# Quran Says the Sun Sets in a Muddy Spring

URL: https://islamsproblems.com/quran-sun-sets-in-muddy-spring/
Part: Core Arguments

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### 2. Quran Says the Sun Sets in a Muddy Spring

#### 1. Quran

> “And he followed a road till, **when he reached the setting-place of the sun**, he **found it setting in a muddy spring**, and found a people thereabout.”
> [Quran 18:85-86](https://quran.com/18/85-102?translations=19)

[Quran 18:86](https://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=86) in Arabic word for word creates two
independent problems:

1. First, **Dhul Qarnayn reached (balagha)** a location: **the setting place of the sun (maghriba l-shamsi)**.

2. There, **he found (wajada) the sun setting in a muddy spring (ʿaynin ḥami-atin)**. And he
found (wajada) a community near it.

Quran 18:86 Word for Word Arabic

![Quran 18:86 word-for-word Arabic showing balagha, maghriba l-shamsi, wajadaha, taghrubu, fi aynin hami-atin](/assets/wordforword.png)

[Quran Corpus 18:86](https://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=86)

Full Dhul Qarnayn Story (Quran 18:83-102)

> The **Dhul Qarnayn** story begins: “They will ask thee of Dhu’l-Qarneyn.” In it, he traveled until he **reached (balagha)** the **setting place of the sun** and **found (wajada)** the **sun setting in a muddy spring**, and **found (wajada)** a **community near it**. Then he **reached (balagha)** the **rising place of the sun** where people had no shelter from it. Then he followed another path until he **reached (balagha)** a place **between two mountains**, where he **found (wajada)** a **people asking for help against Gog and Magog**. He built an iron and copper wall between the cliffs to seal them off until doomsday.
> [Quran 18:83-102](https://quran.com/18/83-102?translations=19)

Earliest Tafsirs (Quranic Commentaries) Took It Literally Until It Became Too Embarrassing

Examples include:

> “**The sun sets in a spring of murky, black mud; then it falls down in prostration beneath the Throne**, seeks permission [to rise again], and is granted permission.” [(on Quran 36:38)](https://shamela.ws/book/23614/1349#p3:~:text=%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A6%D8%A9%20%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9%20%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%8C%20%D8%AB%D9%85%20%D8%AA%D8%AE%D8%B1%20%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%AF%D8%A9%20%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%B4)
> “This means that the **sun and moon enter beneath the earth from the west** and **emerge from beneath the earth in the east**, then travel through the sky until they set in the west. **This is their orbit.**” [(on Quran 36:40)](https://shamela.ws/book/23614/1350#p1:~:text=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%85%D8%B1%20%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%20%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%B6%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%20%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AA%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%B6%D8%8C%20%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%89%20%D9%8A%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%AC%D8%A7%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82)
> “‘He found the sun setting in a muddy spring’ - that is, **a hot, black spring**.” [(on Quran 18:86)](https://shamela.ws/book/23614/886#p1:~:text=%D8%AA%D9%8E%D8%BA%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%8F%20%D9%81%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8E%D9%8A%D9%92%D9%86%D9%8D%20%D8%AD%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%90%D8%A6%D9%8E%D8%A9%D9%8D%20%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1)
> [Tafsir Muqatil (d. 767 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/23614/886#p1:~:text=%D8%AA%D9%8E%D8%BA%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%8F%20%D9%81%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8E%D9%8A%D9%92%D9%86%D9%8D%20%D8%AD%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%90%D8%A6%D9%8E%D8%A9%D9%8D%20%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1)

> “It has reached me that **the sun sets in a spring**, and **the spring hurls it to the east**.”
> [Tafsir Sa’id b. Mansur (d. 842 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/161/197#p1:~:text=%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%91%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8E%20%D8%AA%D9%8E%D8%BA%D8%B1%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%8F%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8D,%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8F%20%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8E%D8%B4%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%90%D9%82%D9%90) [Tafsir al-Tha’labi (d. 1035 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/23578/1859#p13:~:text=%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%8C%20%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B0%D9%81%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82) [Tafsir al-Suyuti (d. 1505 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/12884/4277#p8:~:text=%D8%A8%D9%8E%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D9%92%D8%B3%20%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%20%D9%81%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B0%D9%81%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%A5%D9%90%D9%84%D9%8E%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82)

> “A city with twelve thousand gates; were it not for its inhabitants’ voices, **people would hear**
> **the sun fall as it sets.**”
> [Abu al-Shaykh, al-Azama (d. 979 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/13043/1052#p1:~:text=%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%B3%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%90%D8%B9%D9%8E%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%91%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8F%20%D9%88%D9%8F%D8%AC%D9%8F%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8E%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D9%92%D8%B3%D9%90%20%D8%AD%D9%90%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8E%20%D8%AA%D9%8E%D8%AC%D9%90%D8%A8) [Tafsir al-Suyuti (d. 1505 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/12884/4277#p9:~:text=%D9%84%D9%8E%D9%88%D9%92%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%A7%20%D8%A3%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%87%D9%84%D9%87%D9%8E%D8%A7%20%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%B9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%91%D8%A7%D8%B3%20%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D9%92%D8%B3%20%D8%AD%D9%90%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A8)

> “The reading *ḥamiʾah* means [a spring] of black, foul-smelling mud; *ḥāmiyah*
> means ‘hot.’ … ‘And he found (wajada) beside it a people’ - that is, **beside the spring in which the sun sets.**”
> [Tafsir al-Samarqandi (d. 984 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/23594/931#p3:~:text=%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%AF%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%8A%20%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%20%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3)

Tafsir al-Tabari (d. 923 AD): Companion Ibn Abbas and the Salaf Debate on Whether the Spring in Which the Sun Sets Is Muddy or Hot

Tafsir al-Tabari (widely considered one of the most authoritative Quranic commentaries) preserves the debate between Muhammad’s Companion Ibn Abbas and the Salaf over whether the
**spring where the sun sets** is muddy or hot. Tabari says **both readings are correct** because
**the sun could set in a spring** **that is both hot and muddy**.

