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Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two: Difference between revisions
Dhul-Qarnayn and the Sun Setting in a Muddy Spring - Part Two (view source)
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===Translation (Yusuf Ali)=== | ===Translation (Yusuf Ali)=== | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|18|83|101}}|83. They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, “I will rehearse to you something of his story.”<BR>84. Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.<BR>85. One (such) way he followed,<BR>86. '''Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: Near it he found a People: We said: “O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.”'''<BR>87. He said: “Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard-of (before).<BR>88. “But whoever believes, and works righteousness,- he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as We order it by our Command.”<BR>89. Then followed he (another) way,<BR>90. '''Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun.'''<BR>91. (He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him.<BR>92. Then followed he (another) way,<BR>93. Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word.<BR>94. They said: “O Zul-qarnain! the Gog and Magog (People) do great mischief on earth: shall we then render thee tribute in order that thou mightest erect a barrier between us and them?<BR>95. He said: “(The power) in which my Lord has established me is better (than tribute): Help me therefore with strength (and labour): I will erect a strong barrier between you and them:<BR>96. “Bring me blocks of iron.” At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep mountain-sides, He said, “Blow (with your bellows)” Then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said: “Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead.”<BR>97. Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it.<BR>98. He said: “This is a mercy from my Lord: But when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true.”<BR>99. On that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another: the trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together.<BR>100. And We shall present Hell that day for Unbelievers to see, all spread out,-<BR>101. (Unbelievers) whose eyes had been under a veil from remembrance of Me, and who had been unable even to hear.}} | ||
===Transliteration (muslimnet)=== | ===Transliteration (muslimnet)=== | ||
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The second word here, talawa (saatloo), means “to recite”. It is used 63 times in the Qur’an,<ref>[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/PRLonline.htm Project Root List] - StudyQuran</ref> always (except for 91:2 and 2:102) in relation to the reciting of revelations from Allah, and whenever the subject doing the reciting is Muhammad, it means reciting the Qur’an. It has the sense of following, repeating, or reciting what has been done, written, or said.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Volume 1 page 313] - StudyQuran.org</ref> An example is in verse 10:16, which refers to the Qur’an (the next verse is also quoted below, which emphasises that things which Muhammad rehearses about Allah must be true). | The second word here, talawa (saatloo), means “to recite”. It is used 63 times in the Qur’an,<ref>[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/PRLonline.htm Project Root List] - StudyQuran</ref> always (except for 91:2 and 2:102) in relation to the reciting of revelations from Allah, and whenever the subject doing the reciting is Muhammad, it means reciting the Qur’an. It has the sense of following, repeating, or reciting what has been done, written, or said.<ref>Lane’s lexicon - [http://www.studyQuran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000350.pdf Volume 1 page 313] - StudyQuran.org</ref> An example is in verse 10:16, which refers to the Qur’an (the next verse is also quoted below, which emphasises that things which Muhammad rehearses about Allah must be true). | ||
{{Quote| | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|10|16|17}}|Say: ‘If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand? Who doth more wrong than such as forge a lie against Allah, or deny His Signs?’}} | ||
In the next example, in a historical narrative about Jesus, we have all the words from the phrase in 18:83. Talawa (natloohu) is translated “we rehearse”, “AAalayka” is “to thee”, “mina” is “of”, and “'''al'''ththikri” is “the Message” (literally, “of the rememberance”). | In the next example, in a historical narrative about Jesus, we have all the words from the phrase in 18:83. Talawa (natloohu) is translated “we rehearse”, “AAalayka” is “to thee”, “mina” is “of”, and “'''al'''ththikri” is “the Message” (literally, “of the rememberance”). | ||
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The verse below from the preceding story about Moses has the same ending phrase (but without “ladayhi”, “with him”), so we can use it to verify the meaning of 18:91. Note that ahatna (“we encompassed”) and tuhit (“you encompass”) have the same root. | The verse below from the preceding story about Moses has the same ending phrase (but without “ladayhi”, “with him”), so we can use it to verify the meaning of 18:91. Note that ahatna (“we encompassed”) and tuhit (“you encompass”) have the same root. | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|68}}|Wakayfa tasbiru AAala ma lam tuhit bihi khubra'''n'''<BR><BR>And how canst thou have patience about things about which thy understanding is not complete?}} | ||
