Dhul-Qarnayn, The just world-traveller: In the Quran in Islamic History

In the Quran

In the QuranThe just world-traveller

Dhul-Qarnaynذو القرنين

Unknown; often placed in the 6th century BCE (if Cyrus)

A righteous king given power on earth, who travelled east and west and built a wall against Yajuj and Majuj.

Allah gave him the means to everything. He went to where the sun set into a murky spring, then to where it rose over a people without shelter, judging fairly. Between two mountains he met a people terrorised by Yajuj and Majuj. Refusing payment, he had them bring iron and copper and built a barrier, saying: this is a mercy from my Lord.

What does the Quran say?

[Dhul-Qarnayn] said, "This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord comes, He will make it level, and ever is the promise of my Lord true."
Quran 18:98

18:83-98

The lesson

Power used with justice and humility is credited to Allah, not to oneself.

Where do they appear in the story?

Date unknownDhul-Qarnayn's wall

Who else is linked?

Alexander the Great Yajuj and Majuj Persian Empire Cyrus the Great Yajuj and Majuj Gaugamela Persepolis

Source: the Quran · Wikipedia

Everyone and everything in the timeline

People named in the Quran and the hadith, the Prophet's ﷺ family and Companions, scholars, rulers, the nations of the Quran, the world's empires and the places where it all happened. Where scholars differ, each entry says so.