> [Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:86 (d. 923 AD)](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/50/3136/#:~:text=%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B0%D9%84%D9%83%20%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%8A,%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A3%D8%A9%20%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86)
> Allah says: **(Until, when Dhul-Qarnayn reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring.)** The readers differed on how
> to read this. Some of the readers of Medina and Basra read it as **(in a muddy spring),** **meaning that the sun sets in a spring that contains mud**. While a group of the readers of Medina
> and the majority of the people of Kufa read it as, **(in a warm spring) meaning that the sun sets in a spring of warm water**. The people of commentary have differed on the meaning of
> this depending on the way they read the verse.
> **Mention of those who said: setting in a muddy spring**
> Muhammad b. Al-Muthanna ← Ibn Abi Uday ← Dawud ← Ikrimah ← **Ibn Abbas**:
> (and he found it setting in a muddy spring) he said: **In black mud.**
> Ibn al-Muthanna ← Abd al-Ala ← Dawud ← Ikrimah on the authority of **Ibn Abbas**,
> that he recited: (in a muddy spring) he said: **it is black mud.**
> Al-Husayn b. Al-Junayd ← Sayd b. Salamah ← Ismail b. Aliyah ← Uthman b. Hadir: I
> heard Abdullah b. Abbas said: **Muawiyah** **recited this verse, and he said (warm spring)**
> and **Ibn Abbas** **said: it is (muddy spring)**. He said: So they sent to Ka’b Al-Ahbar and
> asked him. **Ka’b said: As for the sun, it disappears in ‘Thatin’,** which matched what
> Ibn Abbas said, and **the word tha’at means “mud”**.
> Yunus ← Ibn Wahb ← Nafi’ b. Abu Na’im ← Abd Al-Rahim Al’Araj: **Ibn Abbas** used
> to speak about the muddy spring and would pronounce the word as (in a muddy spring) **then he explained it as black mud**. Nafi’ said that **Ka’b** was asked about it and he said:
> “You are more knowledgeable in the Quran than I am, **but I find it in the Book disappearing in black mud.**”
> Muhammad b. Saad ← his father ← His uncle ← his father ← his father ←
> **Ibn Abbas**: (and he found it setting in a muddy spring) he said: **it is black mud.**
> Muhammad b. Amr ← Abu Asim ← Issa ← Ibn Abi Najih ← **Mujahid**: (in a muddy
> spring). He said: **black mud.**
> Al-Qasim ← Al-Husayn ← Hajjaj ← Ibn Jurayj ← **Mujahid**: (it setting in a
> muddy spring). he said: **mud.**
> He said: And Amr b. Dinar ← Ata b. Abi Rabah ← **Ibn Abbas**: I read (in a muddy
> spring) And **Amr bin Al-Aas** recited (in a warm spring), so we were sent to Ka’b. He
> said: **It sets into black mud.**
> Bishr ← Yazid ← Sayd ← **Qatadah**: (setting in a muddy spring) and the
> mud: **the black mud.**
> Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-A’laa ← Marwan b. Mu’awiya ← Warqa ← Sayd b. Jubayr:
> **Ibn ‘Abbas** used to read this letter (In a muddy spring) and he said: **Black mud that the sun sets in.** [Ibn Abbas, Tafsir al-Tabari (Trustworthy Narrators - al-Arna’ut)](https://dorar.net/h/dIZEVHRV?osoul=1)
> **Others said: Rather, it disappears in a hot spring. Mention of those who said that:**
> Ali ← Abdullah ← Muawiyah ← Ali ← **Ibn Abbas** (he found it setting in a
> warm spring) and he said: **In a hot spring.**
> Yaqub ← Ibn Aliyah ← Abu Raja ← **al-Hasan**: (In a warm spring) he said:
> **it is hot.**
> Al-Hasan ← Abd al-Razzaq ← Mamar: **al-Hasan** regarding (In a hot spring) he
> said: **It is hot**. al-Hasan also read it this way.
> **And in my (Tabari’s) mind the correct opinion is** to say that they are
> both popular readings
> in the land, and **each one has a correctness about it** and an understandable meaning, and
> neither contradicts the other, **for it is possible that the sun sets in a hot spring that has mud and sludge**, so a reader who uses “hot spring” is describing its temperature, and the
> reader who uses “muddy spring” is describing that it has mud and sludge. Both versions have been
> narrated to us.
> Muhammad b. Al-Muthanna ← Yazid b. Harun ← The common people ← A freed slave of Abdullah b.
> Amr ← Abdullah: “**The Messenger of Allah**, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
> **looked at the sun when it set, and said**: ‘In the blazing fire of Allah, in the blazing
> fire of Allah: **If it wasn’t for Allah’s command, the sun would burn all those who are on earth**.’”
> [Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:86 (d. 923 AD)](https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/50/3136/#:~:text=%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B0%D9%84%D9%83%20%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%8A,%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A9%20%D8%B0%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%A3%D8%A9%20%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%8A%D9%86)

![Sunan Ibn Majah 166 screenshot: Ibn Abbas narration where Muhammad prays that Allah teach him wisdom and interpretation of the Book.](/assets/image-06-98a5f529fb24.png)

[Sunan Ibn Majah 166](https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:166)

#### 2. Hadith

**Muhammad directly says in a hadith**, considered authentic in chain, that the sun sets
in a spring:

> “I was sitting behind the Messenger of Allah who was riding a donkey while the sun was setting. He asked:
> Do you know where this sets? I replied: Allah and his Apostle know best. He said: **It sets in a spring of warm water (Hamiyah)**.”
> [Sunan Abu Dawud 4002](https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4002)

