Who is Dhul Qarnayn?

[saman]

Very true. However I also want to point out that the term "Dhul Qarnayn" most likely refers to the fact that he reached the earths most westerly and easterly points during his travels - the horn of the west and the horn of the east. Let's contextualize the term.

The Jews tested the Prophet pbuh with the question "Tell us about the young man who travelled a great distance"

Within this understanding, we can safely assume that the Jews the term "Dhul Qarnayn" and so, when the ayaat (no.83) starts with "And they ask thee (O Muhmammad) about Dhul Qarnayn, say to them I shall recite to you a remembrance about him"

The ayaat then go on to confirm that this man travelled a great distance to the west in order to spread Islamic Monotheism, and in doing so reaches the furthest west where he finds the sun to appear setting in the sea... the ayaat then go on to confirm that he travels east in order to spread Islamic Monotheism and reaches the furthest East where the sun appears to rise from... along the way Allah mentions some landmarks, in order to show us the great distance that Dhul Qarnayn had travelled.

The terms "Dhul Qarnayn" was known by the Jews, thus they did not argue or contest the Ayaat regarding him.

How did the Jews know about this? Easy... look in their holy texts. Daniels prophecy, in Isaiah... in fact he is mentioned 23 times buy name and alluded to several times more - further, non biblical accounts from historians such as Herodotus and Josephus (who were also Jews btw) give away much as to the term "Dhul Qarnayn"... in fact, in Herodotus' Histories, book 1 volum 1 - the very first story mentioned is the story of Cyrus...

...Cyrus was hailed as a Messiah to the Jews, even though Cyrus himself was not a Jew but a mixed race child of a Persian mother and Mede father...

in fact, one thing you will notice with Cyrus, is that however you try to fit the term "dhul qarnayn" to him, it always works - but not with Alexander, or the Tubba Kings, or anyone else for that matter.

At first, when I was discussing this with bro Ministry of Truth in WUP, and on skype, we both agreed that personally we didn't want Dhul Qarnayn to be Cyrus because we just didn't like Cyrus for some reason lol... the more I investigated, the more I became convinced that Cyrus was indeed the DHul Qarnayn of the Quran.

And Allah knows best

Scimi

Salam brother, I Tried to Send u a Private message But i Don't had promotion for That. First i have to thank you And Every Brothers and Sister for all the Effort u going through and Try to Shed Some lights for Us. And a Beautiful Quote i Gift to you Brother And All Muslims Who spend their time To share Theirs Knowledge With Us. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “One who treads a path in search of knowledge has his path to Paradise made easy by God…” - Riyadh us-Saleheen, 245
But i Saw u Done a little Mistake here,And I see this as My responsibility to Let u Know about it,
You Said: "...Cyrus was hailed as a Messiah to the Jews, even though Cyrus himself was not a Jew but a mixed race child of a Persian mother and Mede father..."
But it's Vice Versa,His Mother was a Median Princess (Mandane of Media)
And His Father Was a Persian
(Cambyses)
You Also Said:"we didn't want Dhul Qarnayn to be Cyrus because we just didn't like Cyrus for some reason lol... " Can i ask You Why u Did Not Like Cyrus and Don't want he be the Dhul Qarnayn?

i Will wait and happy to get your respond.
Allah bless You.

 

[Scimitar]

Ah thank you brother Saman and welcome to IB forum.

For more info on this topic, you may want to read this: http://wup-forum.com/in-search-of-gog-and-magog-t25494.html

and more threads here: http://wup-forum.com/gog-and-magog-f126.html

Scimi

 

[Scimitar]

I neglected to mention that the best evidence I could find for the origin of the reference regarding Dhul Qarnayn being the contemporary of Ibraheem (pbuh) was this little comparative on the timeline of Zoroaster... an unlikely candidate, sure - but read on.

astrologers such as Birjandi and Bahmanyar, the students of Ibn Sina, and supported by well known contemporary professor Zabih Behrooz, maintained that Zoroaster was born in the year 1768 B.C. i.e. 47 years after the birth of Abraham. It was not right for Behrooz, the celebrated scholar, to side with these students of Ibn Sina. Because when this verdict arrived at the West it gave them a license to establish a giant cultural foundation. By relying on that verdict this foundation declared that Zoroaster was one of the students of Prophet Abraham and that Zoroastrian religion was a branch of Jewish monotheism religion.

