Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn and the Alexander Legends: The Sun in the Muddy Spring and the Wall of Gog and Magog
2. Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn and the Alexander Legends: The Sun in the Muddy Spring and the Wall of Gog and Magog
1. Quran
“And he followed a road till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout.” Quran 18:85-86
Quran 18:86 in Arabic word for word creates two independent problems:
- First, Dhul Qarnayn reached (balagha) a location: the setting place of the sun (maghriba l-shamsi).
- There, he found (wajada) the sun setting in a muddy spring (ʿaynin ḥami-atin). And he found (wajada) a community near it.
Quran 18:86 Word for Word Arabic
Full Dhul Qarnayn Story (Quran 18:83-102)
The Dhul Qarnayn story begins: “They will ask thee of Dhu’l-Qarneyn.” In it, he traveled until he reached (balagha) the setting place of the sun and found (wajada) the sun setting in a muddy spring, and found (wajada) a community near it. Then he reached (balagha) the rising place of the sun where people had no shelter from it. Then he followed another path until he reached (balagha) a place between two mountains, where he found (wajada) a people asking for help against Gog and Magog. He built an iron and copper wall between the cliffs to seal them off until doomsday. Quran 18:83-102
Earliest Tafsirs (Quranic Commentaries) Took It Literally Until It Became Too Embarrassing
Examples include:
“The sun sets in a spring of murky, black mud; then it falls down in prostration beneath the Throne, seeks permission [to rise again], and is granted permission.” (on Quran 36:38)
“This means that the sun and moon enter beneath the earth from the west and emerge from beneath the earth in the east, then travel through the sky until they set in the west. This is their orbit.” (on Quran 36:40)
“‘He found the sun setting in a muddy spring’ - that is, a hot, black spring.” (on Quran 18:86) Tafsir Muqatil (d. 767 AD)
“It has reached me that the sun sets in a spring, and the spring hurls it to the east.” Tafsir Sa’id b. Mansur (d. 842 AD) Tafsir al-Tha’labi (d. 1035 AD) Tafsir al-Suyuti (d. 1505 AD)
“A city with twelve thousand gates; were it not for its inhabitants’ voices, people would hear the sun fall as it sets.” Abu al-Shaykh, al-Azama (d. 979 AD) Tafsir al-Suyuti (d. 1505 AD)
“The reading ḥamiʾah means [a spring] of black, foul-smelling mud; ḥāmiyah means ‘hot.’ … ‘And he found (wajada) beside it a people’ - that is, beside the spring in which the sun sets.” Tafsir al-Samarqandi (d. 984 AD)
Tafsir al-Tabari (d. 923 AD): Companion Ibn Abbas and the Salaf Debate on Whether the Spring in Which the Sun Sets Is Muddy or Hot
Tafsir al-Tabari (widely considered one of the most authoritative Quranic commentaries) preserves the debate between Muhammad’s Companion Ibn Abbas and the Salaf over whether the spring where the sun sets is muddy or hot. Tabari says both readings are correct because the sun could set in a spring that is both hot and muddy.
Allah says: (Until, when Dhul-Qarnayn reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring.) The readers differed on how to read this. Some of the readers of Medina and Basra read it as (in a muddy spring), meaning that the sun sets in a spring that contains mud. While a group of the readers of Medina and the majority of the readers of Kufa read it as, (in a warm spring) meaning that the sun sets in a spring of warm water. The people of commentary have differed on the meaning of this depending on the way they read the verse.
And in my (Tabari’s) mind the correct opinion is to say that they are both popular readings in the land, and each one has a correctness about it and an understandable meaning, and neither contradicts the other, for it is possible that the sun sets in a hot spring that has mud and sludge, so a reader who uses “hot spring” is describing its temperature, and the reader who uses “muddy spring” is describing that it has mud and sludge. Reports have been narrated with both of its wordings, each of which describes one of its attributes.