#### 3. Pre-Islamic Poem

A poem in Ibn Ishaq’s biography of Muhammad, **attributed to the pre-Islamic king Tubba**, describes this as well:

> “**He saw where the sun sinks from view**”
> “**In a pool of mud and fetid slime**”
> [Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 12](https://www.justislam.co.uk/images/Ibn%20Ishaq%20-%20Sirat%20Rasul%20Allah.pdf#page=30)

#### 4. Syriac Alexander Legend

The Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn story begins, **“They will ask thee of Dhu’l-Qarneyn”** [Quran 18:83](https://quran.com/18/83-102?translations=19), showing that **people already knew the story.** Historians trace the Quranic character **Dhul Qarnayn to a legend about Alexander the Great circulating around Muhammad’s time, the Syriac Alexander Legend, which also says this**:

> “And king Alexander was afraid and retired, and he knew that it was **impossible for them to cross over to the place where were the ends of the heavens**. So the whole camp mounted, and Alexander and his
> troops went up **between the fetid sea and the bright sea to the place where the sun enters the window of heaven**; for the sun is the servant of the Lord, and neither by night nor by day does he cease
> from his travelling. The place of his rising is over the sea, and the people who dwell there, when he is
> about to rise, flee away and hide themselves in the sea, that they be not burnt by his rays; and he passes
> through the midst of the heavens to the place where he enters the window of heaven... And when the sun
> enters the window of heaven, he straightway bows down and makes obeisance before God his Creator; and he
> travels and descends the whole night through the heavens, until at length he finds himself where he
> rises.”
> [Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/148/mode/2up)

Yale scholar Kevin van Bladel:

> “**The water in the place where the sun sets is ‘fetid’ in both texts**, a perfect coincidence of
> **two uncommon synonyms (Syriac saryā, Arabic ḥamiʾa)**.”
> [van Bladel, “The Alexander Legend in the Qur’ān 18:83-102”, p. 181](https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n7/mode/2up)

Early Islamic Sources Identify Dhul Qarnayn as Alexander the Great

> “And **they, the Jews, question you concerning Dhū’l-Qarnayn, whose name was Alexander; he was not a prophet**. Say: ‘I shall recite, relate, to you a mention, an account, of him’, of his
> affair.”
> [Tafsir al-Jalalayn on 18:83 (d. 1505 AD)](https://www.greattafsirs.com/Tafsir_Library.aspx?AyahNo=83&LanguageID=2&MadhabNo=1&QuranAyat_Home=1&SoraNo=18&TafsirNo=6#:~:text=they%2C%20the%20Jews%2C%20question%20you%20concerning,he%20was%20not%20a%20prophet)

> “**You came to ask me about Dhul-Qarnayn**, and what you find in your book: **He was a young man from the Romans, so he came and built the city of Alexandria in Egypt**”
> [Tafsir al-Tabari on 18:83 (d. 923 AD)](https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura18-aya83.html#:~:text=%D8%AC%D8%A6%D8%AA%D9%85%20%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%86%20%D8%B0%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%20%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%83%D9%85%3A%20%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86%20%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%85%D8%8C%20%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D9%81%D8%A8%D9%86%D9%89%20%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9%20%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9)

> “The Account of Darius [Dārā] the Elder and His Son Darius the Younger. How He Perished and the
> **Account of Alexander [Dhū-l-Qarnayn]**” [p. 87](https://www.kalamullah.com/Books/The%20History%20Of%20Tabari/Tabari_Volume_04.pdf#page=102)
> “Philip, the father of Alexander the Greek, reigned over a Greek land known as Macedonia and
> other lands that he had occupied. He concluded a peace treaty with Darius, under which he paid an
> annual tribute to the latter. **Philip died, and his son Alexander succeeded him.**” [p. 89](https://www.kalamullah.com/Books/The%20History%20Of%20Tabari/Tabari_Volume_04.pdf#page=104)
> [al-Tabari, History of al-Tabari, vol. 4, pp. 87-95 (d. 923 AD)](https://www.kalamullah.com/Books/The%20History%20Of%20Tabari/Tabari_Volume_04.pdf#page=102)

> “**‘And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnayn,’ meaning Alexander Caesar,** also known as the King
> who seized [control of the region of] Qaf (a mountain encircling the world).”
> [Tafsir Muqatil ibn Sulayman on 18:83 (d. 767 AD)](https://shamela.ws/book/23614/885#p3:~:text=%D9%88%D9%8E%D9%8A%D9%8E%D8%B3%D9%92%D8%A6%D9%8E%D9%84%D9%8F%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%83%D9%8E%20%D8%B9%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%92%20%D8%B0%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D9%82%D9%8E%D8%B1%D9%92%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%8A%D9%92%D9%86%D9%90%20%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D9%88%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%B5%D8%B1)

> “Ibn Hisham said: **His name was Alexander, and he was the one who built Alexandria**, which
> was therefore named after him.”
> [Tafsir al-Qurtubi on 18:83 (d. 1273 AD)](https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/qortobi/sura18-aya83.html#:~:text=%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%86%20%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85%20%3A%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%87%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D9%88%D9%87%D9%88%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%8A%20%D8%A8%D9%86%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D9%81%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%AA%20%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%87) [Ibn Hisham (d. 833 AD), Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 719 (n. 186)](https://www.justislam.co.uk/images/Ibn%20Ishaq%20-%20Sirat%20Rasul%20Allah.pdf#page=384)

