Dhū al-Qarnayn

Dhū al-Qarnayn is a significant Qurʾānic figure mentioned in Sūrat al-Kahf (18:83–98), where he is portrayed as a righteous ruler endowed with authority, wisdom, and divine guidance. The Qurʾān presents him as a just and God-conscious leader who traveled widely across the earth, establishing justice and protecting vulnerable communities. Allah states: “Indeed, We established him upon the earth and gave him a way to everything” (Qurʾān 18:84). Although Dhū al-Qarnayn lived long before the mission of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, his story occupies an important place in Islamic prophetic and moral history and therefore bears relevance to sīrah studies through its ethical, theological, and civilizational themes reflected in the Prophetic mission.

The Qurʾānic account describes three major journeys undertaken by Dhū al-Qarnayn: toward the setting place of the sun, toward its rising place, and finally to a region between two mountains inhabited by people threatened by Gog and Magog (Yaʾjūj wa Maʾjūj). In response to their plea for assistance, Dhū al-Qarnayn constructed a massive barrier of iron and molten copper to restrain these destructive forces. The narrative portrays him as a ruler who combined political authority with moral responsibility, justice, and humility. After completing the barrier, he attributed the achievement not to personal greatness but to divine favor, declaring: “This is a mercy from my Lord” (Qurʾān 18:98). These themes closely parallel the Qurʾānic model of leadership later embodied in the sīrah of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, who likewise exercised authority with justice, mercy, and reliance upon Allah.

The story of Dhū al-Qarnayn also became relevant to the sīrah tradition because of its connection to the revelation of Sūrat al-Kahf. According to classical Islamic sources, the Quraysh consulted Jewish scholars in Madīnah in order to test the Prophet ﷺ by asking questions concerning mysterious historical and spiritual subjects, including Dhū al-Qarnayn, the People of the Cave, and the nature of the soul. The revelation of these narratives in the Qurʾān was understood by Muslims as evidence of divine knowledge granted to the Prophet ﷺ. Consequently, the account of Dhū al-Qarnayn became integrated into discussions of the Prophet’s ﷺ truthfulness, revelation, and engagement with earlier religious traditions during the Makkan period.

Muslim scholars have long debated the historical identity of Dhū al-Qarnayn, with some identifying him as Alexander the Great and others proposing figures such as Cyrus the Great. However, Islamic scholarship generally emphasizes the moral and spiritual significance of the narrative over precise historical identification. Within Islamic intellectual tradition, Dhū al-Qarnayn represents the ideal of righteous leadership guided by divine principles rather than worldly ambition. His story therefore contributes to broader sīrah-related themes concerning ethical governance, protection of society, humility in leadership, and the Qurʾānic presentation of exemplary historical figures whose lives illuminate aspects of the prophetic mission of Muḥammad ﷺ.

## References

1 The Qurʾān 18:83–98. 2 Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (Beirut: Dār Ibn Kathīr, 2002), kitāb aḥādīth al-anbiyāʾ, sections concerning Yaʾjūj wa Maʾjūj. 3 Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Riyadh: Dār Ṭaybah, 2006), kitāb al-fitan wa ashrāṭ al-sāʿah, bāb dhikr Yaʾjūj wa Maʾjūj. 4 Muḥammad ibn Jarīr al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, 2001), commentary on Qurʾān 18:83–98. 5 Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 2006), commentary on Sūrat al-Kahf. 6 Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar Ibn Kathīr, Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyāʾ (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1997), chapter on Dhū al-Qarnayn. 7 Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUmar Ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1985), vol. 2, discussion of Dhū al-Qarnayn and Yaʾjūj wa Maʾjūj. 8 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd ed., ed. P. Bearman et al. (Leiden: Brill, 1960–2005), s.v. “Dhū ’l-Ḳarnayn.” 9 Jane Dammen McAuliffe, ed., Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān (Leiden: Brill, 2001–2006), s.v. “Dhū al-Qarnayn.” 10 Brannon M. Wheeler, Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis (London: Continuum, 2002), 248–255.