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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 22:34, 5 January 2024
, 5 January→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.
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Lightyears (talk | contribs) (Rejected the last 2 text changes (by CPO675) and restored revision 137253 by CPO675: This distracts from the purpose of the section which is to show the parallels with the Syriac legend) Tag: Manual revert |
(→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.) |
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* In another inscription, from Ur, he boasted that "the great gods have delivered all the lands into my hands" | * In another inscription, from Ur, he boasted that "the great gods have delivered all the lands into my hands" | ||
* On the Cyrus cylinder he claimed that the god Marduk had ordered him to become ruler of the whole world and to treat the Babylonians with justice | * On the Cyrus cylinder he claimed that the god Marduk had ordered him to become ruler of the whole world and to treat the Babylonians with justice | ||
* According to the same text, the idols that Nabonidus had brought to Babylon from various other Babylonian cities were reinstalled in their former sanctuaries, as were the statues of alien gods from Susa and the cities of northern Mesopotamia. The ruined temples of Babylonia, Elam, and what had been Assyria were reconstructed. | * According to the same text, the idols that Nabonidus had brought to Babylon from various other Babylonian cities were reinstalled in their former sanctuaries, as were the statues of alien gods from Susa and the cities of northern Mesopotamia. The ruined temples of Babylonia, Elam, and what had been Assyria were reconstructed. | ||
A translation of the Cyrus Cylinder by Irvin Finkel of the British Museum includes the following lines:{{Quote|Cyrus Cylinder translated by Irvin Finkel<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/166/the-cyrus-cylinder/ |title=The Cyrus Cylinder |last=Simonin |first=Antoine |publisher=worldhistory.org |date=2012 |website=worldhistory.org}}</ref>|"Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at [my good] deeds [...] From [Shuanna] I sent back to their places to the city of Ashur and Susa, | |||
A translation of the Cyrus Cylinder by Irvin Finkel of the British Museum includes the following lines: | |||
{{Quote|Cyrus Cylinder translated by Irvin Finkel<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/166/the-cyrus-cylinder/ |title=The Cyrus Cylinder |last=Simonin |first=Antoine |publisher=worldhistory.org |date=2012 |website=worldhistory.org}}</ref>|"Marduk, the great lord, rejoiced at [my good] deeds [...] From [Shuanna] I sent back to their places to the city of Ashur and Susa, | |||
Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated, the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. [...] I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements, and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries, every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: 'Cyrus, the king who fears you [...] May Marduk, the great lord, present to me as a gift a long life and the fullness of age"}} | Akkad, the land of Eshnunna, the city of Zamban, the city of Meturnu, Der, as far as the border of the land of Guti - the sanctuaries across the river Tigris - whose shrines had earlier become dilapidated, the gods who lived therein, and made permanent sanctuaries for them. [...] I collected together all of their people and returned them to their settlements, and the gods of the land of Sumer and Akkad which Nabonidus – to the fury of the lord of the gods – had brought into Shuanna, at the command of Marduk, the great lord, I returned them unharmed to their cells, in the sanctuaries that make them happy. May all the gods that I returned to their sanctuaries, every day before Bel and Nabu, ask for a long life for me, and mention my good deeds, and say to Marduk, my lord, this: 'Cyrus, the king who fears you [...] May Marduk, the great lord, present to me as a gift a long life and the fullness of age"}} | ||
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And in the Sunan Ibn Majah collection, a hadith (rated 'Sahih' (authentic) by Darussalam) says that they will try to dig out, but Allah will replace the wall overnight when they are close to breaking through. Until eventually they will be allowed to break through, drink all the water, and defeat the people on Earth and heaven, and then Allah will kill them: | And in the Sunan Ibn Majah collection, a hadith (rated 'Sahih' (authentic) by Darussalam) says that they will try to dig out, but Allah will replace the wall overnight when they are close to breaking through. Until eventually they will be allowed to break through, drink all the water, and defeat the people on Earth and heaven, and then Allah will kill them: | ||
{{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||5|36|4080}}|It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: | {{Quote|{{Ibn Majah||5|36|4080}}|It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: | ||
"Gog and Magog people dig every day until, when they can almost see the rays of the sun, the one in charge of them says: "Go back and we will dig it tomorrow." Then Allah puts it back, stronger than it was before. (This will continue) until, when their time has come, and Allah wants to send them against the people, they will dig until they can almost see the rays of the sun, then the one who is in charge of them will say: "Go back, and we will dig it tomorrow if Allah wills.' So they will say: "If Allah wills." Then they will come back to it and it will be as they left it. So they will dig and will come out to the people, and they will drink all the water. The people will fortify themselves against them in their fortresses. They will shoot their arrows towards the sky and they will come back with blood on them, and they will say: "We have defeated the people of earth and dominated the people of heaven." Then Allah will send a worm in the napes of their necks and will kill them thereby.'" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the beasts of the earth will grow fat on their flesh."}} | "Gog and Magog people dig every day until, when they can almost see the rays of the sun, the one in charge of them says: "Go back and we will dig it tomorrow." Then Allah puts it back, stronger than it was before. (This will continue) until, when their time has come, and Allah wants to send them against the people, they will dig until they can almost see the rays of the sun, then the one who is in charge of them will say: "Go back, and we will dig it tomorrow if Allah wills.' So they will say: "If Allah wills." Then they will come back to it and it will be as they left it. So they will dig and will come out to the people, and they will drink all the water. The people will fortify themselves against them in their fortresses. They will shoot their arrows towards the sky and they will come back with blood on them, and they will say: "We have defeated the people of earth and dominated the people of heaven." Then Allah will send a worm in the napes of their necks and will kill them thereby.'" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, the beasts of the earth will grow fat on their flesh."}}As the Quran and hadith claim the story to be real, it was believed to be so by Muslims. So after the Abbasid [https://www.britannica.com/topic/caliph Caliph][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Wathiq al-Wathiq bi-llah] reportedly had a dream that this barrier was being breached, he sent a subject to investigate the issue:<ref>van Donzel, Emeri; Schmidt, Andrea. ''Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall.'' Leiden: Brill. pp. 25–31. <nowiki>ISBN 9789004174160</nowiki>, 2010. The full book and their analysis of the journey taken by Sallam can be read on the ''[https://archive.org/details/gogandmagoginearlyeasternchristianandislamicsources/page/n17/mode/1up Internet Archive linked here].'' </ref> | ||
{{Quote|{{cite web| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=PtxOXRlPMA0C | title=Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall pp.17| author=van Donzel, Emeri; Schmidt, Andrea. | publisher= Leiden: Brill. | date=2010.|}}|The ‘Abbasid Caliph al-Wathiq bi-llah saw in a dream that Alexander’s barrier was breached. In 842 the caliph ordered Sallam, probably a Khazarian Jew from Samarra, to investigate the barrier. After his return in 844 to the court in Samarra, Sallam dictated his report for the caliph to the famous geographer Ibn Khurradadhbih (d. 912). The text of this dictation is preserved in Ibn Khurradadhbih’s Book of Itineraries and Kingdoms.}} | |||
===Great Wall of Gorgan=== | ===Great Wall of Gorgan=== | ||