> “Since it is established by the Quran that Dhul-Qarnayn was a man who ruled the entire earth, or
> nearly all of it, and since historical knowledge confirms that the only figure fitting this
> description was Alexander, **it must be concluded with certainty that Dhul-Qarnayn is Alexander, son of Philip the Greek**.”
> [al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb on 18:84 (d. 1210 AD)](https://www.greattafsirs.com/Tafsir_Library.aspx?AyahNo=84&LanguageID=1&MadhabNo=1&QuranAyat_Home=1&SoraNo=18&TafsirNo=4#:~:text=%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%A8%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B9%20%D8%A8%D8%A3%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AF%20%D8%A8%D8%B0%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D9%87%D9%88%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D8%A8%D9%86%20%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B3%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A)

Questions Raised by Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn Story Answered by Syriac Alexander Legend

1. Why Is Dhul Qarnayn Called “The Two-Horned One”?

**Quran’s Question:**
Why is he called “Dhu’l-Qarneyn”, meaning “The Two-Horned One”?

> “They will ask thee of **Dhu’l-Qarneyn**. Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him. Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road.”[Quran 18:83-84](https://quran.com/18/83-102?translations=19)

**Alexander Legend’s Answer:**
God gave Alexander horns on his head as weapons to destroy kingdoms.

> “**the Lord said to him,** ‘Behold, I have magnified thee
> above all kingdoms, and **I have made horns of iron to grow on thy head that thou mayest thrust down the kingdoms of the earth with them**’”[Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 156](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/156/mode/2up)

2. Why Does Dhul Qarnayn Randomly Punish Wrongdoers at the Setting Place of the Sun?

**Quran’s Question:**
After Dhul Qarnayn reaches the setting place of the sun, finds it setting in a muddy spring and also finds a people near it, why does Allah (for no apparent reason) give him the option to either punish the people or show them kindness? And why does Dhul Qarnayn choose to punish the wrongdoers among them?

> “And he followed a road till, when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout. **We said: O Dhu’l-Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness. He said: As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him**”[Quran 18:85-87](https://quran.com/18/85-102?translations=19)

**Alexander Legend’s Answer:**
Alexander used condemned criminals to confirm that the fetid sea at the edge of the world was deadly and unsafe to cross.

> “Now Alexander thought within himself, ‘**If it be true as they say, that everyone who comes near the foetid sea dies, it is better that these who are guilty of death should die**,’ and when they had gone, and had arrived at the shore of the
> sea, **they died instantly**.”[Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/147/mode/2up)

Yale scholar Kevin van Bladel:

> “When Alexander came to the people in the west, he tested the efficacy of the deadly, fetid waters with the lives of convicts. **This passage helps to explain the option given, for no apparent reason, by God to Dhu l-Qarnayn in the Qur’an: either to punish the people or to do them a kindness.** Dhu l-Qarnayn says he will punish only wrongdoers (man zalama), who are like the prisoners sentenced to death in the Syriac text, described there as evil-doers (abday-bishe).”[van Bladel, “The Alexander Legend in the Qur’ān 18:83-102”, p. 181](https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n7/mode/2up)

3. Why Do the People Living Near the Rising Place of the Sun Have No Shelter?

**Quran’s Question:**
Why did the people that Dhul Qarnayn found at the rising place of the sun have no shelter from it?

> “Then he followed a road till, when he **reached the rising-place of the sun**, he **found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom**.”[Quran 18:89-90](https://quran.com/18/89-102?translations=19)

**Alexander Legend’s Answer:**
The sun’s heat near its rising place is so intense that it splits rocks, forcing people to run and hide in the sea and in caves.

> “**The place of his rising** is over the sea, and
> **the people who dwell there**, when he is about to rise, **flee away and hide** themselves
> in the **sea, that they be not burnt by his rays**... and wherever he passes there are terrible
> mountains, and those who dwell there have **caves hollowed out** in the rocks, and as soon as
> they **see the sun passing [over them]**, men and birds flee away from before him and **hide in the caves, for rocks are rent [split] by his blazing heat and fall down**”[Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/147/mode/2up)

Tafsir al-Tabari (widely considered one of the most authoritative Quranic
commentaries) on [Quran 18:90](https://quran.com/18/90-102?translations=19):

> “Their land had neither mountain nor tree and **could not support buildings** **in which they could live**; instead, they would **submerge themselves in the water** or enter **burrows**.”
> “Ibn Jurayj said: ‘**When the sun rose over them**, they entered their **burrows** until the
> sun moved past its highest point, or they entered the **sea**.’”
> “Qatadah said: ‘**It is said: They are the Zanj [Black East Africans].**’”[Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:90 (d. 923 AD)](https://www.greattafsirs.com/Tafsir_Library.aspx?AyahNo=90&LanguageID=1&MadhabNo=1&QuranAyat_Home=1&SoraNo=18&TafsirNo=1#:~:text=%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%B6%D9%87%D9%85%20%D9%84%D8%A7%20%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%20%D8%B4%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%20%D8%AA%D9%80%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%80%D9%85%D9%84%20%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%8C%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%80%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%80%D9%85%D8%A7%20%D9%8A%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%80%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%8C%20%D8%A3%D9%88%20%D9%8A%D9%8E%D8%B3%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%86%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8)

