Dhul-Qarnayn

Dhul-Qarnayn (Arabic ?? ???????, also transcribed Dhu'l-Qarnein, Zul-Qurnayn, Zul-Qarnain, Zul-Qarneyn, etc.) is a figure who was well-known in the lore of the early medieval dwellers of the Arabian Peninsula, and is mentioned in the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam. Dhul-Qarnayn is regarded by some Muslims as a prophet. The Qur'an indicates that the people, during Muhammad's time, already knew tales of a person of great power by the name of Dhul-Qarnayn: "They ask thee concerning Dhul-Qarnayn. 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." (Qur'an 18:83-84).

Related Topics:
Arabic - Medieval - Arabian Peninsula - Qur'an - Islam - Muhammad

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The identity of Dhul-Qarnayn has become a matter of great controversy in modern times. Medieval scholars of Islam identified the character of Dhul-Qarnayn with the ancient Greek conqueror Alexander the Great. For example, the early Muslim historian Ibn Hisham wrote, "Dhu al-Qarnain is Alexander the Greek, the king of Persia and Greece, or the king of the east and the west, for because of this he was called Dhul-Qarnayn ..." Influential modern scholars of Islam also identify Dhul-Qarnayn with Alexander the Great; for example, in the appendix of his famous translation of the Qur'an, Yusuf Ali gave a justification for such identification. Orientalist academic scholars of the Qur'an also agree that Dhul-Qarnayn is an ancient epithet of the historical Alexander the Great.

Related Topics:
Medieval - Ancient Greek - Conqueror - Alexander the Great - Ibn Hisham - Persia - Greece - Yusuf Ali - Orientalist

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