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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance: Difference between revisions
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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance (view source)
Revision as of 21:00, 14 February 2024
, 14 February→Early Islamic Scholars: Added in their death dates to show when they lived for context.
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(→Historical Claims in the Hadith: I've added in small section on the caliph ordering a journey to this barrier, which I believe is important as it helps confirm early Muslim understanding (inc. the caliph, the highest Islamic authority) of the wall to still be around at the time. I've also found the full (scholarly) book which is referenced several times on this page can be read online for free on internetarchive.org, so I've left a link to that in the citation.) |
(→Early Islamic Scholars: Added in their death dates to show when they lived for context.) |
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===Spread of the Syriac Legend to Arabia=== | ===Spread of the Syriac Legend to Arabia=== | ||
The popularity of the Syriac legend of Alexander is evidenced by its inclusion in other works soon after its composition: The Syriac "Song of Alexander" (also known as the metrical homily or poem about Alexander), composed a few years later but before the Arab conquest of Syria sometime between 630 CE and 636 CE; The Syriac Apocalpyse of Pseudo-Ephrem composed between 640 CE and 683 CE and the "Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius" composed around 692 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" /><ref>{{cite book |date=2010 |last1=van Donzel |first1=Emeri |last2=Schmidt |first2=Andrea |title=Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall |publisher=Leiden: Brill |pages=25–31 |isbn=9789004174160}}</ref> Since the work was composed as a piece of propaganda, its intentional dissemination makes sense of its rapid adoption and popularity in the region. This would have included Christian Arabs of the Ghassanid. It is even possible that early Muslim followers heard the story of the Syrian legend during their raids on Mu'ta on the borders of Syria around September 629 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" /> | The popularity of the Syriac legend of Alexander is evidenced by its inclusion in other works soon after its composition: The Syriac "Song of Alexander" (also known as the metrical homily or poem about Alexander), composed a few years later but before the Arab conquest of Syria sometime between 630 CE and 636 CE; The Syriac Apocalpyse of Pseudo-Ephrem composed between 640 CE and 683 CE and the "Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius" composed around 692 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" /><ref>{{cite book |date=2010 |last1=van Donzel |first1=Emeri |last2=Schmidt |first2=Andrea |title=Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall |publisher=Leiden: Brill |pages=25–31 |isbn=9789004174160}} The full book and their analysis of the journey taken by Sallam can be read on the ''[https://archive.org/details/gogandmagoginearlyeasternchristianandislamicsources/page/n43/mode/2up Internet Archive linked here.]''</ref> Since the work was composed as a piece of propaganda, its intentional dissemination makes sense of its rapid adoption and popularity in the region. This would have included Christian Arabs of the Ghassanid. It is even possible that early Muslim followers heard the story of the Syrian legend during their raids on Mu'ta on the borders of Syria around September 629 CE.<ref name="VanBladel" /> | ||
===Views of Modern Scholars=== | ===Views of Modern Scholars=== | ||
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{{Quote|Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah| | {{Quote|Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah| | ||
A man who used to purvey stories of the foreigners, which were handed down among them, told me that Dhul-Qarnayn was an Egyptian whose name was Marzuban bin Mardhaba, the Greek.<ref>Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume, Alfred, ed. (2002). "The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah". Oxford University Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1.</ref>}} | A man who used to purvey stories of the foreigners, which were handed down among them, told me that Dhul-Qarnayn was an Egyptian whose name was Marzuban bin Mardhaba, the Greek.<ref>Ibn Ishaq; Guillaume, Alfred, ed. (2002). "The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq's Sirat Rasul Allah". Oxford University Press. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-19-636033-1.</ref>}} | ||
Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān (d. 767 CE), which is the earliest surviving authentically attributed tafsir, explicitly names him as Alexander. | |||
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=67&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Muqātil ibn Sulaymān on Verse 18:83]|2={And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn}, meaning Alexander Caesar, and he is called: the holding king, on Qaf, which is a mountain surrounding the world, Dhul-Qarnayn, but it was called Dhul-Qarnayn; Because he came to the two horns of the sun, the east and the west.}} | |||
As does the famous Qur'anic scholar al-Zamakhshari (d. 1143 CE). | |||
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=2&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Al-Zamakhshari on verse 18:83]|2=Dhul-Qarnayn is Alexander who ruled the world. It was said that it was owned by two believers, Dhul-Qarnayn and Sulayman.}} | |||
Al-Qurtubi (d. 1273 CE) gives both Ibn Ishaq's provided name (with the description matching Alexander the Great), as well as noting Ibn Hisham, the Muslim historian who preserved and edited Ibn Ishaq's biography of the prophet, named him as Alexander. | |||
{{Quote|1=[https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=5&tSoraNo=18&tAyahNo=83&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1 Tafsir Al-Qurtubi on Verse 18:83]|2=Ibn Ishaq said: Among Dhul-Qarnayn’s reports was that he was given what no one else had been given, so his paths were extended until he traveled from the lands to the easts and wests of the earth. He would not set foot on land except that he was given authority over Its people, Until he reached from the East and the West to what is beyond it; there is nothing of creation. Ibn Ishaq said: Someone who narrated hadiths from the non-Arabs regarding the knowledge of Dhul-Qarnayn that they had inherited told me that Dhul-Qarnayn was a man from the people of Egypt whose name was Marzban bin Mardaba the Greek, from the descendants of Jonah bin Japheth bin Noah. Ibn Hisham said: His name is Alexander, and he is the one who built Alexandria, so it is attributed to him.}} | |||
Tafsir al-Jalalayn, a classical Sunni tafsir of the Qur'an, composed by Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli in 1459 CE identifies Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander. | Tafsir al-Jalalayn, a classical Sunni tafsir of the Qur'an, composed by Jalal ad-Din al-Mahalli in 1459 CE identifies Dhul-Qarnayn as Alexander. | ||