Academic Research

> “Thus, **quite strikingly, almost every element of this short Qur’anic tale finds a more explicit and detailed counterpart in the Syriac Alexander Legend**. In both texts the related events are
> given in **precisely the same order**.
> Already earlier several cases of specific words that are **exact matches between the Syriac and the Arabic** were indicated. **The water in the place where the sun sets is ‘fetid’ in both texts**, a perfect coincidence of **two uncommon synonyms (Syriac saryā, Arabic ḥamiʾa)**.
> Also, **the wall that Alexander builds is made specifically of iron and brass in both texts**.
> We are told **in the Syriac that God will ‘gather together the kings and their hosts,’** which
> finds **a nearly perfect match in Q 18:99: ‘the horn will be blown and we shall gather them together.’**
> The proper names of Yājūj and Mājūj are not uniquely matched by this Syriac text (where they appear
> as Agog and Magog), for their tradition is derived from the books of Ezekiel and the Apocalypse of
> John, but they do still count as **specific word correspondences between the Syriac and Arabic texts** in question here.
> **In the Qur’ān** God is characterized as saying, **‘We shall leave them on that day surging like waves against each other,’** *wa-taraknā baʿḍahum yawmaʾidhin yamūju fī baʿḍin*, while
> **the Syriac says similarly, ‘and kingdoms will fall upon each other,’** *w-naplān malkwātā ḥdā ʿal ḥdā*.” [p. 181](https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n7/mode/2up)
> “**The Qur’anic account must draw from the Syriac account**, if not directly then **by oral report**.” [p. 190](https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n17/mode/2up)
> [van Bladel, “The Alexander Legend in the Qur’ān 18:83-102”](https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n1/mode/2up)

> “**Like Alexander in the Syriac** work, **Ḏū-l-Qarnayn constructs his barrier from iron and bronze** components. This **coincidence is significant**, since **all references** to the
> motif of Alexander’s (non-apocalyptic) gates **in sources earlier than the Neṣḥānā [Syriac Alexander Legend] mention only iron** as the metal from which the barrier was made.”
> [Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” p. 172](https://books.google.com/books?id=o9LYEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA172)

> “**This book is the first monographic study entirely consecrated to the Syriac text entitled Neṣḥānā d-Aleksandrōs (also known as the Syriac Alexander Legend)**, a seminal text for later
> Christian and Muslim apocalyptic traditions. While the scholarly consensus commonly dates the
> Neṣḥānā to the time of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641 CE), **this study demonstrates that an earlier version of the text was produced during the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565)**.”
> [Tesei, “The Syriac Legend of Alexander’s Gate,” Abstract](https://academic.oup.com/book/51697#:~:text=this%20study%20demonstrates%20that%20an%20earlier,%28r.%20527%E2%80%93565%29)
> “Tommaso Tesei provides the **most definitive study of the Syriac Alexander Legend to date**.
> Although this text may possibly be unfamiliar to some scholars of late antiquity, it is
> highly important for its **direct influence on the Qur’an (Q 18.83-101)**. Yet the
> **significance** of this **sixth-century** apocalypse **greatly exceeds its appropriation in Qur’an**.”
> [Stephen J. Shoemaker, University of Oregon (Review)](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-syriac-legend-of-alexanders-gate-9780197646878?cc=us&lang=en)

> “This study examines the significant connection between the Qurʾānic narrative and the
> Neṣḥānā d-Aleksandros, **a sixth-century** Syriac text that reimagines Alexander the Great as a
> monotheistic Christian king and apocalyptic hero. The evidence presented here suggests that
> **the Neṣḥānā [Syriac Alexander Legend] served as a key source of inspiration for the Qurʾānic portrayal of Dhū-l-Qarnayn**, supporting his
> identification as an Alexander figure reinterpreted through the lens of Syriac literary
> and ideological traditions.”
> [Tesei, “And they ask you about Dhū-l-Qarnayn.”](https://www.academia.edu/164564991/_And_they_ask_you_about_Dh%C5%AB_l_Qarnayn_A_minimalist_answer#:~:text=a%20sixth,figure)

> “However, **in light of this episode’s relationship to the Alexander literature**, this phrase
> more likely means the point at which the waters in the heavens and the waters on earth meet (on
> this see Gen 1:6–7), that is, **the end of the world (n.b. in this regard how Alexander, or Dhū l-Qarnayn, goes to the westernmost [v. 86] and easternmost [v.90] points on earth, something which reflects a flat earth.)**” [p. 464](https://almuslih.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Reynolds-G-The-Quran-and-the-Bible-Text-and-Commentary.pdf#page=484)
> “**18:83–101** *overview* **This episode is also related to legends connected to Alexander** (it is presumably not a coincidence that two Alexander accounts appear in the same
> Sura in the Qurʾān), but **in this case to the Syriac Christian Neṣḥānā d-leh d-Aleksandrōs**, “The Victory of Alexander” (written ca. AD 630), a text traditionally
> **known in English as the Legend of Alexander**.” [p. 467](https://almuslih.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Reynolds-G-The-Quran-and-the-Bible-Text-and-Commentary.pdf#page=487)
> [Reynolds, “The Qurʾān and the Bible,” pp. 464, 467-471](https://almuslih.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Reynolds-G-The-Quran-and-the-Bible-Text-and-Commentary.pdf#page=484)

> “The **Qurʾān’s accounts** of the Companions of the Cave and the travels of Dhū ’l-Qarnayn
> **strongly resonate with** popular late antique **Syriac Christian stories**, namely,
> accounts of the so-called **Sleepers of Ephesus and of Alexander the Great**... it is
> likely that **oral versions of these narratives preceded their surviving written accounts**
> and that the **Qurʾān recalled aspects of these oral versions** for its own purposes.”
> [Griffith, “The Narratives of Sūrat al-Kahf”](https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/jiqsa/article/view/2056#:~:text=oral%20versions%20of%20these%20narratives%20preceded%20their%20surviving%20written%20accounts)

> “The **story of Dhū al-qarnayn, that is, Alexander the Great, from sūra 18:83–101, borrows directly from the Syriac Alexander Legend**, as discussed already in Chapter 3.
> The Qurʾān’s adaptation of this Christian text affords definitive proof that Muhammad and his
> followers were not only aware of but seemingly engaged with the tradition of Byzantine imperial
> eschatology.”
> [Shoemaker, “The Apocalypse of Empire,” p. 150](https://archive.org/details/441670716-stephen-j-shoemaker-the-apocalypse-of-empire-i-z-lib-org/page/150/mode/2up)

Both Syriac Alexander Legend and Hadiths: Sun Dips Then Bows Before God

Same motif across the Syriac Alexander Legend and the hadiths: the sun enters the
sea/spring, then bows/prostrates before God.

