96. "Bring me blocks of iron." 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."
97. Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it.
98. He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord
comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true."
99. On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another: the
trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together.
100. And We shall present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see, all spread out,-
101. [Unbelievers] whose eyes had been under a veil from remembrance of Me, and
who had been unable even to hear.
102. Do the Unbelievers think that they can take My servants as protectors
besides Me? Verily We have prepared Hell for the Unbelievers for [their]
entertainment.
103. Say: "Shall we tell you of those who lose most in respect of their deeds?-
104. "Those whose efforts have been wasted in this life, while they thought that
they were acquiring good by their works?"
105. They are those who deny the Signs of their Lord and the fact of their
having to meet Him [in the Hereafter]: vain will be their works, nor shall We,
on the Day of Judgment, give them any weight.
106. That is their reward, Hell, because they rejected Faith, and took My Signs
and My Messengers by way of jest.
107. As to those who believe and work righteous deeds, they have, for their
entertainment, the Gardens of Paradise,
144
108. Wherein they shall dwell [for aye]: no change will they wish for from them.
Yuksel’s version
The Leader of Two Generations
18:83 They ask you about the one who is from Two Eras, say, "I will recite to you a memory from him."
18:84 We had facilitated for him in the land, and We had given him the means of everything.
18:85 So he followed the means.
18:86 Until he reached the setting of the sun, and he found it setting at a boiling lake, and he found near it a people. We said, "O Two Eras, either you are to punish, or you are to do them good."
18:87 He said, "As for he who has transgressed, we will punish him then he will be returned to his Lord and He will punish him an awful punishment."
18:88 "As for he who acknowledges and does good, then he will have the reward of goodness, and we will speak to him simply of our plan."
18:89 Then he followed the means.
18:90 So when he reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people whom We did not make for them any cover except it.*
18:91 So it was, and We knew ahead of time about what he intended.
18:92 Then he followed the means.
18:93 Until he reached the area between the two barriers, he found no one beside it except a people who could barely understand anything said.
The Aggression of Gog and Magog
18:94 They said, "O Two Eras, Gog and Magog are destroyers of the land, so shall we make a tribute for you that you will make between us and them a barrier?"*
18:95 He said, "What my Lord has given me is far better. So help me with strength and I will make between you and them a barrier."
18:96 "Bring me iron ore." Until he leveled between the two walls, he said, "Blow," until he made it a furnace, he said, "Bring me tar so I can pour it over."
18:97 So they could not come over it, and they could not make a hole in it.
18:98 He said, "This is a mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it rubble. The promise of my Lord is truth."
18:99 We left them till that day to surge like waves on one another. The horn was blown so We gathered them together.
18:100 We displayed hell openly on that day to those who do not appreciate.
18:101 Those whose eyes were closed from My remembrance, and they were unable to hear.
18:102 Did those who reject think that they can take My servants as allies besides Me? We have prepared hell for the ingrates as a dwelling place.
18:103 Say, "Shall we inform you of the greatest losers?
18:104 Those whose efforts in the worldly life were wasted while they thought they were doing good!"
18:105 These are the ones who rejected the signs of their Lord and His meeting. So their works were in vain, and We will not give them any value on the day of Resurrection.
18:106 That is their recompense, hell; for what they rejected and for taking My signs and My messengers for mockery!
18:107 Those who acknowledge and do good works, they will have gardens of paradise as a dwelling place.
18:108 Abiding therein. They will not want to be moved from it.
[[ Yuksel’s note 18:94 018:094-99 Because of the link with the end of the world, the verses can be understood as prophetic narratives of future events, rather than historical information. The Quran occasionally uses the past tense as a style of telling future events, to emphasize their inevitability. Can we understand this passage as an international civilization led by a just and peaceful leader that lasted for two generations, and just before the end of the world the two hostile nations will regain their power and attack that civilization?]]