2. Hadith
Muhammad directly says in a hadith that the sun sets in a spring:
I was with the Prophet ﷺ riding on a donkey, and it had a saddlecloth or a blanket on it. He said to me, “O Abu Dhar, do you know where this (the sun) sets?” I said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Indeed, it sets in a hot spring and travels until it prostrates itself to its Lord beneath the Throne. When its time to rise comes, Allah gives it permission to rise, and it rises. And when it is time for it to set from where it rises, it is prevented and it utters: ‘O Lord! My course is far, so give me permission.’ So, Allah lets it rise from the place where it sets. That is the time when the soul’s faith will not benefit it.” Musnad Ahmad 21459 (al-Arna’ut: Authentic Chain) Musnad Ahmad 21459 (al-Albani: Authentic) Sunan Abu Dawud 4002 (al-Albani: Sahih in chain)
3. The Legends of Alexander the Great
The Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn story begins, “They will ask thee of Dhu’l-Qarneyn” Quran 18:83, showing that people already knew of the story. Scholars trace the Quranic character Dhul Qarnayn to legends about Alexander the Great circulating around Muhammad’s time, such as the Syriac Alexander Legend, which shares a similar cosmology:
“And king Alexander was afraid and retired, and he knew that it was impossible for them to cross over to the place where were the ends of the heavens. So the whole camp mounted, and Alexander and his troops went up between the fetid sea and the bright sea to the place where the sun enters the window of heaven; for the sun is the servant of the Lord, and neither by night nor by day does he cease from his travelling. The place of his rising is over the sea, and the people who dwell there, when he is about to rise, flee away and hide themselves in the sea, that they be not burnt by his rays; and he passes through the midst of the heavens to the place where he enters the window of heaven... And when the sun enters the window of heaven, he straightway bows down and makes obeisance before God his Creator; and he travels and descends the whole night through the heavens, until at length he finds himself where he rises.” Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148
Yale scholar Kevin van Bladel:
“The water in the place where the sun sets is ‘fetid’ in both texts, a perfect coincidence of two uncommon synonyms (Syriac saryā, Arabic ḥamiʾa).” van Bladel, “The Alexander Legend in the Qur’ān 18:83-102”, p. 181
Early Islamic Sources Identify Dhul Qarnayn as Alexander the Great
“And they, the Jews, question you concerning Dhū’l-Qarnayn, whose name was Alexander; he was not a prophet. Say: ‘I shall recite, relate, to you a mention, an account, of him’, of his affair.” Tafsir al-Jalalayn on 18:83 (d. 1505 AD)
“You came to ask me about Dhul-Qarnayn, and what you find in your book: He was a young man from the Romans, so he came and built the city of Alexandria in Egypt” Tafsir al-Tabari on 18:83 (d. 923 AD)
“The Account of Darius [Dārā] the Elder and His Son Darius the Younger. How He Perished and the Account of Alexander [Dhū-l-Qarnayn]” p. 87
“Philip, the father of Alexander the Greek, reigned over a Greek land known as Macedonia and other lands that he had occupied. He concluded a peace treaty with Darius, under which he paid an annual tribute to the latter. Philip died, and his son Alexander succeeded him.” p. 89 al-Tabari, History of al-Tabari, vol. 4, pp. 87-95 (d. 923 AD)
“‘And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn,’ meaning Alexander Caesar, also known as the King who seized [control of the region of] Qaf (a mountain encircling the world).” Tafsir Muqatil ibn Sulayman on 18:83 (d. 767 AD)
“Ibn Hisham said: His name was Alexander, and he was the one who built Alexandria, which was therefore named after him.” Tafsir al-Qurtubi on 18:83 (d. 1273 AD) Ibn Hisham (d. 833 AD), Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 719 (n. 186)
“Since it is established by the Quran that Dhul-Qarnayn was a man who ruled the entire earth, or nearly all of it, and since historical knowledge confirms that the only figure fitting this description was Alexander, it must be concluded with certainty that Dhul-Qarnayn is Alexander, son of Philip the Greek.” al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb on 18:84 (d. 1210 AD)
Questions Raised by Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn Story Answered by Syriac Alexander Legend
1. Why Is Dhul Qarnayn Called “The Two-Horned One”?
Quran’s Question:
Why is he called “Dhu’l-Qarneyn”, meaning “The Two-Horned One”?
“They will ask thee of Dhu’l-Qarneyn. Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him. Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road.”Quran 18:83-84
Alexander Legend’s Answer:
God gave Alexander horns on his head as weapons to destroy kingdoms.
“the Lord said to him, ‘Behold, I have magnified thee above all kingdoms, and I have made horns of iron to grow on thy head that thou mayest thrust down the kingdoms of the earth with them’”Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 156
2. Why Does Dhul Qarnayn Randomly Punish Wrongdoers at the Setting Place of the Sun?
Quran’s Question:
After Dhul Qarnayn reaches the setting place of the sun, finds it setting in a muddy spring and also finds a people near it, why does Allah (for no apparent reason) give him the option to either punish the people or show them kindness? And why does Dhul Qarnayn choose to punish the wrongdoers among them?
“And he followed a road till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. We said: O Dhu’l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness. He said: As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him”Quran 18:85-87
Alexander Legend’s Answer:
Alexander used condemned criminals to confirm that the fetid sea at the edge of the world was deadly and unsafe to cross.
