Ishaq ibn Bishr, on the authority of Saʿid ibn Bashir, reported from Qatadah: “Alexander is Dhu l-Qarnayn; his father was the first of the Caesars, and he traces his lineage to Shem son of Noah ﵇ (1).

As for the second Dhu l-Qarnayn, he is Alexander son of Philip son of Misrim son of Hermes son of Herdes (2) son of Maitun son of Rumi son of Lanta son of Yunan son of Japheth son of Yuna son of Sharakhun son of Ruma son of Sharafat son of Tawfil son of Rumi son of al-Asfar son of Yaqaz son of al-ʿIs son of Isaac son of Abraham the Friend—so al-Hafiz Ibn ʿAsakir records in his History (3). He was the Macedonian, Greek, Egyptian who built Alexandria, and the Romans reckon their calendar from his era. He lived long after the first, some three hundred years before the Messiah (4). Aristotle the philosopher was his vizier. He is the one who killed Darius son of Darius, humbled the Persian kings, and trampled their lands.

We draw attention to this because many people assume they were one and the same, and that the person mentioned in the Qur’an is the one whose minister was Aristotle. This assumption leads to grave error and widespread corruption, for the first was a righteous, believing servant and a just king whose minister was al-Khiḍr—who, as we have clarified, was a prophet—whereas the second was a polytheist whose minister was a philosopher, and more than two thousand years separate their eras. How far apart the two are! They are in no way alike, and only an obtuse person ignorant of realities would confuse them.

Thus the words of the Most High, “They ask you about Dhu l-Qarnayn,” were revealed because Quraysh asked the Jews for a test of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ knowledge. The Jews said: “Ask him about a man who wandered through the earth and about a group of young men who set out, whose fate is unknown.” Allah therefore sent down the story of the Companions of the Cave and the story of Dhu l-Qarnayn (5). Hence He said, “Say: I shall recount to you something of him”—that is, part of his story and condition—“an account,” meaning a useful report sufficient to acquaint you with his affair and clarify his state.

He then said, “Indeed, We established him firmly in the earth and granted him access to every means,” meaning: We expanded his dominion throughout the lands and supplied him (6) with the instruments of kingship by which he could accomplish the great tasks and lofty aims he pursued.

Qutaybah narrated, from Abu ʿAwanah, from Simak, from Habib ibn Hammad, who said: I was with ʿAli ibn Abi Talib when a man asked him how Dhu l-Qarnayn reached the east and the west. He replied, “The clouds were subjected to him, the means were extended for him, and he was spread out in light.” Then he said, “Shall I add more?” The man remained silent, and ʿAli ﵁ likewise fell silent.