Chutny

Not very convincing.

Given the following as an extra cherry placed on the already tasty cake which is the Cyrus theory. We have this:

This hadeeth is a lesser known one on the topic of Dhul Qarnayn,

Narrated by Buraydah:


I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “O Buraydah! There will be many armies after I pass away. You should join the army that goes towards Khurasan. Then you should stop at the city of ‘Merv’ for it was built by ‘Dhul-Qarnayn’ and he prayed for blessings in it and therefore no harm will affect the dwellers of that city.”


(Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat)


From the historical record, it is said that Cyrus built the city of Merv...


The first city of Merv was founded in the 6th century BC as part of the expansion into the region by the Achaemenid Empire of Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), but the Achaemenid levels are deeply covered by later strata at the site.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv#History


Very intriguing information, giving us another clue which ties Cyrus with the personage of Dhul Qarnayn.


Allahu Alam.


Scimi

Has anyone read Xenophon? or Herodotus' Histories? I believe these contain the real meaning to the term Dhul Qarnayn - literally - the twice crowned... Cyrus, was in fact - crowned twice, the first crowning being quite the controversial one but lesser known... in fact - almost unknown. Herodotus and Xenophon have the beans on that if anyone wants to take a look - hit me a PM in sha Allah.

Scimi

 

[Scimitar]

Regarding the Tubba Dynasty of Southern Arabia, and the theory that Dhul Qanrayn was a Tubba king - the timelines are skewed. This according to my research, makes no sense for a Tubba to be the Dhul Qarnayn.

We do not build houses on sand.

Scimi

 

[Scimitar]

In Arabic translations of the Old Testament, the word "Dhul-Qarnayn"(Hebrew: Ba`al Haqqərānayim בעל הקרנים)appears once in the Old Testament, in the Book of Daniel 8:20:


[9]أَمَّا الْكَبْشُ الَّذِيرَأَيْتَهُ ذَاالْقَرْنَيْنِ فَهُوَمُلُوكُ مَادِي وَفَارِسَ


Translation: The ram that you saw, the one with the two horns, represents the kings of Media and Persia.

Scimi

 

[Scimitar]

In Arabic translations of the Old Testament, the word "Dhul-Qarnayn"(Hebrew: Ba`al Haqqərānayim בעל הקרנים)appears once in the Old Testament, in the Book of Daniel 8:20:


[9]أَمَّا الْكَبْشُ الَّذِيرَأَيْتَهُ ذَاالْقَرْنَيْنِ فَهُوَمُلُوكُ مَادِي وَفَارِسَ


Translation: The ram that you saw, the one with the two horns, represents the kings of Media and Persia.

Scimi

SO... what does this verse mean ??? Kings of Media and Persia?

Did you know that Cyrus' :

mother was a Persian Princess? Her name was Mandane.
father was a Mede Prince? His name was Cambyses.

Cyrus had dual (Dhul) Royal (Qarnayn - Crowned) lineage... this is just one application to the term "Dhul Qarnayn".

You can find this information in the Histories of Herodotus, Volume 1 Book 1.

There are in total, 4 applications of the Term "Dhul Qarnayn" which apply specifically only to Cyrus and none other. I won't share the other three.

And Allah knows best

Scimi

 

[Zamtsa]

Cyrus II : Al Nabi Al Dzulkarnain AS .

 

[Scimitar]

He wasn't a Prophet - nor was he a messenger. But a righteous King and deliverer of the Children of Israel. He seeded the Second Temple Period.

Scimi

 

[greenhill]

So, what would be the reason to 'plant' Alexander son of Phillip.of Macedonia, a pagan be taken as Dhulkarnain, again?