“Now Alexander thought within himself, ‘If it be true as they say, that everyone who comes near the foetid sea dies, it is better that these who are guilty of death should die,’ and when they had gone, and had arrived at the shore of the sea, they died instantly.”Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148
Yale scholar Kevin van Bladel:
“When Alexander came to the people in the west, he tested the efficacy of the deadly, fetid waters with the lives of convicts. This passage helps to explain the option given, for no apparent reason, by God to Dhu l-Qarnayn in the Qur’an: either to punish the people or to do them a kindness. Dhu l-Qarnayn says he will punish only wrongdoers (man zalama), who are like the prisoners sentenced to death in the Syriac text, described there as evil-doers (abday-bishe).”van Bladel, “The Alexander Legend in the Qur’ān 18:83-102”, p. 181
3. Why Do the People Living Near the Rising Place of the Sun Have No Shelter?
Quran’s Question:
Why did the people that Dhul Qarnayn found at the rising place of the sun have no shelter from it?
“Then he followed a road till, when he reached the rising-place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom.”Quran 18:89-90
Alexander Legend’s Answer:
The sun’s heat near its rising place is so intense that it splits rocks, forcing people to run and hide in the sea and in caves.
“The place of his rising is over the sea, and the people who dwell there, when he is about to rise, flee away and hide themselves in the sea, that they be not burnt by his rays ... and wherever he passes there are terrible mountains, and those who dwell there have caves hollowed out in the rocks, and as soon as they see the sun passing [over them], men and birds flee away from before him and hide in the caves, for rocks are rent [split] by his blazing heat and fall down”Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148
Tafsir al-Tabari (widely considered one of the most authoritative Quranic commentaries) on Quran 18:90:
“Their land had neither mountain nor tree and could not support buildings in which they could live; instead, they would submerge themselves in the water or enter burrows.”Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:90 (d. 923 AD)
“Ibn Jurayj said: ‘When the sun rose over them, they entered their burrows until the sun moved past its highest point, or they entered the sea.’”Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:90 (d. 923 AD)
“Qatadah said: ‘It is said: They are the Zanj [Black East Africans].’”Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:90 (d. 923 AD)
Academic Research
“Thus, quite strikingly, almost every element of this short Qur’anic tale finds a more explicit and detailed counterpart in the Syriac Alexander Legend. In both texts the related events are given in precisely the same order.
Already earlier several cases of specific words that are exact matches between the Syriac and the Arabic were indicated. The water in the place where the sun sets is ‘fetid’ in both texts, a perfect coincidence of two uncommon synonyms (Syriac saryā, Arabic ḥamiʾa).
Also, the wall that Alexander builds is made specifically of iron and brass in both texts.
We are told in the Syriac that God will ‘gather together the kings and their hosts,’ which finds a nearly perfect match in Q 18:99: ‘the horn will be blown and we shall gather them together.’
The proper names of Yājūj and Mājūj are not uniquely matched by this Syriac text (where they appear as Agog and Magog), for their tradition is derived from the books of Ezekiel and the Apocalypse of John, but they do still count as specific word correspondences between the Syriac and Arabic texts in question here.
In the Qur’ān God is characterized as saying, ‘We shall leave them on that day surging like waves against each other,’ wa-taraknā baʿḍahum yawmaʾidhin yamūju fī baʿḍin, while the Syriac says similarly, ‘and kingdoms will fall upon each other,’ w-naplān malkwātā ḥdā ʿal ḥdā.” p. 181
“The Qur’anic account must draw from the Syriac account, if not directly then by oral report.” p. 190 van Bladel, “The Alexander Legend in the Qur’ān 18:83-102”
“Like Alexander in the Syriac work, Ḏū-l-Qarnayn constructs his barrier from iron and bronze components. This coincidence is significant, since all references to the motif of Alexander’s (non-apocalyptic) gates in sources earlier than the Neṣḥānā [Syriac Alexander Legend] mention only iron as the metal from which the barrier was made.” Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” p. 172
Passages from Tesei’s 2023 Translation of the Legend
“Alexander had thought: ‘If it is true, as they say, that everyone who gets close to the fetid sea dies, then it is better it be those who are sentenced to death to die.’ The prisoners went and when they reached the seashore they died at once.”Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” p. 174