> I was with the Prophet ﷺ riding on a donkey, and it had a saddlecloth or a blanket on it. He
> said to me, “O Abu Dhar, do you know where this (the sun) sets?” I said, “Allah and His Messenger
> know best.” He said, “Indeed, **it sets in a hot spring** and **travels until it prostrates itself to its Lord beneath the Throne**. When its time to rise comes, Allah gives it permission to rise,
> and it rises. And when it is time for it to set from where it rises, it is prevented and it utters:
> ‘O Lord! My course is far, so give me permission.’ So, Allah lets it rise from the place where it
> sets. That is the time when the soul’s faith will not benefit it.”
> [Musnad Ahmed 21459](https://hadithunlocked.com/ahmad:21459) [Sunan Abu Dawud 4002](https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4002) [Sahih Bukhari 3199](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3199)

![Scanned page 148 of E.A. Wallis Budge's edition of the Syriac Alexander Legend, with the relevant passages framed in red: Alexander travels between the fetid sea and the bright sea to where the sun enters the window of heaven, and the sun bows down before God his Creator.](/assets/image-08-88fbfd040836.jpg)

[Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/147/mode/2up)

Read and Compare: Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn Story vs. Syriac Alexander Legend

Quran’s Dhul Qarnayn Story:

[Quran 18:83-102 (only 20 verses)](https://quran.com/18/83-102?translations=19)

Syriac Alexander Legend:

[Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, pp. 144-158 (15 pages)](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/143/mode/2up)

Other Problems in Surah Al-Kahf: Gog and Magog and Seven Sleepers

Surah Al-Kahf tells two stories that were circulating:

Gog and Magog

Dhul Qarnayn built an iron and copper wall between two mountains to seal off the tribes of Gog and Magog until doomsday. **This wall is nowhere to be found.**

> “Then he followed a road till, when he came **between the two mountains**, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying. They said: O Dhu’l-Qarneyn! Lo! **Gog and Magog are spoiling the land**. So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou set a barrier between us and them? He said: That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). **Do but help me with strength (of men), I will set between you and them a bank.** Give me **pieces of iron** - till, when he had levelled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: Blow! - till, when he had made it a fire, he said: Bring me **molten copper** to pour thereon. And **(Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it)**. He said: This is a mercy from my Lord; but **when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass, He will lay it low**, for the promise of my Lord is true. And on that day We shall let some of them surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one gathering.”
> [Quran 18:92-99](https://quran.com/18/92-102?translations=19)

Also in Syriac Alexander Legend

> “He said to them, ‘Who are their kings?’ The old men said: **‘Gog and Magog’**... Let
> us make a **gate of brass** and **close up this breach**… **Alexander**
> commanded… **workers in iron**... **workers in brass**… they put down **brass and iron**… then they brought it and **made a gate**...**when the world shall come to an end by the command of God**... **The Lord shall send His sign from heaven**…
> and **it shall be destroyed and fall**.”
> [Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 150-153](https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/149/mode/2up)

**Authentic hadiths** about Gog and Magog:

Gog and Magog Dig Every Day and Will Break Through When They Say “Inshallah”

> “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**.”
> [Sunan Ibn Majah 4080](https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4080)

999 Gog and Magog for Every 1 Muslim in Hell

> The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “On the day of Resurrection Allah will say, ‘O Adam!’ Adam
> will reply, ‘Labbaik our Lord, and Sa`daik’ Then there will be a loud call (saying),
> Allah orders you to take from among your offspring a mission for the (Hell) Fire.’ Adam
> will say, ‘O Lord! Who are the mission for the (Hell) Fire?’ Allah will say, ‘Out of each
> thousand, take out 999.’ At that time every pregnant female shall drop her load (have
> a miscarriage) and a child will have grey hair. And you shall see mankind as
> in a drunken state, yet not drunk, but severe will be the torment of Allah.” (22.2) (When
> the Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned this), the people were so distressed (and afraid) that
> their faces got changed (in color) whereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “**From Gog and Magog nine-hundred ninety-nine [999] will be taken out and one [1] from you**.
> You
> **Muslims** (compared to the large number of other people) **will be like** a
> **black hair on the side of a white ox**, or a **white hair on the side of a black ox**, and I hope that
> you will be onefourth of the people of Paradise.” On that, we said, “Allahu-Akbar!” Then
> he said, “I hope that you will be) one-third of the people of Paradise.” We again said,
> “Allahu-Akbar!” Then he said, “(I hope that you will be) one-half of the people of
> Paradise.” So we said, Allahu Akbar.”
> [Sahih Bukhari 4741](https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4741)

Seven Sleepers

Surah Al-Kahf opens with the story of **young monotheists** who escape
persecution and **fall asleep in a cave for years** but **says only Allah and a few others know their number**:

> “When the young men fled for refuge to the Cave... **We sealed up their hearing in the Cave** for a number of years. And afterward **We raised them up**... **(Some) will say:** They were **three, their dog the fourth**, and **(some) say: Five, their dog the sixth**, guessing at random; and **(some) say: Seven, and their dog the eighth.** **Say (O Muhammad): My Lord is Best Aware of their number.** **None knoweth them save a few.**”
> [Quran 18:10-22](https://quran.com/18/10-22?translations=19)

**A Christian legend predating the Quran** tells the same story but
with these details: **seven** Christian sleepers flee Roman persecution, sleep for centuries and
wake to find the Roman Empire had become Christian:

