Who is Dhul-Qarnain? Is Dhul-Qarnain Alexander "the great" or Cyrus "the great"? Was Cyrus monotheist?

Who is Dhul-Qarnain? Is Dhul-Qarnain Alexander “the great” or Cyrus “the great”? Was Cyrus monotheist?

18:94 They said, "O Dhul-qarnain, indeed, Gog and Magog are corrupters in the land. So may we make for you an expenditure that you make a barrier between us and them?" 18:95 He said, "That in which my Lord has established me is better, but assist me with strength, I will make between you and them a barrier. 18:96 Bring me sheets of iron" until, when he had leveled between the two cliffs, he said, "Blow," until when he made it fire, he said, "Bring me molten copper to pour over it."

(Some non-Muslims say that the Qur’an’s stories about Dhul-Qarnayn closely parallel certain legends about Alexander the Great found in ancient Hellenistic and Christian writings; they also say that the ancient coins of Alexander have two horns (“Dhul-Qarnayn” is translated as “he of the two horns”); and that the ancient Christian Syriac and Ethiopic manuscripts of the Alexander romance (3rd century) from the Middle East have been found which closely resemble the story in the Qur’an. According to non-Muslims, this results in the theologically controversial conclusion that Qur’an refers to Alexander in the mention of Dhul-Qarnayn)(A response to this is that the Book of Isaiah is an oldest source which confirms that Dhul-Qarnain is Cyrus, and not Alexander. Quoting Isaiah, “Isaiah 45:1: This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut”; “Isaiah 45:2: I will go before you and will level the mountain; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron”. So, comparing Isaiah 45:1-2 to the Qur’an 18:94-96, it refers to the same story: the Qur’an says “Dhul-qarnain” (18:94), and Isaiah says “Cyrus” (45:1); the Qur’an says “leveled between the two cliffs” (18:96), and Isaiah says “will level the mountain” (45:2); the Qur’an says “copper” (18:96), and Isaiah says “bronze” (45:2)(bronze consists primarily of copper); and both the Qur’an (18:96) and Isaiah (45:2) say “iron”; and both are in the context of being in another nation’s land (Qur’an 18:86, 90; Isaiah 45:1), and in the context of getting the materials to level the mountain (Qur’an 18:96; Isaiah 45:2))(Cyrus was monotheist in both the Bible and the Qur’an, while it is said that Alexander was polytheist; and there is a relief of Cyrus the great with two horns in Pasargadae, Iran, from 6th century BCE. Notice that, according to the Book of Daniel 8:20, the two-horned ram represents the “kings” of Media and Persia (Media is a region of north-western Iran, and Persia is in Iran too), and the next Verse, Daniel 8:21, says, “the shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king”. So, Cyrus and Alexander are explicitly differentiated in Daniel 8:20-21, in the Bible. Notice that the Persian one (Cyrus) is the only one who is called “two-horned”, in the book of Daniel, in the Bible, which is exactly how he is called in the Qur’an (two-horned). While the king of Greece (Alexander) is called “shaggy goat” in the book of Daniel. The coins of Alexander confirm that Alexander is like a shaggy goat with horns)(Another proof is that Cyrus was called “king of the four corners of the world”. The Qur’an speaks about Dhul-qarnain reaching the setting and rising place of the sun (18:86, 90); those places are also mentioned in Isaiah 45:6, “so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other”)(Another point is that the Scriptures tell battles between believers and disbelievers. Alexander was polytheist (aka disbeliever), and Gog and Magog were disbelievers too, so it cannot be Alexander anyhow)(Allah knows best)

18:97 So they were not able to scale it nor were they able to penetrate it. 18:98 He said, "This is a mercy from my Lord. Then when the Promise of my Lord came/comes, He made it level. And the Promise of my Lord is true."

(Several centuries before the Alexander romance, the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus told that Gog and Magog were locked up behind iron gates in the Caspian mountains, so the story is not originally from the Alexander romance. Notice that Josephus was a historian, so the event is not a legend as some non-Muslims say. But Josephus’ very big mistake was that he wrongly thought that it was Alexander “the great”, instead of Cyrus, so the Alexander romance could have copied that mistake from Josephus. There were not previous sources verifying that the story was about Alexander, on the contrary, the Bible is a clear evidence that the story is about Cyrus, but Josephus might had not been aware or ignored the evidences in the Bible. Josephus wrote it 600 years after the event took place, and Alexander conquered Persia after Cyrus (in a later period of time), so the mistake was plausible to happen, specially if he did not know about the Bible account)(Source about Josephus’ work: the article “Gog and Magog” in wikipedia; and Josephus’ “the wars of the Jews”(244), translated by William Whiston)(Allah knows best)

21:96 Until when has been opened (for) Gog and Magog, and they descend from every elevation.

(Isaiah does not mention “Gog and Magog” together with “Cyrus”, but they are all mentioned/linked in the Book of Chronicles: “Chronicles starts with a genealogy from the first human being, Adam, and passes into a biblical narrative of the history of ancient Judah and Israel until the proclamation of King Cyrus the great (c. 540 BC)”. So, “Gog” is mentioned in “1 Chronicles 5:4”, and “Magog” is mentioned in “1 Chronicles 1:5”, and “Cyrus king of Persia” is mentioned in “2 Chronicles 36:22-23”. So, Cyrus, Gog and Magog are mentioned together in Chronicles, which is an older source, and it implicitly confirms that the story of Gog and Magog is linked to Cyrus, not to Alexander)(Another point is that, according to Genesis 10:2, in which Magog is mentioned, the term could indicate lineage; Genesis 10:32 says “these are the clans of Noah’s sons, according to their lines of descent, within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after the flood”)(Another point is that both, Cyrus and Alexander, conquered, more or less, the same territory, to the East, but Cyrus shared borders with China, while Alexander did not share borders with China. So, according to maps of Cyrus’ empire, Cyrus annexed Pakistan (parts of), Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, which share borders with China and Kazakhstan. Even today, the Persian language share borders with China (through Tajikistan and Afghanistan), and is even spoken inside China, by Tajiks (aka Pamiri people, who are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group), and there is also a heavily Persian-influenced Aynu language spoken by the Aynu people in southwestern Xinjiang who are officially considered Uyghurs. Both Greek and Persian languages are Indo-European languages, but only the Persian one is spoken near and within China)(According to maps of Alexander’s empire, Alexander did not share borders with China, but shared borders with Kazakhstan. So, if Gog and Magog referred to China, it would also confirm that the story in the Qur’an is about Cyrus, rather than about Alexander)(Verse 18:93 might confirm that Gog and Magog might be in China, the Verse says that “he found besides them a community, who would almost not understand (his) speech”. Kazakh language is a Turkic language, so they might understand the speech, and the largest of the language families in India/Pakistan is the Indo-Aryan (aka Indo-Iranian)(e.g. Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Punjabi, etc.). But Chinese is Sino-Tibetan, so it could (almost) not be understood by Cyrus or among his people)(So, it is obvious that the story about Gog and Magog was falsely attributed to Alexander)(Allah knows best)

18:83 And they ask you about Dhul-qarnain. Say, "I will recite to you a remembrance about him." … 18:86 Until, when he reached the setting place of the sun, he found it setting in a spring of dark mud, and he found a community near it. We said, "O Dhul-qarnain, either you punish them or take them with goodness." … 18:90 Until, when he reached the rising place of the sun, and he found it rising on a community for whom We had not made against it any shelter.

(God responded the question about Dhul-qarnain, and told an event related to him (18:83-90), regardless of whether the Arabs and Jews believed it was Alexander or not. So, it doesn’t imply that the Qur’an implicitly supports that it was Alexander, but the Qur’an clearly refers to Isaiah 45 in which Cyrus is explicitly mentioned, and also refers to Daniel 8. Some non-Muslims say that the Qur’an copied the Alexander Romance, to defame Islam, while there is another source: the Bible, which is previous to the Alexander Romance. The Qur’an confirms and explains the Bible (10:37). God revealed the Torah and the Gospel (3:3). The Qur’an does not copy or confirm people’s conjectures and falsehood, but confirms that which God revealed, which is the truth (4:170))(Allah knows best)

13:43 And those who disbelieve say, "You are not a Messenger." Say, "Sufficient is Allah as a Witness between me and you, and whoever has knowledge of the Book."

10:37 And it was not that this Qur’an could be produced by other than Allah, but (it is) a confirmation of that which was before it and a detailed explanation of the Book, about which there is no doubt, from the Lord of the worlds.

14:4 And We did not sent any Messenger except in the language of his people so that he might make clear for them. Then Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

