Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

Society Religion & Philosophy
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I found this on Dhul Qarnayn’s Wikipedia page:

Really?

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

I think Zulqarnain was cyrus the great

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

wikipedia is not reliable for islamic information, i cant stress this enough

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

There are varying views on this very topic among scholars. A majority of them however believe it not to be Alexander the Great because Dhul-Qarnayn was a God Fearing man who believed in Tawheed. Alexander the Great is not believed to fit that bill. Alexander the Great; however, was a brave general and led very many victorious battles.

For credible read about this, refer to the hadith where the Jews sent a delegation to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) with three questions to verify his authencity as a prophet. One of the questions asked was "What do you know of Dhul-Qarnayn"? Also referred to as the "Two Horned one" in literature. If you trace Jewish literature, along with indepth study of Islamic background on the very topic, you may come to a credible conclusion.

The reason I'm inclined to dismiss it being Alexander is because wasn't Alexander a Polytheist?

Allah knows best.

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

My thoughts are Cyrus the Persian (The Great)

Isaiah 45

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א כֹּה-אָמַר יְהוָה, לִמְשִׁיחוֹ לְכוֹרֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר-הֶחֱזַקְתִּי בִימִינוֹ לְרַד-לְפָנָיו גּוֹיִם, וּמָתְנֵי מְלָכִים, אֲפַתֵּחַ–לִפְתֹּחַ לְפָנָיו דְּלָתַיִם, וּשְׁעָרִים לֹא יִסָּגֵרוּ.
1 Thus saith the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and to loose the loins of kings; to open the doors before him, and that the gates may not be shut:

ב אֲנִי לְפָנֶיךָ אֵלֵךְ, וַהֲדוּרִים אושר (אֲיַשֵּׁר); דַּלְתוֹת נְחוּשָׁה אֲשַׁבֵּר, וּבְרִיחֵי בַרְזֶל אֲגַדֵּעַ.
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the doors of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron;

ג וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ אוֹצְרוֹת חֹשֶׁךְ, וּמַטְמֻנֵי מִסְתָּרִים: לְמַעַן תֵּדַע, כִּי-אֲנִי יְהוָה הַקּוֹרֵא בְשִׁמְךָ–אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I am the LORD, who call thee by thy name, even the God of Israel.

ד לְמַעַן עַבְדִּי יַעֲקֹב, וְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחִירִי; וָאֶקְרָא לְךָ בִּשְׁמֶךָ, אֲכַנְּךָ וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּנִי.
4 For the sake of Jacob My servant, and Israel Mine elect, I have called thee by thy name, I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known Me.

ה אֲנִי יְהוָה וְאֵין עוֹד, זוּלָתִי אֵין אֱלֹהִים; אֲאַזֶּרְךָ, וְלֹא יְדַעְתָּנִי.
5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, beside Me there is no God; I have girded thee, though thou hast not known Me;

ו לְמַעַן יֵדְעוּ, מִמִּזְרַח-שֶׁמֶשׁ וּמִמַּעֲרָבָה, כִּי-אֶפֶס, בִּלְעָדָי: אֲנִי יְהוָה, וְאֵין עוֹד.
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside Me; I am the LORD; and there is none else;

ז יוֹצֵר אוֹר וּבוֹרֵא חֹשֶׁךְ, עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם וּבוֹרֵא רָע; אֲנִי יְהוָה, עֹשֶׂה כָל-אֵלֶּה. {פ}
7 I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I am the LORD, that doeth all these things. {P}

Notice how in the bas-relief Cyrus is depicted with wings because he was seen as metaphorically as half man and half angel … also he has a crown which has three feathers and two horns.

Dhul-Qarnain means the 2-horned one - this is the symbol of the one who commands loyalty from 2 regions the East and the West … This prophecy of the coming of Cyrus in the Bible is remarkable not only does it feature the description of iron and brass - but it also describes Tawheed - Where Allah (SWT) is the source of peace and that He creates evil.

