Oriental Elements in Surat al-Kahf

While Muslims refuse the association of Ḏū ’l-Qarnayn with Alexander the Great, this is the hypothesis suggested by the vast majority of Western scholars. In this paper we consider the issue under a new perspective: actually Q. 18:60-82 is not necessarily derived from the Historia Alexandri Magni. Hence, we infer a different solution to the problem of identifying the mysterious character found in Surat al-Kahf.

Firstly, we review the impact of pre-Islamic cultures and religions on the Quranic revelation. Such a viewpoint illustrates not only the primary role played by Judaism and Christianity, but also the too often forgotten influence of Manichaeism and South Arabian paganism. These civilizations affected the birth of Islam in the twofold aspect of contents and interpreting tools. Tafāsīr, modelled in pešarîm-like form, were developed as a response to pressure from early Muslims searching for the meaning of the Sacred Scripture. Nevertheless, it must be recognized that extant recensions of exegetical writings do not antedate 815 AD, the proposed date marking the beginnings of Arabic literature. We often have to deal, therefore, with later material which was bundled over time with traditions not genuinely Quranic in their origins. Thus, a thorough differentiation between the Quran and Islamic tradition is necessary. The mufassirūn do not offer a strict identification of the unnamed character of Quran 18:60-65, whereas they simply refer to him by using the name al-Khidr. Still, on the basis of literary analogies and the hairy anchorite’s traditions, modern scholars have identified this character with Gilgameš. As a matter of fact, al-Khidr is very similar in many respects to the Greaco-Roman Glaucus or the Indian Khwaja-Khizr. The sources of these legends are easily recognizable in the epic poems of Gilgameš and the Enuma Eliš. We believe that other coeval compositions, such as the Cuthean Legend, or parts of the nârû literature, could have played a role in the shaping of Ḏū ’l-Qarnayn’s character.

In conclusion we can state that Surat al-Kahf depends on two separate sources, an Eastern and a Western one, which eventually merged reciprocal elements.