Why would the Israelites accept Alexander as Dhulkarnain when there was someone else and in this day and age, blatantly mislead and bury the truth? For what gain? To say that Allah condoned Alexander's exploits? And his 'official' history is not pretty.


eace:

 

[Scimitar]

The Jews do not refer to Alexander as two horned, it is Cyrus they refer to, as explained with proofs in this thread akhi. One such proof in in post number 166

Alexander was actually the one horned from the prophecy of Daniel pbuh in the Old Testament.

Scimi

 

[T L]

King Cyrus in the Old Testament


King Cyrus the Great (600 or 576 BC), the Persian Emperor, the 'King of the four corners of the world', and the Lord's “Anointed” (Isaiah 45:1) “Shepherd” (44:28).

This Messiah named in the Jewish Bible was known for his progression and expansion of human rights, his incredible influence and tremendous generalship. And under his reign, he formed an undeniable bridge between the East and the West, creating the largest empires the world had ever seen.

One hundred and fifty years before his birth, a prophecy which foretold his very role in the liberation of captive jews during the Babylonian exile, the great prophet of God, Isaiah, mentions him by name,

“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him” (Isaiah 45:1).

Thus, by Divine Will, “though you do not acknowledge me” (45:4), it was decreed; the indisputable journey his life will take, the means he would be given, and the status he will attain in order to fulfill this prophecy.


“The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will” (Proverbs 21:1)

 

[T L]

Isaiah 45:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

45 “This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
and to strip kings of their armor,
to open doors before him
so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you
and will level the mountains[a];
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
3 I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,
6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things.


Verily, We established him in the earth, and We gave him the means of everything.
Surah Al Kahf : 84

[h=1]Isaiah 44:28 New International Version (NIV)[/h] [SUP]28 [/SUP]who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd
and will accomplish all that I please;
he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,”
and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’

 

[T L]

[h=1]Jeremiah 29:10-14New International Version (NIV)[/h] 10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.[a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

[h=1]
Ezra 1New International Version (NIV)[/h] [h=3]Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return[/h]1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:

[SUP]2 [/SUP]“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:

“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. [SUP]3 [/SUP]Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. [SUP]4 [/SUP]And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”


Prophet Ezra/Uzra lived at the same time of Nabuchadnezzar.
God removed his soul and caused him death for 100 years “ How will Allah ever revive this after death?” (2.259) out of curiousity. God sent an angel who created for him his heart and eyes so he could understand and see what was going on as God revived his body and breathed his soul into him. The angel asked him how long he was asleep for to which he replies only a day or just part of it perhaps! The angel says "you stayed sleeping for 100 years,” told him to look at his food and drink which were spoiled, and then told him to look at his donkey which was merely bones. Then the angel called the bones together by God's Leave, which were then clothed with flesh and muscles, the soul was then breathed into it and the donkey stood up. Upon waking he learns that the tyrant king had destroyed all the copies of the Torah and he was the only remaining soul who knew it.
Ezra was an israelite prophet who lived in the time period between David Solomon Zechariah and John (pbut).
God had revealed the Torah to him when noone was left to know. God commanded an angel to descend with a flame of light and put it inside Ezra so he rewrote the Torah letter by letter as it was first revealed.
This is why the Israelites claim that Ezra was the son of Allah. Israelites said that there was noone like Ezra among them who could have memorised the Torah.

“And the Jews said Uzair is the son of Allah” (9:30)


The Book of Ezra describes how he led a group of Judean Exiles living in Babylon back to their home city of Jerusalem where he is said to have reintroduced the Torah and enforced it's Laws. He also recounts the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple.

 

[Scimitar]

Na'am , that's true , no Al Nabi AS who does not receive Al Ilham and Al Wahy . Because He did not accept that while dreaming while sleeping actually .

DO you read Qur'an? Allah named the Prophets pbut and he named Dhul Qarnayn but didn't call him a prophet nor a messenger - same with Khidr - you have no idea what you talk about, shame really - you conjecture with no proof and only your opinion which is really sad,

Scimi

 

[Zamtsa]

What I know is that He is not Shalahuddin Al Ayyubi RA .