Interesting also how later King Darius is a successor and the gorge called “The Darial Pass” is a candidate for the “Iron Gates” …

http://oznet.net/cyrus/original.htm

Daniel’s Dream

Daniel 8

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כ הָאַיִל אֲשֶׁר-רָאִיתָ, בַּעַל הַקְּרָנָיִם–מַלְכֵי, מָדַי וּפָרָס.
20 The ram which thou sawest having the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

כא וְהַצָּפִיר הַשָּׂעִיר, מֶלֶךְ יָוָן; וְהַקֶּרֶן הַגְּדוֹלָה אֲשֶׁר בֵּין-עֵינָיו, הוּא הַמֶּלֶךְ הָרִאשׁוֹן.
21 And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece; and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

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כב וְהַנִּשְׁבֶּרֶת–וַתַּעֲמֹדְנָה אַרְבַּע, תַּחְתֶּיהָ: אַרְבַּע מַלְכֻיוֹת מִגּוֹי יַעֲמֹדְנָה, וְלֹא בְכֹחוֹ.
22 And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.

כג וּבְאַחֲרִית, מַלְכוּתָם, כְּהָתֵם, הַפֹּשְׁעִים–יַעֲמֹד מֶלֶךְ עַז-פָּנִים, וּמֵבִין חִידוֹת.
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have completed their transgression, there shall stand up a king of fierce countenance, and understanding stratagems.

כד וְעָצַם כֹּחוֹ וְלֹא בְכֹחוֹ, וְנִפְלָאוֹת יַשְׁחִית וְהִצְלִיחַ וְעָשָׂה; וְהִשְׁחִית עֲצוּמִים, וְעַם-קְדֹשִׁים.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do; and he shall destroy them that are mighty and the people of the saints.

כה וְעַל-שִׂכְלוֹ, וְהִצְלִיחַ מִרְמָה בְּיָדוֹ, וּבִלְבָבוֹ יַגְדִּיל, וּבְשַׁלְוָה יַשְׁחִית רַבִּים; וְעַל שַׂר-שָׂרִים יַעֲמֹד, וּבְאֶפֶס יָד יִשָּׁבֵר.
25 And through his cunning he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in time of security shall he destroy many; he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

What I find really interesting however are the parallels in the Qur’an and the Ram in the dream …

Daniel 8:4
I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.

Al-Qur’an

18:84-93

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Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.
Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road.

One (such) way he followed,
And he followed a road

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.”
Till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: “O Dhu’l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness.”

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).
He said: “As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him, and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, Who will punish him with awful punishment!”

“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.”
“But as for him who believeth and doeth right, good will be his reward, and We shall speak unto him a mild command.”

Then followed he (another) way.
Then he followed a road

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.
Till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom.

(He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him.
So (it was). And We knew all concerning him.

Then followed he (another) way.
Then he followed a road

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[TD]Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word.
Till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying.

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Even though these don’t match entirely I think with the loss of language through interpretation I feel these accounts in the Qur’an are explaining the meaning behind the ram in the dream.

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

Actually it is accurate but totally wrong ... It is most clearly stated in Yusuf Ali's translation in the tafsir section that Alexander The Great is believed to be Dhul-Qarnain ... but for many reason we learned afterwards we know this can't be true. As far as correctly referencing the opinion Wikipedia has done a good job ... but it will take other Wiki users to add more information there.

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

Ya, I read that traditional scholars believed him to b Alexander the Great, but their is some controversy among the modern ones.

Thanks for the detailed answer btw! :)

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

The YouTube Documentary 'Age of Dajjal' talks about this and Gog/Magog location in episodes 21-23, and the subject is mentioned in some other episodes as well, but it's been a long time since I watched it, so I don't remember everything correctly.

The horns are being explained as two different time periods, two different ages according to the theory of this documentary. It has some very interesting and valid points and is worth watching.

But the truth only Allah knows, we can't be completely sure about these events.

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

IF you don't know who he was.......so be it........ limitless speculation and using jewish sources to speculate as to who he was or wasn't ain't gonna serve any purpose.....

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

What Jewish sources?

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Re: Dhul-Qarnayn was Alexander the Great??

Maybe the book of Daniel?? but that would not refer to Alex... probably Cyrus.