'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' He, the Exalted, said: "And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, 'I will recite to you a mention of him.' Indeed, We established him in the earth and We gave him from every thing a cause. So he followed a cause. Until when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of black muddy water. And he found near it a people. We said, 'O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish them or you adopt among them goodness.'" There has been a difference regarding who asked him about this story. It was said that a group from the People of the Book asked him, and 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir narrated a hadith about that which Al-Tabari mentioned. It was said that it was only Quraysh who asked him when the Jews guided them to ask him about the soul and the wandering man and the youth who went in time to test him with that. Dhul-Qarnayn is Alexander the Greek Macedonian. It can be pronounced with a strong 'qaf' so it is said: the Macedonian. Ibn Ishaq mentioned in Al-Tabari's book that he is Greek. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: he is Roman. Al-Tabari narrated a hadith from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that Dhul-Qarnayn was a young man from the Romans, and this hadith has a weak chain of narration from two elders of those who answer. People have differed regarding the reason for his being called Dhul-Qarnayn. The best opinions are that he had two braids of hair which are his horns, and he was named after them. This was mentioned by Al-Mahdawi and others, and the braids are the horns of the head. From this is the saying of the poet: 'So she kissed him, taking hold of her horns, the drink of the bleeding from the cold water of the throat.' And from this is the hadith regarding the washing of the daughter of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. Umm 'Atiyyah said: 'We braided her hair into three horns.' And often the naming of the forelocks comes as horns. It has been narrated that in the beginning of his kingship, he saw in his sleep that he was taking the sun and holding its two horns in his hands. He narrated that, and it was interpreted that he would be overcome by what it had brought upon him, and he was named Dhul-Qarnayn. A group said: he was named Dhul-Qarnayn because he reached the west and the east, so it was as if he possessed the two horns of the world. Another group said: he reached the rising of the sun and uncovered by sight its two horns, so he was named after that, or the two horns of the devil with it. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: he was named after that because the sides of his head were made of copper. Wahb ibn Munabbih also said: he had two horns under his turban. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is far-fetched. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said: He was named Dhul-Qarnayn because he was struck on one horn of his head and died, then he was revived, then he was struck on the other horn of his head and died. He was named after that because he was wounded on the two horns of his head with two great wounds on two great days of his war, so he was named after that. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is close.

And the establishment for him in the earth is that he ruled the world and all the kings submitted to him. It has been narrated that all the kings of the world are four: two believers and two disbelievers. The believers are Solomon, son of David, peace be upon him, and Alexander, and the disbelievers are Nimrod and Bukhtanassar. And His saying, the Most High: ﴿And We gave him a means to everything﴾ means: knowledge in every matter, and measures by which he can reach the knowledge of things. And His saying: "everything" is a generality, its meaning is the specificity in all that he can know and needs. And there are certainly things from which he was not given a means to know them.

(p-654) And there is a difference of opinion regarding Dhul-Qarnayn. It is said: he is a prophet, and this is weak. It is said: he is a king - with a fatḥ (opening) of the letter 'lām' - and it has been narrated from Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, that he heard a man calling another: O Dhul-Qarnayn. He said: Is it not enough for you that you have named yourselves with the names of the prophets until you have named yourselves with the names of the angels? And it has been narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, was asked about him and he said: "A king who traversed the earth beneath it by means (of causes)." And it is said: he is a righteous servant - with a kasrah (breaking) of the letter 'lām' - who advised for Allah, so He supported him. This was said by Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and he said: "Among you today is like him," and he meant by that himself. And Allah knows best.

And His saying, the Most High: ﴿So he followed a means﴾. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Abu Amr read: "So he followed a means" with a strong 'tā' (ت), and Asim, Ibn Amer, Hamzah, and Al-Kisai read: "So he followed a means" with a silent 'tā', in the form of 'af'al'. Some linguists said: they have the same meaning, and likewise "followed". A group said: "I follow" with the cutting of the 'alif' is an expression of the diligent and swift seeker, and "followed" only implies the meaning of pursuit without these contexts, as said by Abu Zayd and others.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This speaker inferred this saying from the Quran, as His saying, the Mighty and Majestic: ﴿So a piercing star followed him﴾ [As-Saffat: 10], and as His saying, the Most High: ﴿So Pharaoh and his troops followed them﴾ [Yunus: 90], and as His saying, the Most High: ﴿So the devil followed him﴾ [Al-A'raf: 175]. This is a saying narrated by Al-Naqqash from Yunus ibn Habib. And if you reflect on "followed" with a strong 'tā', this meaning will not be connected to you, and it must be. And "the means" in this verse is the path taken; for it is the means of reaching the goal.

Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, and Hafs from Asim read: "in a muddy spring," on the pattern of fi'lah, meaning: having mud. And Asim - in the narration of Abu Bakr - and the others read: "in a hot spring," meaning hot. There was a disagreement regarding this reading between Muawiya and Ibn Abbas. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: "muddy," and Muawiya said: "hot." They sent to Ka'b al-Ahbar to inform them of the matter as it is in the Torah. He said to them: As for the Arabic language, you are more knowledgeable of it than I, but I find in the Torah that it is in a spring of clay. And when they parted, a man said to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them: I wish I were Abu al-Abbas so that I could assist you with poetry from Tubba' which mentions Dhul-Qarnayn:

Certainly, Dhul-Qarnayn was my grandfather, a Muslim, A king to whom kings submit and gather.

He reached the east and the west seeking The means of a matter from a wise guide.

He saw the setting of the sun at its setting In a spring of dark mud and clay.

So, the clay is mud, and the dark mud is the muddy clay, and the black is the dark. And whoever reads: "hot," its meaning is related to heat. It has been narrated that Abdullah ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, looked at the sun as it was setting and said: "In the fire of Allah, the hot, if it were not for what restrains it from Allah, it would burn what is on the earth." And Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, looked at the sun at its setting and said: "Do you know where it sets, O Abu Dharr?" I said: No. He said: "It sets in a hot spring." This indicates that the spring there is hot, and "hot" is the reading of Talha ibn Abdullah, Amr ibn al-As, his son, and Ibn Umar. Al-Tabari went to combine the two matters and said: It is possible that the spring is hot and has mud, so each reading describes a characteristic of it. Some of the Baghdadis said that "in" is like "at," as if it is its proximity from the earth as seen by the observer of a muddy spring. And some of them said: His saying: "in a spring" means that Dhul-Qarnayn was in it, meaning: it is the end of the earth.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

The apparent of these sayings is possible, and Allah knows best. Abu Hatim said: It may be that "muddy" is pronounced with a hamzah, meaning: having mud, so both readings have the same meaning. Some people have argued that Dhul-Qarnayn is a prophet by His saying: "Say, O Dhul-Qarnayn." And those who say he is not a prophet said: This statement was from Allah by inspiration.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Either you punish them" means: by killing for disbelief, "or you take among them goodness" by encouraging faith and following guidance. It is as if it was said to him: Do not give them anything except one of two options: either you disbelieve and punish them, or you believe and do good to them. Al-Tabari went on to say that "taking goodness" refers to capturing them while they are disbelievers. The meaning - on this view - is that they have disbelieved without a doubt, so Allah, exalted is He, gave him the choice between killing them or capturing them.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

It is possible that "taking" refers to the imposition of jizyah. However, the division of Dhul-Qarnayn after this matter into disbelief or faith counters this saying to some extent, so reflect on it.