The word-for-word translation says, “And how can you have patience for what not you encompass of it any knowledge.”<ref>[http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=68 Word-by-Word Grammar - Verse (18:68)] - The Quranic Arabic Corpus</ref> | The word-for-word translation says, “And how can you have patience for what not you encompass of it any knowledge.”<ref>[http://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=68 Word-by-Word Grammar - Verse (18:68)] - The Quranic Arabic Corpus</ref> | ||
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There are also two related things I would like to add here. First, this verse begins with “inna”, which can be translated as “indeed” or “verily”. It indicates emphasis on the subject of the sentence that immediately follows it. In this case that subject is “We” i.e. Allah. The verse is emphasising that it is Allah who gave this famous man his power. It only makes sense as a claim of historical fact. We can also notice other places in the account where Allah is part of the unfolding story (18:86 says, “…We said: ‘O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.’”, and 18:90 says, “…a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun.”). | There are also two related things I would like to add here. First, this verse begins with “inna”, which can be translated as “indeed” or “verily”. It indicates emphasis on the subject of the sentence that immediately follows it. In this case that subject is “We” i.e. Allah. The verse is emphasising that it is Allah who gave this famous man his power. It only makes sense as a claim of historical fact. We can also notice other places in the account where Allah is part of the unfolding story (18:86 says, “…We said: ‘O Zul-qarnain! (thou hast authority,) either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness.’”, and 18:90 says, “…a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun.”). | ||
Cornelius also points out that an intended true account fits with the recorded context for this Sura (Questions suggested by Jews to test Muhammad). It was recited in response to the expectation of the questioners that Muhammad would have no knowledge of “the mighty traveller”. | Cornelius also points out that an intended true account fits with the recorded context for this Sura (Questions suggested by Jews to test Muhammad, though academic scholars note that the questioners were more likely Christian as with the other stories in surah al-Kahf). It was recited in response to the expectation of the questioners that Muhammad would have no knowledge of “the mighty traveller”. | ||
He then notes that 6:25 declares that the unbelievers dismiss the historical stories of people in the Qur’an as fictional (which obviously implies that the Qur’an claims to contain no such things): | He then notes that 6:25 declares that the unbelievers dismiss the historical stories of people in the Qur’an as fictional (which obviously implies that the Qur’an claims to contain no such things): | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|6|25}}|Of them there are some who (pretend to) listen to thee; but We have thrown veils on their hearts, So they understand it not, and deafness in their ears; if they saw every one of the signs, not they will believe in them; in so much that when they come to thee, they (but) dispute with thee; the Unbelievers say: “These are nothing but tales of the ancients”.}} | ||
There are other similar verses including the following: | There are other similar verses including the following: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|8|31}}|When Our Signs are rehearsed to them, they say: ‘We have heard this (before): if we wished, we could say (words) like these: these are nothing but tales of the ancients.’ }} | ||
Note that talawa is also used in the above verse (“tutla AAalayhim” translated “rehearsed on them”). We saw above that it is used in 18:83. Similar examples can be found in verses 25:4-5, 34:43, 68:15 and 83:13. In contrast, the verse below refers to another story in Sura al-Kahf and emphasises that it is meant to be historical: | Note that talawa is also used in the above verse (“tutla AAalayhim” translated “rehearsed on them”). We saw above that it is used in 18:83. Similar examples can be found in verses 25:4-5, 34:43, 68:15 and 83:13. In contrast, the verse below refers to another story in Sura al-Kahf and emphasises that it is meant to be historical: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|18|13}}|We relate to thee their story in truth: they were youths who believed in their Lord, and We advanced them in guidance}} | ||
The verse below follows a story about Moses: | The verse below follows a story about Moses: | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|20|99}}|Thus do We relate to thee some stories of what happened before: for We have sent thee a Message [thikran] from Our own Presence.}} | ||
Finally, we saw above that 18:91 has Allah saying that the reminder which he is asking Muhammad to recite is how history actually happened. It seems likely that the purpose of this verse was to emphasise that the story so far had already shown that Allah could answer the testing question | Finally, we saw above that 18:91 has Allah saying that the reminder which he is asking Muhammad to recite is how history actually happened. It seems likely that the purpose of this verse was to emphasise that the story so far had already shown that Allah could answer the testing question alluded to in verse 83. It means that like that part of the story, Allah knows everything else there is to know about Dhu’l Qarnayn. | ||
The evidence presented above conclusively demonstrates that the story of Dhu’l Qarnayn was intended to be understood as a historical narrative rather than a fable or any other kind of fictional story. | The evidence presented above conclusively demonstrates that the story of Dhu’l Qarnayn was intended to be understood as a historical narrative rather than a fable or any other kind of fictional story. | ||