"And they question thee about Dhu'l-Qarnayn. Say, 'I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him.' Truly We established him in the land, and gave him the means to all things."
Quran 18:83-84
OK, before moving forward with the beautiful, metaphorical and complicated surah al-Kahf, I thought we could use a little more background. Again, from Nasr:
"Much speculation and legend surrounds the meaning of his name of title, Dhu'l-Qarnayn (lit. 'He of the two horns.'). Some suggest that he had one his head what appeared to be two horns; after calling people to the One God, he was struck in the right horn and killed, but then resurrected by God; then he was struck in the left horn, died, and according to some, was resurrected again. Other accounts say this name refers to his being the king of both Rum and Persia; or according to a hadith, it refers to his journeys, which are said to have circled around both 'horns' of the earth - the east and the west. Some report that he had a dream in which he drew near o the sun until he seized grasp the eastern and western horns of it, and after that the people referred to him as Dhu'l-Qarnayn. Still others mention that the two sides of his head were made of copper, or that he wore a headdress or helmet with two horns at the side. Finally, some suggest that it was simply a title he was given as a way of indicating his bravery and fearlessness. Some suggest that his name means that he lived for two centuries, although this is inconsistent with the historical Alexander, who died quite young." (p. 757)
So, clearly there is no consensus in regards to the meaning of the title, beyond the sense of of some degree of duality. This brings me (not a noted Islamic scholar) to the duality of the exoteric and esoteric worlds, which seems logical (as least to me) as it followed hard upon the story of Moses and Khidr. Is this all a grand metaphor of the liminal space between these two worlds, using Alexander as the perfect vehicle for that metaphor?
Quran 18:83-84
OK, before moving forward with the beautiful, metaphorical and complicated surah al-Kahf, I thought we could use a little more background. Again, from Nasr:
"Much speculation and legend surrounds the meaning of his name of title, Dhu'l-Qarnayn (lit. 'He of the two horns.'). Some suggest that he had one his head what appeared to be two horns; after calling people to the One God, he was struck in the right horn and killed, but then resurrected by God; then he was struck in the left horn, died, and according to some, was resurrected again. Other accounts say this name refers to his being the king of both Rum and Persia; or according to a hadith, it refers to his journeys, which are said to have circled around both 'horns' of the earth - the east and the west. Some report that he had a dream in which he drew near o the sun until he seized grasp the eastern and western horns of it, and after that the people referred to him as Dhu'l-Qarnayn. Still others mention that the two sides of his head were made of copper, or that he wore a headdress or helmet with two horns at the side. Finally, some suggest that it was simply a title he was given as a way of indicating his bravery and fearlessness. Some suggest that his name means that he lived for two centuries, although this is inconsistent with the historical Alexander, who died quite young." (p. 757)
So, clearly there is no consensus in regards to the meaning of the title, beyond the sense of of some degree of duality. This brings me (not a noted Islamic scholar) to the duality of the exoteric and esoteric worlds, which seems logical (as least to me) as it followed hard upon the story of Moses and Khidr. Is this all a grand metaphor of the liminal space between these two worlds, using Alexander as the perfect vehicle for that metaphor?
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