“Alexander and his troop set out between the fetid sea and the shining sea until reaching the place where the Sun enters the window of heaven — because the Sun is the servant of the Lord and never interrupts its journey, at neither night nor day. The place from where it rises is above the sea. When it is about to rise the people who dwell there flee and hide in the sea in order of not being burnt by its rays. It then crosses over the middle of heavens until reaching the place where it enters the window of heaven. Where it passes by are terrifying mountain peaks. Those who dwell there have caves dug in the rock. As soon as they see the Sun rising, men and birds flee from before it and hide in the caves, because the stones burnt by its flames roll down and incinerate at once whatever they touch, be it humans or beasts. As soon as the Sun enters the window of heaven it prostrates before God and venerates his creator. He then travels and descends the entire night in the skies until it finds itself at the place where it rises.”Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” pp. 174-175
“The king said: ‘Let us build a gate of bronze and block up this breach.’ His troops said: ‘We will do as your majesty commands.’ And Alexander commanded to bring three thousand blacksmiths, able to work iron, and three thousand men, able to work bronze.”Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” p. 177
“This book is the first monographic study entirely consecrated to the Syriac text entitled Neṣḥānā d-Aleksandrōs (also known as the Syriac Alexander Legend), a seminal text for later Christian and Muslim apocalyptic traditions. While the scholarly consensus commonly dates the Neṣḥānā to the time of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641 CE), this study demonstrates that an earlier version of the text was produced during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565).” Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” Abstract
“Tommaso Tesei provides the most definitive study of the Syriac Alexander Legend to date. Although this text may possibly be unfamiliar to some scholars of late antiquity, it is highly important for its direct influence on the Qur’an (Q 18.83-101). Yet the significance of this sixth-century apocalypse greatly exceeds its appropriation in Qur’an.” Stephen J. Shoemaker, University of Oregon (Review)
“This study examines the significant connection between the Qurʾānic narrative and the Neṣḥānā d-Aleksandros, a sixth-century Syriac text that reimagines Alexander the Great as a monotheistic Christian king and apocalyptic hero. The evidence presented here suggests that the Neṣḥānā [Syriac Alexander Legend] served as a key source of inspiration for the Qurʾānic portrayal of Dhū-l-Qarnayn, supporting his identification as an Alexander figure reinterpreted through the lens of Syriac literary and ideological traditions.” Tesei, “And they ask you about Dhū-l-Qarnayn.”
“However, in light of this episode’s relationship to the Alexander literature, this phrase more likely means the point at which the waters in the heavens and the waters on earth meet (on this see Gen 1:6–7), that is, the end of the world (n.b. in this regard how Alexander, or Dhū l-Qarnayn, goes to the westernmost [v. 86] and easternmost [v.90] points on earth, something which reflects a flat earth.)” p. 464
“18:83–101 overview This episode is also related to legends connected to Alexander (it is presumably not a coincidence that two Alexander accounts appear in the same Sura in the Qurʾān), but in this case to the Syriac Christian Neṣḥānā d-leh d-Aleksandrōs” p. 467 Reynolds, The Qurʾān and the Bible, pp. 464, 467-471
“The Qurʾān’s accounts of the Companions of the Cave and the travels of Dhū ’l-Qarnayn strongly resonate with popular late antique Syriac Christian stories, namely, accounts of the so-called Sleepers of Ephesus and of Alexander the Great ... it is likely that oral versions of these narratives preceded their surviving written accounts and that the Qurʾān recalled aspects of these oral versions for its own purposes.” Griffith, “The Narratives of Sūrat al-Kahf”
“The story of Dhū al-qarnayn, that is, Alexander the Great, from sūra 18:83–101, borrows directly from the Syriac Alexander Legend, as discussed already in Chapter 3. The Qurʾān’s adaptation of this Christian text affords definitive proof that Muhammad and his followers were not only aware of but seemingly engaged with the tradition of Byzantine imperial eschatology.” Shoemaker, “The Apocalypse of Empire,” p. 150
Where Does The Sun Go At Sunset? The Hadiths Give The Same Answer
Same motif across the Syriac Alexander Legend and the hadiths: the sun enters the sea/spring, then bows/prostrates before God.
