Dhul-Qarnayn

Dhul-Qarnayn ('the one of two horns,' or two eras) is a great sovereign to whom God gave power and means. The Quran presents him as a just traveller who journeyed the earth from end to end and erected a barrier to protect a defenceless people against Gog and Magog.

God established Dhul-Qarnayn's authority over the earth and gave him the means for every undertaking. He travelled to the setting of the sun, where he found a people. God gave him the choice: punish or be lenient. He chose justice: to punish the obstinate wrongdoer, but reward and treat with gentleness the one who believes and does good.

He then travelled to the rising of the sun, then reached a place between two mountains where a people lived who could barely understand a word. These people complained to him: Gog and Magog (Yajuj and Majuj) were spreading corruption over their land. They offered him a wage to erect a barrier.

Dhul-Qarnayn refused payment: what God had given him was worth more. He asked only for help with the work. He had blocks of iron brought, filled the space between the two mountains, had fire blown until the iron was red-hot, then poured molten copper over it. The barrier was such that Gog and Magog could neither scale nor pierce it.

But Dhul-Qarnayn did not glory in this: he recalled that this barrier was a grace from God, and that on the appointed day, God would reduce it to dust — for God's promise is always fulfilled.

Dhul-Qarnayn is the model of power placed at the service of good: a sovereign who renders justice without unnecessary harshness, refuses to enrich himself through his function, protects the weak, and attributes all his success to God rather than to himself.

قَالَ مَا مَكَّنِّي فِيهِ رَبِّي خَيْرٌ فَأَعِينُونِي بِقُوَّةٍ أَجْعَلْ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ رَدْمًا

Il répondit : « L’autorité et les richesses que mon Seigneur m’a conférées valent bien mieux que votre argent. Aidez-moi seulement de vos mains à dresser ce barrage entre vous et ces gens.

18:95

قَالَ هَٰذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّي ۖ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي جَعَلَهُ دَكَّاءَ ۖ وَكَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي حَقًّا

Dhou Al-Qarnayn affirma : « Ce barrage est une grâce de mon Seigneur. Mais le jour où s’accomplira Sa promesse, il sera, par Sa volonté, entièrement rasé. La promesse de Mon Seigneur se réalisera inéluctablement. »

18:98