Hi, Who is Zulqarnain in the Holy Quran?

Question

what verses in the Qur'an that mentions him?

Answer 1

He's definitely not Alexander The Great, so muslims need to stop thinking   that he was. Alexander The Great was a polytheist and not a believer.              He was a mass murderer and definitely not a man of God.

Answer 2

حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ الشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِي عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ وَوَجَدَ عِنْدَهَا قَوْمًا قُلْنَا يَا ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّا أَنْ تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْنًا ﴿18:86﴾

(18:86) till he reached the limit where the sun set, *63 and found it setting in black waters, *64 and there he saw a people. We said to him, "O Zul-Qarnain! you have the power to punish them and also the option to treat them generously". *65

*63 "The limit where the sun set" does not mean the "place" of the setting of the sun. According to Ibn Kathir, it means that he marched to the West conquering one country after the other till he reached the last boundary of the land, beyond which there was ocean.

*64 "He found the sun setting in black muddy waters of the sea": if ZulQarnain was Cyrus, then that place would be the western limit of Asia Minor and the "black waters" would be the Aegean Sea. This interpretation is supported by the use of the word "`ain"instead of "bahr" in the Qur'an.

<*65 "We said to him" does not necessarily mean that Allah directly revealed to him these words, and that Z, ul-Qarnain was a Prophet or was the one who received inspiration from Allah, and the same is the reasonable conjecture. This concerns the time when Zul-Qarnain had taken possession of the land as a conqueror and the conquered people were utterly at your mercy. Then Allah posed a question before his conscience, as if to say, "Now is the time of your trial. These people are utterly at your mercy, and you have the option either to behave unjustly towards them or to treat them generously."

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2

Abdullah al-Muhajir03-12-04, 10:55 AM

ZOLQARNAIN;

CYRUS THE GREAT IN QUR'AN

By: Baha'eddin Khoramshahi

"I am Cyrus, who founded the empire of the Iranians.

Grudge me not therefore, this little earth that covers my body."

In the Qur'an, there are 16 verses in the Kahf Sureh (verses 83-98) that talk about Zolqarnain and some aspects of his personality. Recently, Molana Abolkalam Azad, India's Minister of Culture, in his Urdu-language exegesis titled "Tarjoman al-Qur'an", claimed that Zolqarnain referred to Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenian king (taking this stand apparently on the authority of Seyyed Ahmad Khan, the famous exegete of the Qur'an). He mentioned many reasons for his assertion, including the following:

1) Cyrus is mentioned in the Old Testament and the Book of Ezra as a God-revering person, a description that matched the qualities of Zolqarnain in the Qur'an.

2) The deeds of the Achaemenian king were in accordance to the deeds described in the Qur'an, as he fought with the Lydians in Asia Minor and then with the Sakas in the east (unlike Alexander the Great).

3) Zolqarnain in the Qur'an is said to have built a barrier of copper and iron after fighting the Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj people. Cyrus built a similar barrier in the Daryal Pass, the remains of which are still existing.

In the Qur'an, the name of Zolqarnain, together with descriptions of some aspects of his personality and an accounting of a number of his deeds, are mentioned three times in 15 verses of the Kahf Sureh. A translation of these verses is as follows:

"And they will ask you about Zolqarnain. Tell them, 'I will tell you now one of his tales.' We gave him power upon earth and gave him authority over everything. And he followed upon his authority, until he reached the lands west of the sun and found out the sun set there in a muddy spring. Nearby, he found a tribe. We told him: Zolqarnain, you have the authority. Either you will punish them or you will be generous to them. He said: Whoever ascribes company to God will be punished soon and I will return him to his God and punish him severely. But whoever accepts the faith and does good things, I will reward well and make things easy for him. He followed up on his words, and he reached the lands on the east of the sun and saw people who were not shielded before it. Thus, we know from his affairs. He followed on his work and he reached between two huge wall-like mountains and found people who understood no language. [Through a translator] they told Zolqarnain, 'The Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj people bring great devastation to this land. If you want us to pay you tribute, build a wall between them and us.' He said: The power that God has blessed me with is better than your tributes, but help me [with manpower] to build a wall between you and them.' When they laid the foundation, he said: Bring me pieces of iron [and put them in a heap], until he filled the gap between the two mountains, making them level. He said: Blow [in furnaces of fire],'[and they did] until [iron] becam

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Answer 3

I don't know, sorry.

