Zulkarneyn

Zulkarneyn

 Dhu'l-Qarnayn or Zü'l-Karneyn (Arabic: ذو القرنين) is a person mentioned in Surah Kahf of the Quran, the holy book of the Islamic religion.  Whether he is a prophet or not is controversial.  The narrative about himself includes Gog and Magog, in which similar narratives are also found in Tanah.  In the narrative in the Quran, it is mentioned that he built a barrier to prevent Gog and Magog, who or what they are not disclosed.  The age in which he lived is not specified.

 The verses mentioned in the Quran

 * They also ask you about Zulkarneyn.  Say: "I will read you a memory from him."

 * We made him powerful in the earth and gave him a way in all matters.

 * He also followed a path.

 * When the sun went down, he found it sinking in a black slime cell.  He saw a tribe there.  “O Zulkarneyn!  We said, "You either punish them or take the path of good for them."

 * Dhu'l-Qarnayn said, “We will punish whoever persecutes him.  Then he will be returned to his Lord.  He will inflict an unprecedented torment on him, ”he said.

 * “Whoever believes and does righteous deeds has better reward for him.  We will tell him what is easier than our command. "

 * Then he followed a course again.

 * When he reached the place where the sun rises, he found him born on a people whom we did not put a cover between them and the sun.

 *That's it.  Surely, we have surrounded those beside him with our knowledge.

 * Then he followed a course again.

 * When he reached between two mountains, he found a people in front of them who could hardly understand any words.

 * They said: “O Zulkarneyn!  Gog and Magog are committing mischief in the earth.  Shall we pay you a tax in exchange for making a barrier between them and us? "

 * Dhu'l-Qarnayn said, “What my Lord gave me is better.  Now you help me with your strength and I will make a solid obstacle between you and them ”.

 * "Bring me an iron mine" he said.  When you align the gap between the two slopes, "fan it!"  said.  When you melt iron and make embers,

 He said, "Bring me molten copper, I'll drain on it."

 * They could neither surpass nor pierce it anymore.

 * Dhu'l-Qarnayn said, “This is a mercy of my Lord.  When the promise of my Lord comes, he will destroy him.  My Lord's promise is true. ”(18: 83-98)

 For verse 96, there is a footnote in the meaning of the Directorate of Religious Affairs: "If the phrase" zubera'l-hadid "is translated as" iron pieces "in the Quran, we prefer to convert it as" iron mine ".  and. "  In addition, the word promise in verse 98 is perceived as the period of time close to Doomsday (the End Times) and the invasion of Gog and Magog in the world is interpreted as one of the signs of doom.

 Etymological origin of the name

 The word Zulkarneyn is Arabic.  It comes from the combination of the words zü and karneyn.  Zü means owner and owner.  Karn means horn, forelock, hill, time, and sun.  Karneyn means the tesniye of the abdomen, two of them.  Accordingly, the word Zulkarneyn is translated as having two horns.  However, when the verses in Surah Al-Kahf are considered, a translation as "the owner of two times" or a time traveler also comes to mind.

 Dhu'l-Qarnayn's Identity Problem

 Based on the exact similarity of Surat al-Kahf with the Orkhon Inscriptions of the Quran, it is claimed that Zulkarneyn was Bilge Kagan or another Turkish commander who lived in ancient times or Oguz Khan.  In Turkish legends, the Turkish khan marries girls who descend from the sky in a tree hole, the first state established under the Turkish name is established with a name related to space ("Gök" Turks), in a legend, copper is poured into the mountain and melted with bellows and the road is reopened.  The facts such as the surprising finding of traces of this culture in the eastern excavations and the hadiths transmitted from Muhammad strengthen this last claim.

 The character of Zulkarneyn is attributed to Alexander the Great (wearing a double-horned helmet) or to Cyrus the Great by tafsir scholars such as Ebu'l Kelam Azad, Muhammed Huseyin Tabatabaî and Nasir Mekarim Shirazi, because the word meaning has double horns.

 Considering that Zulkarneyn, who is understood to be a legendary commander or king whose identity definition was made with blurred lines in the Quran, knew iron processing, it is understood that he lived after the Iron Age.  It represents the head of a state or sovereign whose borders are to the east and west, reaching the widest possible points.  The magnitude of his accomplishments leads him to be entrenched in the legend that God supports him.  The expression Zulkarneyn (double-horned) is used in reference to the double-horned helmet he used in wars.  So far the story seems to be compatible with Alexander the Great, and most of the Koran [[| commentary | commentary]] come to the conclusion that Dhu'l-Qarnayn is Alexander.  However, other parts of the story consist of elements compiled from other geographies.  The set built by Alexander with iron masses is the Great Wall of Zulkarneyn / (Great Wall of China), which causes confusion in the commentators given the identity of the builder, the mortar of the wall and against whom (Gog and Magog) it was built, and even the endless search for identity  It leads to claims that Muhammad was himself.

 Some modernist commentators, using contemporary elements in their interpretations, do not hesitate to suggest that he is a time traveler capable of interplanetary travel.

 A 16th-century Persian miniature depicting Dhu'l-Qarnayn's building a set to prevent Gog and Magog, set in the narrative of Dhu'l-Qarnayn.