The Meaning of Sabab as the Reason for the Victoriousness of Dhul-Qarnayn

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Knowledge, Behbahan Khatam Alanbia University of Technology, Bihbahan, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Qur’an Sciences, Isfahan Faculty of Qur’anic Sciences, University of Quranic Sciences and Education, Isfahan, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Qur’an and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Islamic Theology, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In the light of the fact that the Qur’ān is connected to the divine knowledge, this article examines the exegetic opinions and the definitive religious realities, and compares and analyzes them in order to decode the mysterious references made by the Qur’ān to the unmatched victoriousness of Dhul-Qarnayn in designing and founding the infrastructure of a magnificent civilization with a highly developed management and technology. The unique management of Dhul-Qarnayn in his crossing over the globe, opposition to oppression, promotion of justice, technological skill in the construction of a dam, domination over enemies, the creation of an enduring security for the citizens, and finally, the processing of a monotheistic cultural system are the goals that are mentioned in the Qur’ān 18:84-98. All these goals are fulfilled outstandingly due to Dhul-Qarnayn’s adherence to a reality called “sabab.” From the viewpoint of the majority of exegetes, the paramount instance of sabab is “knowledge or its instances or results,” based on which this mysterious character could achieve all those successes. Accordingly, this article specifically inspects the story of Dhul-Qarnayn and some other prophets of God who – based on the qur’ānic verses – relied on knowledge to significantly contribute to the excellence of the magnificent civilizations of their own eras. Then, it is concluded that to revive the glory of the civilization of the early centuries of Islam and to achieve a civilization appropriate to the advanced culture of Islam, Muslims have no way other than embarking upon various types of science and producing knowledge. In the light of the foregoing points and the verses and narrations that depict Imām Mahdī‘s government and civilization, we might claim that the multifaceted character of Dhul-Qarnayn is an illustration of the complete, comprehensive, and impeccable character of Imām Mahdī (may God hasten his reappearance) in the End of Days.

Keywords


The noble Qur’ān
Nahj al-balāgha (1993). Edited by Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, Qom, Hijrat.
Anwarī, Ḥ. (2002), Sokhan comprehensive dictionary. Tehran, Sokhan Publications.
‘Ayyāshī, M. (2001), Kitāb al-tafsīr. Tehran, ‘Ilmiyya Publications.
Baghawī, Ḥ. (1999), Ma‘ālim al-tanzīl fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān. Edited by ‘Abd al-Razzāq Mahdī, Beirut, Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī.
Baḥrānī, H. (1995), Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān. Tehran, Bi‘that Foundation.
Fakhr Rāzī, M. (1999), Mafātīḥ al-ghayb. Beirut, Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī.
Farāhīdī, Kh. (1989), Kitāb al-‘Ayan. Qom, Hijrat Publications.
Ibn Abī Ḥātam, A. (1998), Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. Edited by As‘ad Muḥammad al-Ṭayyib, Riyadh, Maktabat Nazār.
Ibn ‘Āshūr, M. (n.d.), Al-Taḥrīr wa al-tanwīr. N.p, n.p.
Ibn Jazī Gharnāṭī, M. (1995), Kitāb al-Tashīl li-‘ulūm al-tanzīl. Beirut, Dār al-Arqam b. Abī al-Arqam.
Ibn Kathīr, A. (1998), Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya.
Kashānī, F. (1954), Khulāṣa al-manhaj. Tehran, Islāmiyya Publications.
Kulaynī, M. (1986), Al-Kāfī. Tehran. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya.
Maḥalī, J. & J. Suyūṭī (1995), Tafsīr al-jalālīn. Beirut, Mu’assisa al-Nūr lil-Maṭbū‘āt.
Majlisī, M. (1984), Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut, Mu’assisa al-Wafā’.
Makārim Shīrāzī, N. (2000), Al-Amthal fī tafsīr Kitābullāh al-munzal. Qom, Imām ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib School.
Mawlawī, J. (1995), Mathnawī ma‘nawī. Edited by ‘Azīzullāh Kāsib, Tehran, Muḥammad Publications-Gulī Publications.
Mu‘īn, M. (2007), Persian dictionary. Tehran, Ashja‘.
Muqātil b. Sulaymān (2002), Tafsīr Muqātil b. Sulaymān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth.
Muṣṭafawī, Ḥ. (1982), Al-Taḥqīq fī kalimāt al-Qur’ān al-karīm. Tehran, Book Translation and Publication Center.
Nayshābūrī, N. (1995), Tafsīr gharā’ib al-Qur’ān wa raghā’ib al-furqān. Edited by Shaykh Zakariyya ‘Amīrāt, Beirut, Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya.
Qurashī, A. (1993), Qāmūs Qur’ān. Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya.
Qurṭabī, M. (1986), Al-Jāmi‘ li-aḥkām al-Qur’ān. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusru Publications.
Rāghib Iṣfahānī, ῌ. (1991), Al-Mufradāt fī gharīb al-Qur’ān. Beirut, Al-Dār al-‘Ilm al-Dār al-Shāmiyya.
Sabziwārī Najafī, M. (1986), Al-Jadīd fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-majīd. Beirut, Dār al-Ta‘āruf lil-Maṭbū‘āt.
Sulmī, M. (1991), Ḥaqāiq al-tafsīr. Edited by Naṣrullāh Pūrjawādī, Tehran, Nashr Dānishgāhī.
Suyūṭī, J. (1984), Al-Durr al-manthūr fī tafsīr al-mathūr. Qom, Āyatullāh Mar‘ashī Najafī Library.
Ṭabāṭabā’ī, M. (1996), Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān. Qom, Jāmi‘ah Mudarrisīn Ḥawzah ‘Ilmiyya.
Ṭabrisī, F. (1994), Majma‘ al-bayān li‘ulūm al-Qur’ān. Tehran, Nāṣir Khusru.
Ṭūsī, M. (n.d.), Al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qur’ān. Beirut, Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī.