Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis

Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis

The Identity of Dhul-Qarnayn Based on the Signs of His Travels

Document Type : Original article

Authors
Sayyed ʿAlī Delbarī 1
Alborz Moḥaqqeq Garfamī 2
1 Associate Professor, Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Master student of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Dhu al-Qarnayn's identity and knowledge of the components that shaped his story have long been of interest to Qur'anic scholars. Some have considered him Cyrus the Great, Alexander the Great, Emperor of China, Fereydoun or one of the rulers of Yemen and have adapted the components of his story to their hypothesis. Using library resources and choosing an analytical-descriptive method, this paper seeks to validate the commentators' ideas about the identity of Dhu al-Qarnayn, which is based on understanding the components of the events of his travels. For this purpose, after reviewing and criticizing the opinions of about 60 Quranic researches of the two sects about the identity of Dhu al-Qarnayn, the semiotics of the Quranic elements reported in his travels has been studied. The achievement of the article is that according to the application of historical evidence to the Qur'anic story of Dhu al-Qarnayn, his identity is not applicable to any of the aforementioned characters. Also, with the help of geography and ecology, the destination of his western trip to the current desert country and his eastern trip to the coast of Somalia will be evaluated.
Keywords
Dhu al-Qarnayn
Sūra the Cave
Cyrus
Fereydūn
Alexander the Great
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Critical Studies on the Quranic Exegesis
Volume 2, Issue 1 - Serial Number 3
August 2021
Pages 111-140

  • Receive Date 09 February 2022
  • Revise Date 30 May 2022
  • Accept Date 30 May 2022