“Do you know where this sets? It sets in a hot spring.” Musnad Ahmad 21459 (al-Albani: Authentic) Musnad Ahmad 21459 (al-Arna’ut: Authentic Chain) Sunan Abu Dawud 4002 (al-Albani: Sahih in chain)
The Prophet (ﷺ) asked me at sunset, “Do you know where the sun goes (at the time of sunset)?” I replied, “Allah and His Apostle know better.” He said, “It goes (i.e. travels) till it prostrates Itself underneath the Throne and takes the permission to rise again, and it is permitted and then (a time will come when) it will be about to prostrate itself but its prostration will not be accepted, and it will ask permission to go on its course but it will not be permitted, but it will be ordered to return whence it has come and so it will rise in the west. And that is the interpretation of the Statement of Allah: “And the sun Runs its fixed course For a term (decreed). that is The Decree of (Allah) The Exalted in Might, The All-Knowing.” (36.38)” Sahih Bukhari 3199
“And the sun runneth on unto a resting-place for him. That is the measuring of the Mighty, the Wise.” Quran 36:38
Read and Compare: Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn Story vs. Syriac Alexander Legend
Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn Story:
Quran 18:83-102 (only 20 verses)
Syriac Alexander Legend:
Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, pp. 144-158 (15 pages)
4. The Wall of Gog and Magog
Dhul Qarnayn built an iron and copper wall between two mountains to seal off the tribes of Gog and Magog until doomsday. This wall is nowhere to be found.
“Then he followed a road till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying. They said: O Dhu’l-Qarneyn! Lo! Gog and Magog are spoiling the land. So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou set a barrier between us and them? He said: That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). Do but help me with strength (of men), I will set between you and them a bank. Give me pieces of iron - till, when he had levelled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: Blow! - till, when he had made it a fire, he said: Bring me molten copper to pour thereon. And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it). He said: This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass, He will lay it low, for the promise of my Lord is true. And on that day We shall let some of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one gathering.” Quran 18:92-99
Also in Syriac Alexander Legend
“He said to them, ‘Who are their kings?’ The old men said: ‘Gog and Magog’ ... Let us make a gate of brass and close up this breach… Alexander commanded… workers in iron ... workers in brass… they put down brass and iron… then they brought it and made a gate...when the world shall come to an end by the command of God ... The Lord shall send His sign from heaven… and it shall be destroyed and fall.” Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 150-153
Authentic hadiths about Gog and Magog:
Gog and Magog Dig Every Day and Will Break Through When They Say “Inshallah”
“It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Gog and Magog people dig every day until, when they can almost see the rays of the sun, the one in charge of them says: ‘Go back and we will dig it tomorrow.’ Then Allah puts it back, stronger than it was before. (This will continue) until, when their time has come, and Allah wants to send them against the people, they will dig until they can almost see the rays of the sun, then the one who is in charge of them will say: ‘Go back, and we will dig it tomorrow if Allah wills.’ So they will say: ‘If Allah wills.’ Then they will come back to it and it will be as they left it. So they will dig and will come out to the people, and they will drink all the water. The people will fortify themselves against them in their fortresses. They will shoot their arrows towards the sky and they will come back with blood on them, and they will say: ‘We have defeated the people of earth and dominated the people of heaven.’ Then Allah will send a worm in the napes of their necks and will kill them thereby.’” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the beasts of the earth will grow fat on their flesh.” Sunan Ibn Majah 4080
Muhammad’s Fear: Already a Finger-Sized Hole in the Wall of Gog and Magog
“That the Prophet (ﷺ) came to her in a state of fear saying, ‘None has the right to be worshiped but Allah! Woe to the Arabs because of evil that has come near. Today a hole has been made in the wall of Gog and Magog as large as this.’ pointing with two of his fingers making a circle. Zainab said, ‘I said, O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! Shall we be destroyed though amongst us there are pious people?’ He said, ‘Yes, if evil increases.’” Sahih al-Bukhari 3598
999 Gog and Magog for Every 1 Muslim in Hell
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “On the day of Resurrection Allah will say, ‘O Adam!’ Adam will reply, ‘Labbaik our Lord, and Sa`daik’ Then there will be a loud call (saying), Allah orders you to take from among your offspring a mission for the (Hell) Fire.’ Adam will say, ‘O Lord! Who are the mission for the (Hell) Fire?’ Allah will say, ‘Out of each thousand, take out 999.’ At that time every pregnant female shall drop her load (have a miscarriage) and a child will have grey hair. And you shall see mankind as in a drunken state, yet not drunk, but severe will be the torment of Allah.” (22.2) (When the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned this), the people were so distressed (and afraid) that their faces got changed (in color) whereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “From Gog and Magog nine-hundred ninety-nine [999] will be taken out and one [1] from you. You Muslims (compared to the large number of other people) will be like a black hair on the side of a white ox, or a white hair on the side of a black ox, and I hope that you will be onefourth of the people of Paradise.” On that, we said, “Allahu-Akbar!” Then he said, “I hope that you will be) one-third of the people of Paradise.” We again said, “Allahu-Akbar!” Then he said, “(I hope that you will be) one-half of the people of Paradise.” So we said, Allahu Akbar.” Sahih Bukhari 4741