> “**seven sleeping brothers**, and their **puppy Viricanus** at their feet”
> [Martyrologium Hieronymianum (518-540 AD)](https://portal.sds.ox.ac.uk/articles/online_resource/E07933_Theodosius_in_his_On_the_Topography_of_the_Holy_Land_in_a_passage_on_Ephesus_western_Asia_Minor_notes_the_presence_there_of_the_Seven_Sleepers_of_Ephesus_S00287_and_of_Timothy_the_disciple_of_Paul_the_Apostle_S00466_Written_in_Latin_/13922945#:~:text=seven%20sleeping%20brothers,Viricanus%20at%20their%20feet)

> “During the time of the Emperor Decius, when a persecution was conducted upon Christians,
> **seven men were arrested**… shut themselves up in a **single cave**… collapsed on the
> ground and **fell asleep**… the Lord sent into the seven men the spirit of life and **they arose**… the boy saw the **seal of the glorious cross** over the gate of the city…
> **he was amazed**”
> [Gregory of Tours (580-594 AD), pg 6-7](https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/sites/default/files/2022-01/With_Sleep_Comes_a_Fusion_of_Worlds_The_Seven_Sleepers_of_Ephesus_Through_Formation_and_Transformation_0.pdf#page=7)

Videos

Muddy Spring: [English video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVwizsojd1Y&list=PLKurjH_dbSTL-YkuHGizDRKaqCwOXwJs5&index=2) [Arabic video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCGaN2QoI5U&list=PLKurjH_dbSTJuWMIqEksnjAvaX1VDhjtZ&index=2)

Alexander Legend: [English video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sju28v0dCw8&list=PLKurjH_dbSTL-YkuHGizDRKaqCwOXwJs5&index=4) [Arabic video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g37ULL4PxTs&list=PLKurjH_dbSTJuWMIqEksnjAvaX1VDhjtZ&index=4)

Gog and Magog: [English video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty_2G_esUvI&list=PLKurjH_dbSTL-YkuHGizDRKaqCwOXwJs5&index=3) [Arabic video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYymdmkdyVY&list=PLKurjH_dbSTJuWMIqEksnjAvaX1VDhjtZ&index=3)

Surah Al-Kahf: [English video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRICs4iJd1w&list=PLKurjH_dbSTL-YkuHGizDRKaqCwOXwJs5&index=1) [Arabic video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9lj895qKEg&list=PLKurjH_dbSTJuWMIqEksnjAvaX1VDhjtZ&index=1)

One-Liners

- **The Sequencing Problem:** You can’t reach the setting place of the sun and
then find it setting in a muddy spring.

- **The Direction Cop-Out:** West is a direction, not a destination. If the sun
sets in the west from everywhere on Earth, how can you reach (balagha) its setting place?

- **The Vocabulary Check:** When have you ever described the ocean as a black
muddy spring?

- **The Perspective Trap:** Springs are small and don’t have horizons like
oceans. You look down at a spring and can see its edges. The sun can’t appear to set into a
spring.

