Scholars have differed over the reason he was called “Dhu l-Qarnayn” (the Two-Horned One).
Some say it was because his head bore something resembling two horns.
Wahb ibn Munabbih asserted that he actually had two horns of copper growing from his head, but this report is weak.
(1) Others among the People of the Book claimed the epithet referred to his having ruled both Persia and Rome.
Another opinion holds that he reached the two “horns” of the sun—its western setting-point and its eastern rising-point—and ruled the lands in between. This view is more convincing than the others and is the position of al-Zuhri (2).
Al-Hasan al-Basri said he possessed two long locks of hair that hung so low he would tread upon them; hence he was called Dhu l-Qarnayn.
Ishaq ibn Bishr transmitted—through ʿAbd Allah ibn Ziyad ibn Samʿan, ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb, his father, and his grandfather—that the latter said: “He summoned a tyrannical king to worship Allah. The king struck him on one side of his head, smashing it. He summoned him again, and the king crushed the other side, and so he was named Dhu l-Qarnayn.”
Al-Thawri narrated—from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Abu l-Tufayl—that ʿAli ibn Abi Talib, when asked about Dhu l-Qarnayn, replied: “He was a servant who was loyal to Allah (3) and Allah was loyal to him. He called his people to Allah, whereupon they struck him on one side of his head and he died. Allah revived him, and he again called his people to Allah; they struck him on the other side and he died once more. Hence he was named Dhu l-Qarnayn.”
Shuʿbah likewise reported this through al-Qasim (4) ibn Abi Bazzah, from Abu l-Tufayl, from ʿAli.
In another narration from Abu l-Tufayl, ʿAli said: “He was neither a prophet, nor a messenger, nor a king; rather, he was a righteous servant (5).”
There is also disagreement about his personal name. Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbas that his name was ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Maʿd (6). Others said he was Muṣʿab (7) ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Qannān ibn Manṣur ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Azd ibn Ghawth (8) ibn Nabit ibn Malik ibn Zayd ibn Kahlan ibn Sabaʾ ibn Qaḥṭan.