 

[A.I]

The Hadith mentioned that Yajuj and Majuj will use archery and bows. Makes sense why no one will able to stop them because technologies won't be around that time.

Do you know anything about technologies and weapons being reversed back to the medieval times?

 

[T L]

The Hadith mentioned that Yajuj and Majuj will use archery and bows. Makes sense why no one will able to stop them because technologies won't be around that time.

Do you know anything about technologies and weapons being reversed back to the medieval times?

You are referring to the following hadith:

Narrated by Imam Ahmed in his Musnad that the Prophet (S.A.W.S) said: “Verily, Gog and Magog dig through the dam every day, till they could see the sun rays (through it), and their leader would say: ‘Go back and you will finish it tomorrow.’ On the next day, they find it as strong as before. Till when their appointed term comes and Allah desires to send them against mankind, they dig it till they could see the sun rays (through it) and their leader says: ‘Go back and you will finish it tomorrow, if Allah wills!’ On the next day, they find it as they had left the day before and they dig through it and come against mankind. They will drink (every drop of water they pass by). The people will resort to strongholds. And, Gog and Magog will throw their arrows towards the sky. When they come back to them stained with what looks like blood, they will say: ‘We have defeated the people on earth and those in the heaven as well.’ Then, Allah the Almighty will send against them worms in their necks that will kill them all. Allah’s Messenger (S.A.W.S) said: “By Him in Whose Hand Muhammed’s soul rests! Living creatures of the earth would go fat and be thankful due to eating their flesh and (drinking their) blood.” (Also transmitted by Imam Ahmed on the authority of Hasan Ibn Musa after Sufyan after Qatadah and by At-Tirmidhi on the authority of Abu, Awanah after Qatadah.)

This hadith is weak and contradicts the Qur'an. For God says in ayah 97 of Al Kahf
"Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it", if they were made powerless to scale or dig through it, how are they able to keep digging at it everyday? It doesn't make sense.

And God carries on to say in ayah 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.""

Umm Habeebah bint Abi Sufyaan reported from Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with them) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered upon her in an agitated state and said, “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, woe to the Arabs from an evil that has approached! Today a hole like this has been opened in the barrier of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj,” and he made a circle with his thumb and forefinger. Zaynab bint Jahsh said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, will we be destroyed even though there are righteous people among us?’ He said, ‘Yes, if evil becomes overwhelming.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3097).

Which supports our understanding that the barrier came down during the prophet pbuh's time.

And Allah knows best

 

[A.I]

You are referring to the following hadith:

Narrated by Imam Ahmed in his Musnad that the Prophet (S.A.W.S) said: “Verily, Gog and Magog dig through the dam every day, till they could see the sun rays (through it), and their leader would say: ‘Go back and you will finish it tomorrow.’ On the next day, they find it as strong as before. Till when their appointed term comes and Allah desires to send them against mankind, they dig it till they could see the sun rays (through it) and their leader says: ‘Go back and you will finish it tomorrow, if Allah wills!’ On the next day, they find it as they had left the day before and they dig through it and come against mankind. They will drink (every drop of water they pass by). The people will resort to strongholds. And, Gog and Magog will throw their arrows towards the sky. When they come back to them stained with what looks like blood, they will say: ‘We have defeated the people on earth and those in the heaven as well.’ Then, Allah the Almighty will send against them worms in their necks that will kill them all. Allah’s Messenger (S.A.W.S) said: “By Him in Whose Hand Muhammed’s soul rests! Living creatures of the earth would go fat and be thankful due to eating their flesh and (drinking their) blood.” (Also transmitted by Imam Ahmed on the authority of Hasan Ibn Musa after Sufyan after Qatadah and by At-Tirmidhi on the authority of Abu, Awanah after Qatadah.)

This hadith is weak and contradicts the Qur'an. For God says in ayah 97 of Al Kahf
"Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it", if they were made powerless to scale or dig through it, how are they able to keep digging at it everyday? It doesn't make sense.

And God carries on to say in ayah 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.""

