And when he finished this story, the essence of which is that it is a journey on earth for the pursuit of knowledge, he followed it with the story of one who traveled the earth for the pursuit of jihad. He presented the first as an indication of the high rank of knowledge, for it is the foundation of all happiness and the pillar of every matter. He said, adding to ﴿And they argue with those who disbelieve with falsehood﴾ [Al-Kahf: 56] ﴿And they ask you about﴾ the righteous man who strives in jihad, ﴿Dhul-Qarnayn﴾. He was named for his bravery or for reaching the two horns of the setting and rising sun, or for the extinction of two generations of people in his time, or because he had two braids of hair or for his crown [horns -], and he is Alexander the Great. Ibn Kathir reported from Al-Azraqi that he was in the time of the Friend, peace be upon him, and he circumambulated with him around the House. Among the figurative connections (p-129) is that in the story of each of them there are three things, the last of which is the construction of a wall that has no roof, and it is only for the purpose of preserving what is concerned about due to the fear of the corruptor. He prefaced it with the news of their question, indicating that they did not ask about the one before it despite the wonders, subtleties, secrets, and knowledge it contained, as a reprimand to the Jews for neglecting the matter by not asking about it if their intention was [the truth -]. And if it was not their intention, they would be more deserving of reprimand. Or it could be connected to their first question, which is about the soul, and he prefaced it with the news of the question as a reminder of that due to the length of the section, indicating that all of this is connected to their answer like the pearl is connected to the string.

And when it was known that he, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'So how should I respond to them?' He said: ﴿Say﴾, meaning to them: ﴿I will recite﴾, meaning I will narrate a continuous narrative in the future if Allah informs me of it ﴿to you﴾ O polytheists and the People of the Book, informing them that it is contingent upon the will of Allah as has been previously commanded to you ﴿from it a reminder﴾ sufficient for you in understanding his matter, encompassing the essentials of his mention.