Who was Zul-Qarnain?

[Laith Al-Doory]

Up until relatively recently, most Muslims have always assumed the world conquerer, Zul-Qarnain (the two horned one) to be Alexander the Great, who was often portrayed in classical art wearing a two-horned helmet. The Qur’an only refers to the most important characters by name, and Zul-Qarnain was likely a term used by Arabs to describe Alexander the Great before the advent of Islam.

‘Islamic fundamentalists’ regard such a notion as a source of embarrassment, for Alexander the great is inextricably linked with the Enlightenment and the spread of Helenic ideas across much of the then civilized world as a result of his monumental military campaign. However, Enlightenment thinking was to flower in the Khaliphate before it was ever to re-emerge in Europe, which was plunged into a Christian Dark Age. As Islam was originally a religion of science and tolerance, Enlightenment thinking has more in common with Islam than it does with Christianity.

According to the Qur’an, Zul-Qarnain was guided, and this Alexander certainly was, according to historical accounts, by his many visits to oracles. This same evidence is used by ‘Islamic fundamentalists’ to argue that Alexander was a polytheist and therefore could not be referred to, as he is in the Qur’an, as a believer. However, Alexander was a student of Aristotle, who was himself a monotheist who coined the term ‘prime mover.’ Also, ancient Greek Hermetic doctrine, like that of the Jewish Rabbinic mystics, describes a universal God that can manifest in many forms.

“The Father of all things, the Word being Life and Light, brought forth Man, like unto Himself, whom He loved as His own child, for he was beautiful beyond compare, having the image of his Father.”