(Some people object that Cyrus was likely polytheist, and that, in the Cyrus cylinder, he pays homage to the Babylonian god Marduk. A response to this objection is that, actually, the Cyrus cylinder confirms that Cyrus was monotheist. Notice that, in the Bible, Ezra says, “Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord ...”; likewise, in the Cyrus cylinder, Cyrus is following orders as well, it says: “at the command of Marduk, the great lord,...”. But, despite Cyrus used the name “Marduk”, because the cylinder was addressed to Babylonians, he is referring to the One God (The God of Israel/mankind/of the Torah, Gospel and Qur’an). Notice that, in the cylinder, Marduk is called “the lord of the gods” and “the great lord”; likewise, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 10:17 “for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God”; and Daniel 2:46 says, “The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings”. So the Cylinder and the Bible use the same/similar sentences. In addition, according to Daniel, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, believed in One God (monotheism), and it is known that the word used by Babylonians is “Marduk”, so that’s the god of gods, according to them. And this event is before Cyrus)(So, Marduk refers to the God of the Torah, Gospel and Qur’an, but Cyrus, or the person in charge of the cylinder, uses the name “Marduk”, in order to use the language of Babylonians in the cylinder. Likewise, for example, the word “God” in English (derived from Odin, Godan, ...), or “Dios” in Spanish (derived from Zeus, Deus, ...), have pagan origins, but, despite the pagan origin, people use these words to speak about the God of the Bible. That fact is confirmed by the article “The Universal God”, by the Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS), which is the first and most comprehensive, informative and scholarly website, dedicated to the ancient Iran and Iranian civilisation. The article says, “Iranians were happy too to accept Marduk or Zeus as the local name for Ahuramazda” (Ahura Mazda is the creator and highest deity of Zoroastrianism, the state religion of the ancient Persia). So, it proves that Cyrus used the name “Marduk” for referring to the One God (i.e. the God of Israel))(In addition, according to the article “Marduk, the main Babylonian god” in “factsanddetails(dot)com”, “a poem, known as Enuma elish, dating from the reign of Nebuchadrezzar I (1124-03 BC), describes Marduk as being so powerful and all-encompassing that he has 50 names, each one a deity or of a divine attribute. He was called “lord of the gods of heaven and earth” ... “All nature, including man, was created by him. The destiny of kingdoms and individuals was in his hands” (Source: Kenneth Sublett, piney(dot)com). So, if Marduk is the creator of everything, powerful, all-encompassing…, then it is talking about the God of the Bible, so Cyrus is not talking in the Cyrus cylinder about other than the One God)(Saying that Marduk is other than the One God or the God of the Bible, is like saying that English speakers are referring to Odin, each time they use the word “God”, or like saying that Spanish speakers are referring to Zeus each time they use the word “Dios”. In conclusion, Cyrus was obviously monotheist)(Allah knows best)

8:8 That He might justify the truth and prove false the falsehood, even if the criminals disliked.

(A wrong interpretation is that Cyrus wrote the Cyrus cylinder, as if he were polytheist, as a strategy, so that the cylinder did not reflect Cyrus’ belief. That is a wrong interpretation because Babylonians (and Jews) were monotheists, before the advent of Cyrus. So, Cyrus is actually confirming monotheism)(The article “Cyrus cylinder” in wikipedia is wrong when it describes the cylinder “as an instrument of ancient Mesopotamian propaganda”. In that article is also wrong that “the cylinder was “the first attempt we know about running a society, a state with different nationalities and faiths – a new kind of statecraft”. It is known that Cyrus supported the “same faith” (monotheism), rather than “different faiths”. For example, Cyrus built a temple to the Jews in Jerusalem: the Bible says, in Ezra 1:1-2, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah”. So, Cyrus supported monotheism, and did not follow his own agenda, but followed God’s command)(Another point is that even if Cyrus really allowed pagan religions in the kingdom, it would indicate that his duty was to allow it. But it does not imply that he was polytheist or that he believed in multiple religions at once, because it is not possible to believe in multiple religions at once, due to its contradictions. Nevertheless, the Cyrus cylinder and the Bible account show that Cyrus favored monotheistic religions, rather than polytheistic)(There is no polytheism in Cyrus’ annexed territories, if polytheism had had any support, the whole empire would have not become monotheist. Notice that Cyrus did not annex modern India or modern China, so polytheism only remained outside Cyrus’ empire)(Allah knows best)

22:17 Indeed, those who have believed and those who were Jews and the Sabeans and the Christians and the Magians and those who associated with Allah - Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed Allah is, over all things, Witness.

(Another point is that, quoting the article “Zoroastrianism in Iran” in Wikipedia, “although there are no inscriptions left from the time of Cyrus about his religion, the fire-altars found at Pasargadae, as well as the fact that he called his daughter Atossa, name of the queen of Vishtaspa (Zoroaster’s royal patron), suggests that he indeed may have been a Zoroastrian. … By the time of Darius the great, the empire was clearly Zoroastrian”. And according to the article “Zoroastrianism” in Wikipedia, Zoroastrianism has the features of the true religion: “monotheism, messianism, judgment after death, heaven and hell, and free will”. So, this information confirms that Cyrus is monotheist)(Another point is that Cyrus’ Zoroastrianism might differ from today’s Zoroastrianism. See the link below, “How the Qur’an corrects Zoroastrianism?”)(Allah knows best)

See also: Is the Qur'an scientifically correct? (5) (History)

http://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2016/09/response-to-jay-smith-can-god-have-son.html

See also: Is the Qur'an scientifically correct? (0) (Index)

https://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2017/04/is-quran-scientifically-correct-2.html

See also: How the Qur’an corrects Zoroastrianism?

https://aqtthq.blogspot.com.es/2016/09/which-prophets-are-mentioned-by-name-in.html