### Sources
- Quran 18:85-86: https://quran.com/18/85-102?translations=19
- Quran Corpus 18:86: https://corpus.quran.com/wordbyword.jsp?chapter=18&verse=86
- Quran 18:89-90: https://quran.com/18/89-102?translations=19
- Quran 18:83: https://quran.com/18/83-102?translations=19
- Quran 18:85-87: https://quran.com/18/85-102?translations=19
- Quran 18:83-102: https://quran.com/18/83-102?translations=19
- Quran 18:10-22: https://quran.com/18/10-22?translations=19
- Sunan Ibn Majah 166: https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:166
- Sunan Abu Dawud 4002: https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4002
- Sahih Bukhari 3199: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3199
- Sunan Ibn Majah 4080: https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4080
- Sahih Bukhari 4741: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:4741
- Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 12: https://www.justislam.co.uk/images/Ibn%20Ishaq%20-%20Sirat%20Rasul%20Allah.pdf#page=30
- Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148: https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/148/mode/2up
- Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 148: https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/147/mode/2up
- Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 156: https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/156/mode/2up
- Budge, Syriac Alexander Legend, p. 150-153: https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/149/mode/2up
- Syriac Alexander Legend, pp. 144-158: https://archive.org/details/BudgeSyriacAlexander/page/143/mode/2up
- Van Bladel, p. 181: https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n7/mode/2up
- Van Bladel, p. 190: https://archive.org/details/TheAlexanderLegendInTheQuran/page/n17/mode/2up
- Martyrologium Hieronymianum (518-540 AD): https://portal.sds.ox.ac.uk/articles/online_resource/E07933_Theodosius_in_his_On_the_Topography_of_the_Holy_Land_in_a_passage_on_Ephesus_western_Asia_Minor_notes_the_presence_there_of_the_Seven_Sleepers_of_Ephesus_S00287_and_of_Timothy_the_disciple_of_Paul_the_Apostle_S00466_Written_in_Latin_/13922945#:~:text=seven%20sleeping%20brothers,Viricanus%20at%20their%20feet
- Gregory of Tours (580-594 AD), pg 6-7: https://digitallibrary.vassar.edu/sites/default/files/2022-01/With_Sleep_Comes_a_Fusion_of_Worlds_The_Seven_Sleepers_of_Ephesus_Through_Formation_and_Transformation_0.pdf#page=7
- Musnad Ahmed 21459: https://hadithunlocked.com/ahmad:21459
- Griffith, "The Narratives of Sūrat al-Kahf": https://lockwoodonlinejournals.com/index.php/jiqsa/article/view/2056#:~:text=oral%20versions%20of%20these%20narratives%20preceded%20their%20surviving%20written%20accounts
- Tesei, "And they ask you about Dhū-l-Qarnayn.": https://www.academia.edu/164564991/_And_they_ask_you_about_Dh%C5%AB_l_Qarnayn_A_minimalist_answer#:~:text=a%20sixth,figure
- Tafsir Muqatil ibn Sulayman on 18:83 (d. 767 AD): https://shamela.ws/book/23614/885#p3:~:text=%D9%88%D9%8E%D9%8A%D9%8E%D8%B3%D9%92%D8%A6%D9%8E%D9%84%D9%8F%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%83%D9%8E%20%D8%B9%D9%8E%D9%86%D9%92%20%D8%B0%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D9%82%D9%8E%D8%B1%D9%92%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%8A%D9%92%D9%86%D9%90%20%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%86%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D9%88%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%B5%D8%B1
- Ibn Hisham (d. 833 AD), Sirat Rasul Allah, p. 719 (n. 186): https://www.justislam.co.uk/images/Ibn%20Ishaq%20-%20Sirat%20Rasul%20Allah.pdf#page=384
- Tafsir al-Qurtubi on 18:83 (d. 1273 AD): https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/qortobi/sura18-aya83.html#:~:text=%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%84%20%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%86%20%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%A7%D9%85%20%3A%20%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%87%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D9%88%D9%87%D9%88%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B0%D9%8A%20%D8%A8%D9%86%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D9%81%D9%86%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%AA%20%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%87
- Tafsir al-Tabari on 18:83 (d. 923 AD): https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura18-aya83.html#:~:text=%D8%AC%D8%A6%D8%AA%D9%85%20%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%A3%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%86%20%D8%B0%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7%20%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86%D9%87%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D9%83%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%83%D9%85%3A%20%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%86%20%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A7%20%D9%85%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%85%D8%8C%20%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%A1%20%D9%81%D8%A8%D9%86%D9%89%20%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%A9%20%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9
- al-Tabari, History of al-Tabari, vol. 4, p. 87 (d. 923 AD): https://www.kalamullah.com/Books/The%20History%20Of%20Tabari/Tabari_Volume_04.pdf#page=102
- al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb on 18:84 (d. 1210 AD): https://www.greattafsirs.com/Tafsir_Library.aspx?AyahNo=84&LanguageID=1&MadhabNo=1&QuranAyat_Home=1&SoraNo=18&TafsirNo=4#:~:text=%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%A8%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B7%D8%B9%20%D8%A8%D8%A3%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AF%20%D8%A8%D8%B0%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D9%87%D9%88%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B1%20%D8%A8%D9%86%20%D9%81%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%B3%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A
- Tafsir al-Jalalayn on 18:83 (d. 1505 AD): https://www.greattafsirs.com/Tafsir_Library.aspx?AyahNo=83&LanguageID=2&MadhabNo=1&QuranAyat_Home=1&SoraNo=18&TafsirNo=6#:~:text=they%2C%20the%20Jews%2C%20question%20you%20concerning,he%20was%20not%20a%20prophet
- Tafsir Sa'id b. Mansur (d. 842 AD): https://shamela.ws/book/161/197#p1:~:text=%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%91%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8E%20%D8%AA%D9%8E%D8%BA%D8%B1%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%8F%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8D,%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8F%20%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8E%D8%B4%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%90%D9%82%D9%90
- Tafsir al-Tha'labi (d. 1035 AD): https://shamela.ws/book/23578/1859#p13:~:text=%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%85%D8%B3%20%D9%81%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%8C%20%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B0%D9%81%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82
- Tafsir al-Suyuti (d. 1505 AD): https://shamela.ws/book/12884/4277#p8:~:text=%D8%A8%D9%8E%D9%84%D8%BA%D9%86%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%86%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D9%92%D8%B3%20%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8%20%D9%81%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B0%D9%81%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D8%B9%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%A5%D9%90%D9%84%D9%8E%D9%89%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%92%D9%85%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82
- Tafsir al-Tabari on Quran 18:90 (d. 923 AD): https://www.greattafsirs.com/Tafsir_Library.aspx?AyahNo=90&LanguageID=1&MadhabNo=1&QuranAyat_Home=1&SoraNo=18&TafsirNo=1#:~:text=%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%B6%D9%87%D9%85%20%D9%84%D8%A7%20%D8%AC%D8%A8%D9%84%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%20%D8%B4%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%20%D8%AA%D9%80%D8%AD%D8%AA%D9%80%D9%85%D9%84%20%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%8C%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%D8%B3%D9%83%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%80%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%8C%20%D9%88%D8%A5%D9%86%D9%80%D9%85%D8%A7%20%D9%8A%D8%BA%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%86%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%80%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%8C%20%D8%A3%D9%88%20%D9%8A%D9%8E%D8%B3%D9%92%D8%B1%D9%8F%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%86%20%D9%81%D9%80%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8
- Abu al-Shaykh, al-Azama (d. 979 AD): https://shamela.ws/book/13043/1052#p1:~:text=%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%B3%D9%8E%D9%85%D9%90%D8%B9%D9%8E%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%91%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8F%20%D9%88%D9%8F%D8%AC%D9%8F%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8E%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D9%92%D8%B3%D9%90%20%D8%AD%D9%90%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%8E%20%D8%AA%D9%8E%D8%AC%D9%90%D8%A8
- Tafsir al-Suyuti (d. 1505 AD): https://shamela.ws/book/12884/4277#p9:~:text=%D9%84%D9%8E%D9%88%D9%92%D9%84%D9%8E%D8%A7%20%D8%A3%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AA%20%D8%A3%D9%8E%D9%87%D9%84%D9%87%D9%8E%D8%A7%20%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%85%D8%B9%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%8E%D9%91%D8%A7%D8%B3%20%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%90%D9%8A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%91%D9%85%D9%92%D8%B3%20%D8%AD%D9%90%D9%8A%D9%86%20%D8%AA%D8%AC%D8%A8

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