Umm Habeebah bint Abi Sufyaan reported from Zaynab bint Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with them) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered upon her in an agitated state and said, “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, woe to the Arabs from an evil that has approached! Today a hole like this has been opened in the barrier of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj,” and he made a circle with his thumb and forefinger. Zaynab bint Jahsh said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, will we be destroyed even though there are righteous people among us?’ He said, ‘Yes, if evil becomes overwhelming.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 3097).

Which supports our understanding that the barrier came down during the prophet pbuh's time.

And Allah knows best

But the barrier is still intact until the major signs occur - after Isa AS's arrival.

I was talking about the weapons used in the end times.

There are several hadith that describe Yajuj and Majuj turning their arrows to the sky to kill the people of the sky after they exclaimed they killed or defeated all the people of the earth. And that their arrows will return red with blood and they will say they killed or defeated the people of the sky.

سَيُوقِدُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ قِسِيِّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ وَنُشَّابِهِمْ وَأَتْرِسَتِهِمْ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ

“The Muslims will use the bows, arrows and shields of Gog and Magog as firewood, for seven years.”

Correct me if I'm wrong?

 

[Scimitar]

But the barrier is still intact until the major signs occur - after Isa AS's arrival.

What? where? coz I searched for years and guess what? with satellite imaging and the world being mapped throughly in modern times - there's no barrier made of iron and copper to be found... however, if you look to the accounts recorded in history you will find where it used to exist once.

Regarding the barrier: Sallam al Tarjumani and Huien Tsang both found it - Huien Tsang coming from the east moving west and Sallam coming from the west moving east. This happened a VERY LONG TIME AGO... again, read through the thread.

As for Isa Alaihis Salaam's arrival, that is referring to the final wave of Gog Magog, and this has been explained already in this thread. Read through it.

I was talking about the weapons used in the end times.

There are several hadith that describe Yajuj and Majuj turning their arrows to the sky to kill the people of the sky after they exclaimed they killed or defeated all the people of the earth. And that their arrows will return red with blood and they will say they killed or defeated the people of the sky.

سَيُوقِدُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ قِسِيِّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ وَنُشَّابِهِمْ وَأَتْرِسَتِهِمْ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ

“The Muslims will use the bows, arrows and shields of Gog and Magog as firewood, for seven years.”

Correct me if I'm wrong?

We are in the end times now, they started in the period of the final prophet and messenger of God, Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam. He was the final Prophet and Messenger to the whole world, after which started the end time. Today, we are in the final hour:

There are many signs, which have occurred, and you are not doing your research properly - news for you - you're doing this wrong.

With regard to the arrows and bows and shields of Gog Magog - How does a 7th century man describe modern tech? Are you aware of the hadeeth which mentions dajjal travelling on a donkey whose ears are as wide as 70 cubits according to some narrations... and in others, this donkey will carry dajjal in the skies at the speed of clouds, and more - it's one step is the difference between day and night... for more info, check the references in the following books which mention these hadeeth: Musnad Ahmad, Kunzal Amaal, Baihaqi, Mishkat, Muslim, Tirmidhi.

Point I am trying to get through to you is the following - the white donkey sounds like an air plane. Yet such things as air planes didn't exist in the 7th century CE, and so, descriptive's were given in terms that could be understood by both, the people of his (prophet pbuh) time and those of our time... now let's go back to the arrows and shields and bows... rockets, missiles and nuclear tech??? What you need to understand here is that, these arrows, shields and bows are descriptive of future weapons which exist in our time - things we call, rifles, guns, rockets, missiles, etc...

...See, if you are waiting for a return to caveman times, then bro - KEEP WAITING.

And Allah knows best.

Scimi

 

[Abz2000]

Also thought it useful to add, the term "atba'a" in "thumma ataba'a sababa" appears to be mudhari' (present future), my Arabic could be better and i hope somebody clarifies if i'm mistaken, but in such case, it would read: "then he follows another way".


Edit: here's where i found it after reading the story of Dhu al Qarnayn, but as i implied earlier, i am uncertain as my Arabic is patchy: