Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:83

He is Alexander, who ruled the world. It is said: Two believers ruled the world—Dhu al-Qarnayn and Solomon—and two disbelievers—Nimrod and Nebuchadnezzar (who came after Nimrod).

There is disagreement regarding him:

• A righteous servant: God gave him dominion over the earth, granted him knowledge and wisdom, clothed him in majesty, and subjected the light and darkness to him. When he traveled, the light guided him from the front, and the darkness surrounded him from behind.
• A prophet.
• An angel.

Regarding this, Umar (may God be pleased with him) heard a man say, "O Dhu al-Qarnayn," and he said, "May God forgive you! Are you not satisfied with naming yourselves after the prophets, that you now name yourselves after the angels?"

Ali (may God be pleased with him) said: "God subjected the clouds to him, extended the means for him, and spread the light for him." When asked about him, he said, "God loved him, so He loved him." Ibn al-Kawwa asked him, "Was he a king or a prophet?" He replied, "Neither a king nor a prophet, but a righteous servant. He was struck on his right horn in obedience to God and died; then God resurrected him, and he was struck on his left horn and died; then God resurrected him, and thus he was called Dhu al-Qarnayn. And among you is his like." It is said he would call them to monotheism, they would kill him, and God would resurrect him.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "He was called Dhu al-Qarnayn because he traversed the two 'horns' of the world, meaning its two sides: its east and its west."

Other views:

• He had two braids of hair.
• Two generations of people passed away during his time.
• Wahb said: Because he ruled Rome and Persia (or Rome and the Turks).
• His temples were made of copper.
• His crown had two horns, or he had something resembling horns on his head.
• It may be a title for his bravery, just as a brave man is called a "ram" because he butts his opponents. He was from Rome, born to an old woman who had no other child.

The Questioners: They were the Jews, asking to test him. It is also said it was Abu Jahl and his associates.

"From everything... a means": Meaning, from the causes of everything he desired for his purposes and goals in his kingdom, he was given a "means"—a path leading to it. A "means" is that by which one reaches a goal, whether through knowledge, power, or tools. He desired to reach the West, so he followed a means until he reached it; likewise for the East and the two barriers.

"A hot spring" (Hamiyah/Ham'ah): Ibn Mas'ud, Talha, Ibn Umar, Ibn Amr, and al-Hasan read it as Hamiyah (hot). Ibn Abbas read it as Ham'ah (muddy). When Ibn Abbas was with Mu'awiyah, Mu'awiyah read Hamiyah, and Ibn Abbas corrected him to Ham'ah. Mu'awiyah asked Abdullah ibn Amr how he read it, and he replied, "As the Commander of the Faithful reads." Then they asked Ka'b al-Ahbar how he found the sun setting, and he said, "In water and mud, that is how we find it in the Torah." A man then recited the verse of Tubba': "He saw the setting of the sun at its destination / In a spring of murky water and black mud." There is no contradiction between Ham'ah (muddy) and Hamiyah (hot); it is possible the spring possessed both qualities.

"As for he who does wrong...": They were disbelievers, so God gave him the choice to punish them by killing or to invite them to Islam. He chose the invitation and the effort to win them over. He said: Whoever refuses and persists in the great injustice of polytheism, he will be punished in both worlds. "But as for one who believes and does righteousness"—that which faith requires—"he will have the reward of the best" (or the reward of the good deed, which is the testimony of faith).

"From our command, ease": We will not command him with the difficult and burdensome, but with the easy and accessible, such as Zakat, taxes, and the like. It is estimated as "possessing ease," like the phrase "a gentle word."