Answer 4

There has been a lot of suggestions.

The strongest two people "zul qarnain" could have been are "Alexander" or "Cyrus" the Great. But from the research I have done it seems that "Cyrus" would be more likely.

What I would like to know from Muslims is regardless who he is. Was he a Prophet or Messenger?

Happy Happily: Thank You for clarifying that for me.

Answer 5

Zulqarnain ( Dhu'l-Qarnayn ) is mentioned few times in Surat al-Kahf ( The Cave ), some historians believe he the Persian King Cyrus the Great, and others say Alexander the Great who was known as Iskandar Zulqarnain.

The Qur’an does not specifically mention any name or personality in history to be Zulqarnain, but he is depicted as a kind and just ruler who believes in one God and the heareafter.

Answer 6

Dear,

Peace upon you.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Al-Qur'an Surah 18. "Al-Kahf" - THE CAVE. Verses 93-98.

The person "Qul-qarnain", Iskandar Zulkarnain or Alexander The Great.

The Two-horned one, the King with the "Two Horn", or Lord of the two Epochs. The Persian (now Iran) ancient King.

He's Alexander The Great. (popular opinion)

Thank you.

Answer 7

The name 'zulqurnain' means 'one with 2 horns' or 'dow sing' (in urdu, 'dow' is 2 and 'singh' is horn)

It's my uncle's name. His nickname is mamu (means uncle in urdu) naini

The Holy Qur'an. Surah:18. Al-Kahf. Ayah 83-99

83.They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story."

84.Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.

85.One (such) way he followed,

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.

From above ayahs; things that are clear is that, Zul-Qarnain was a guided person and was close to Allah. It seems that he also had some sort of contact with Allah [from ayah 18:86 We said: "O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness." It seems that Allah was communicating with him]. This is also confirmed from ayah 18:98 that also can tell us that he was predicting about future from knowledge from Allah [18:98. 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."].

He is either a Prophet or a Wali Allah (friend of Allah)

Answer 8

[18:83] They ask you about Zul-Qarnain. Say, "I will narrate to you some of his history."

[18:84] We granted him authority on earth, and provided him with all kinds of means.

[18:85] Then, he pursued one way.

[18:86] When he reached the far west, he found the sun setting in a vast ocean, and found people there. We said, "O Zul-Qarnain, you can rule as you wish; either punish, or be kind to them."

[18:87] He said, "As for those who transgress, we will punish them; then, when they return to their Lord, He will commit them to more retribution.

[18:88] "As for those who believe and lead a righteous life, they receive a good reward; we will treat them kindly."

[18:89] Then he pursued another way.

[18:90] When he reached the far east, he found the sun rising on people who had nothing to shelter them from it.

[18:91] Naturally, we were fully aware of everything he found out.

[18:92] He then pursued another way.

[18:93] When he reached the valley between two palisades, he found people whose language was barely understandable.

Gog and Magog*

[18:94] They said, "O Zul-Qarnain, Gog and Magog are corruptors of the earth. Can we pay you to create a barrier between us and them?"

[18:95] He said, "My Lord has given me great bounties. If you cooperate with me, I will build a dam between you and them.

[18:96] "Bring to me masses of iron." Once he filled the gap between the two palisades, he said, "Blow." Once it was red hot, he said, "Help me pour tar on top of it."

[18:97] Thus, they could not climb it, nor could they bore holes in it.

[18:98] He said, "This is mercy from my Lord. When the prophecy of my Lord comes to pass, He will cause the dam to crumble. The prophecy of my Lord is truth."

[18:99] At that time, we will let them invade with one another, then the horn will be blown, and we will summon them all together.

[18:100] We will present h**l, on that day, to the disbelievers.

[18:101] They are the ones whose eyes were too veiled to see My message. Nor could they hear.

[18:102] Do those who disbelieve think that they can get away with setting up My servants as gods beside Me? We have prepared for the disbelievers h**l as an eternal abode.

Answer 9

Early commentratoes believed that he was Alexander. However, now most of the scholars think he was King Cyrus of Persia.

Zulqar nayn means, man with two horns. these are only two kings who are depicted with two horns.

However, we do not have any other direct source to know with certainity.

Read 18:83-18:98

Adnan: There is no proof of he being a Prophet. He is a man of virtue and likely to be a follower of Prophet.