IDEA 63
My ‘Iskandar’ Problem (Part 2)
They ask you concerning Dhīl-Qarnain. Say: ‘I will tell you something of his story. / Verily We set him firmly in the land and gave him every way and means. / So he took one way / Until at last he reached the setting of the sun where he found it was setting in a murky spring and found some people there. We said: “O Dhāl‑Qarnayn, you have [authority] to punish them or treat them well.” / He answered: “As for one who works injustice, we shall punish him, and then he will be sent back to his Master, Who will punish him severely. / “As for one believing and performing righteous deeds, for him will be the best as a reward, and we shall speak to him with ease in our affair.” / So then he went [another] way / Until he reached the rising of the sun where he found it was rising on a people whom We had not given any shelter from it. / Thus it was; and We encompassed all he had in knowledge. / Then he went [another] way / Until he reached a pass between two mountains, next to which he found a people who could barely understand [his] speech. / They said: “O Dhāl‑Qarnayn, Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj are spreaders of corruption in the land, so shall we give you tribute for your building of a barrier dividing them from us?” / He answered: “What my Lord established me to have is better, but assist me with [your] strength, and I will build a rampart dividing them from you. / “Bring me sheets of iron.” Then, when he had filled the gap between the mountain slopes, he told them: “Blow!” Then having made [the iron] burn, he told them: “Bring me molten copper to pour over it.” / They will not be able to surmount it now, nor can they pierce it.” / He announced: “This is mercy from my Lord. But when the promise of my Lord has come to pass, He will demolish it, and ever truthful is the promise of my Lord.” / And We shall let them surge against each other on that day; the trumpet will be blown, and We shall gather them together. (Q18:83-99)
In recent centuries, some Muslim commentators on the Qur’ān have attempted to put AL-LĀH in irons, figuratively speaking. Bedazzled by the achievements of modern science, they believe that every account of seemingly miraculous events, such as the parting of the Red Sea by Mūsā (peace be upon him), should be explained naturalistically, i.e., without violating the iron ‘laws’ of conventional physics. They accept the existence of a supernatural being, namely GOD, and yet believe that for Him to intrude upon the world of cause and effect that science depicts – and He created – would violate sunnatuL-LĀH (Divine Custom).
We see here, leading off the road of faith – the upright path of Q1:6 – a byway of deviant, half-hearted Islam, plagued with scientism. The straight path is clear enough to those whom You have favoured (Q1:7); those favours are so great that you cannot count them (Q14:34), i.e., they are beyond the scope of scientific measurement. Again and again, AL-LĀH is explicit about what blessings He can bestow beyond the bounds of human comprehension, such as causing a newborn infant to speak (Q19:29), allowing a barren woman to become pregnant (Q19:8), and – most miraculous of all – creating each human being, including you, me, and Zakarīyā (peace be upon him), out of nothing (Q19:9). We may agree with scientists that the customary workings of the world have rules without denying that GOD can break them at will. His ability to break them is part of what makes His Custom divine.
It is an integral part of genuine Muslim faith, therefore, that any miracle in the Qur’ān that is narrated to us in a historical setting should not be ‘explained away’ as purely symbolic, metaphorical, mythical, or ‘true’ in an elevated way that never touches the ground of actual events. If we are told that the ‘People of the Elephant’ were destroyed by flying creatures carrying stones of baked clay (Q105:4), for example, or that Nūḥ (peace be upon him) lived for 950 years, we should not be wracking our brains for a ‘safe’ interpretation. We accept the account as true, however impossible it may appear, and from that base can then explore its higher meanings.
Some incidents in the Qur’ān retell material found in older religious traditions. One such is the mountain raised over the heads of the Israelites (Q2:63), reminiscent of a narrative in the Jewish Midrash and Talmud, to signify the dreadful consequences of reneging on their covenant with GOD. Another is the story of the youths who took refuge in a cave and were made to sleep there for three hundred years plus nine (Q18:25), echoing the tale of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus from Christian hagiography. In these and similar instances (e.g., the reference to Hārūt and Mārūt in Q2:102), we are presented with an overflowing of the supernatural into the course of ordinary ‘natural’ history. What GOD does or decrees is, at every moment, quivering with the immanence of infinity, omnipotence, and divine favour. Such stories, already well known in Arabia and its environs, are restored to their original veracity by the Qur’ān in ways that invalidate whatever errors had crept into the tradition of their telling and retelling by Jews and Christians. To that end, we find the exact historical details of these events de-emphasized. The corrupted accretions are removed, and the real purpose of their narration shines forth so as to confirm the overall message of the Qur’ān concerning GOD's power, mercy, and justice.
The story of Dhīl-Qarnain (provided in its entirety at the top of this page) is another popular legend apparently of this type – one that AL-LAH deliberately puts back into its proper context. Yet the characteristics of this passage and its presence in the Qur’ān raise issues unlike all other narratives referred to thus far.
My next post on this topic will, GOD willing, explore why those issues are relevant to our understanding of the Qur'an today.
Download the PDF version for free at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’ān – Mont Redmond complete version, or purchase a hard copy at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’an: Redmond, Mont: 9781738842506: Books – Amazo
