In the name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent
They will ask you about Thul-Qarnain. Say: “I will give you an account of him. We established his power on Earth, and gave him means to achieve anything. So he followed a certain way and (marched westward) till, when he came to the setting of the sun, it appeared to him that it was setting in a dark, turbid waters; and nearby he found a certain people. ‘Thul-Qarnain,’ We said, ‘you may either punish them or treat them with kindness.’ He replied, ‘The one who does wrong we shall punish. Then he will return to his Lord and be sternly punished by Him. But the one who believes and does righteous deeds shall have a goodly reward, and we shall assign to him a task that is easy to fulfill’.” (The Cave, “Al-Kahf,” 18: 83-88)
This is the last passage of the Surah Al-Kahf, most of which deals with Thul-Qarnain and his travels. You might have read about the questions the Jews recommended the pagan Arabs to put to the Prophet in order to be sure whether he was truly a messenger of God or an impostor. One of these questions was about an ancient man who traveled far and wide and what he did on his journeys. Of course, it is not wise or appropriate to examine Qur’anic accounts against historical study. History, after all, is a recent development, while mankind have lived for ages before the documentation of history. Moreover, sources of Divine origin, such as the Torah, have been subject to distortion and addition, which make them totally unreliable. Hence we must derive our information only from reliable sources.
Some people, then, asked God’s messenger about Thul-Qarnain, and God revealed to him what this surah contains about his history and actions. We have no source other than the Qur’an to give us further information. Hence, we will not try to expand or elaborate, because that would not be based on any accurate information. Commentaries on the Qur’an provide many accounts and plenty of information, but none of these has any reliable basis. Hence, they should be approached very cautiously, particularly because they include Israelite reports and other legends.
Of the history of Thul-Qarnain the Qur’an mentions three journeys, one to the west, one to the east and the third to a place described as an area “between two mountains.” Let us now consider this Qur’anic account.
The story of Thul-Qarnain, as given in this surah, begins with a brief introduction of the man himself: “We established his power on Earth, and gave him means to achieve anything.” God then has established his power on Earth, giving him uncontested authority. He has also given him the means of government and victory, the facilities to build civilization, enjoy the blessings God has made available to mankind, and all that make human life steady and prosperous in their life on Earth.
“He followed a certain way.” Thus, he went along one way which was made easy for him, aiming westward: “When he came to the setting of the sun, it appeared to him that it was setting in dark, turbid waters; and nearby he found a certain people. ‘Thul-Qarnain,’ We said, ‘you may either punish them or treat them with kindness.’ He replied, “The one who does wrong we shall punish. Then he will return to his Lord and be sternly punished by Him. But the one who believes and does righteous deeds shall have a goodly reward, and we shall assign to him a task that is easy to fulfill.”
Reaching the setting of the sun means the place where a person feels that the sun sets there beyond the horizon. This varies according to geographical location. In some places we may feel that the sun sets beyond a mountain, while in others we feel that it goes down in the water, as it is the case when we look at the sea or the ocean. In other places still, the sun seems to set in the sand, as when we are in a desert with no hills or mountains around.
It appears from the text that Thul-Qarnain went westward until he reached a point on the Atlantic coast which people believed to be at the end of a dry land. He saw the sun setting in the sea. It is even more likely that this was at a river mouth, where there would be plenty of weeds and the area becomes muddy. Some little lakes are formed and may look like water springs. He saw the sun setting there, going down in a spring of murky water. But it is impossible for us to define the area, because the surah does not give us any clue. We have no other reliable source. Hence, any view other than this cannot be considered accurate because it has no reliable basis. At this lake of turbid and murky waters, Thul-Qarnain found a people and God gave him a choice: “We said, Thul-Qarnain, you may either punish them or treat them with kindness.” Now, how did God say this to Thul-Qarnain? Was it revelation, or a mere statement of the situation, resulting from the fact that God had given him power over those people, so that he could determine whatever he wished to do with them. In this case, it would be just as if it was said to him: Here they are at your command; you may choose to punish them or to follow a lenient course of action with them. Both are possible. There is nothing to stop us understanding the text in either way. What is important to realize is that Thul-Qarnain declared his policy in the areas that came under his rule and their population became subject to his authority.
“He replied, ‘The one who does wrong we shall punish. Then he will return to his Lord and be sternly punished by Him. But the one who believes and does righteous deeds shall have a goodly reward, and we shall assign to him a task that is easy to fulfill’”. This is a declaration that those who transgress the bounds of justice will be subject to his own punishment in this life. Then they will return to their Lord who is certain to inflict on them severe punishment that has no parallel in what is known in human life. On the other hand, pious and true believers will receive kind treatment, generous reward, honor and help in all their affairs.
These are the outlines of a just and good government. A true believer should receive from the rulers every sort of kindly treatment and generous reward, while transgressors who are unjust to their fellow human beings should be punished severely. When those who do well in the community, pursuing a fair line of action in all their pursuits, receive a good reward for their actions, and when the unjust and the oppressors receive the punishment and humiliation they deserve, then the whole community is motivated to follow the line of goodness. But when matters go wrong, and the unjust, oppressor and corrupt people are the ones who have favor with the ruler, while those who are good and fair are persecuted, then the ruler’s power becomes no more than a tool of corruption and misery for the whole community. Nothing remains fair. The whole society sinks into chaos.
Arab News Islam 27 December 2002
