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Fatwa CenterDhul-Qarnain The Pious King
Question
Who's exactly Dhul-Qarnain? Is it correct, he's Alexander the Great from Macedonia? What are the clauses which confirming that Dhul-Qarnain was Alexander the Great from Macedonia?
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Dhul-Qarnain is the righteous king whose story is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, in Surah Al-Kahf, from verse 83 to 98. [18:83-98] He is not Alexander the Macedonian. Sheikh ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says in his book "Eliminating Contradiction between Mind and Text": It is wrong to think that Dhul-Qarnain who is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an is Alexander son of Philips (the Macedonian/Greek) whose minister was said to be Aristotle . To claim so is pure ignorance, for Dhul-Qarnain lived much earlier than him ( Alexander ) and was a monotheist Muslim. The real name of Dhul-Qarnain was said to be Alexander Ibn Dara , whereas the Greek one was Alexander Ibn Philips with whom the Romans begin their history and who was before Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) by about three thousand years. Also in his book 'Minhaj As-Sunnah An-Nabawiyyah' Imam Ibn Taymiyyah says about Alexander the Macedonian: He is the one with whom the Romans, Jewish, and Christians link their calendars, and not Dhul-Qarnain who is mentioned in the Qur'an as some people mistakenly think. Dhul-Qarnain came much earlier than Alexander the Macedonian. It was the former who built the Gog and Magog Dam which the latter did not even reach. The former, on the other hand, was a monotheist Muslim whereas the latter was a pagan along with his country, Greece, whose people were idolaters who worshipped planets and idols. Allah knows best.
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