Tafsir of Surah Al-Kahf - Verse 87

His traveling and reaching the Place where the Sun sets (the West)

فَأَتْبَعَ سَبَباً

(So he followed a way.) Ibn `Abbas said that he followed different routes to achieve what he wanted.

فَأَتْبَعَ سَبَباً

(So he followed a way.) Mujahid said that he followed different routes, east and west. According to one report narrated from Mujahid, he said:

سَبَباً

(a way) means, "A route through the land." Qatadah said, "It means he followed the routes and landmarks of the earth."

حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ الشَّمْسِ

(Until, when he reached the setting place of the sun,) means, he followed a route until he reached the furthest point that could be reached in the direction of the sun's setting, which is the west of the earth. As for the idea of his reaching the place in the sky where the sun sets, this is something impossible, and the tales told by storytellers that he traveled so far to the west that the sun set behind him are not true at all. Most of these stories come from the myths of the People of the Book and the fabrications and lies of their heretics.

وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِى عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ

(he found it setting in a spring of Hami'ah) meaning, he saw the sun as if it were setting in the ocean. This is something which everyone who goes to the coast can see: it looks as if the sun is setting into the sea but in fact it never leaves its path in which it is fixed. Hami'ah is, according to one of the two views, derived from the word Hama'ah, which means mud. This is like the Ayah:

إِنِّى خَـلِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَـلٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ

("I am going to create a man (Adam) from dried clay of altered Hama'h (mud)) 15:28, which means smooth mud, as we have discussed above.

وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْماً

(And he found near it a people.) meaning a nation. They mentioned that they were a great nation from among the sons of Adam.

قُلْنَا يذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّآ أَن تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّآ أَن تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْناً

(We (Allah) said (by inspiration): "O Dhul-Qarnayn! Either you punish them or treat them with kindness") means, Allah gave him power over them and gave him the choice: if he wanted to, he could kill the men and take the women and children captive, or if he wanted to, he could set them free, with or without a ransom. His justice and faith became apparent in the ruling he pronounced:

أَمَّا مَن ظَلَمَ

(As for him who does wrong,) meaning who persists in his Kufr and in associating others in worship with his Lord,

فَسَوْفَ نُعَذِّبُهُ

(we shall punish him,) Qatadah said, i.e., by killing him.

ثُمَّ يُرَدُّ إِلَى رَبِّهِ فَيُعَذِّبُهُ عَذَاباً نُّكْراً

(and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, Who will punish him with a terrible torment.) meaning a severe, far-reaching and painful punishment. This implies a confirmation of the Hereafter and the reward and punishment.

وَأَمَّا مَنْ آمَنَ

(But as for him who believes), meaning `who follows us in our call to worship Allah Alone with no partner or associate,'

فَلَهُ جَزَآءً الْحُسْنَى

(he shall have the best reward,) meaning in the Hereafter, with Allah.

وَسَنَقُولُ لَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِنَا يُسْراً

(and we (Dhul-Qarnayn) shall speak unto him mild words.) Mujahid said, `(words of) kindness.'

The statement in verse 86: حَتَّىٰ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِ‌بَ الشَّمْسِ (until when he reached where the sun sets) means that he reached the far limit towards the West beyond which there was no populated area.

The word: حَمِئَةٍ (Hami'ah) in the succeeding phrase: فِي عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ (into a miry spring) literally means dark marsh or mud carrying the sense of water beneath which there is dark mud and which causes the water it-self to appear black. As for the sense of his seeing the Sun setting into such a spring, it means that an onlooker perceived it as setting into the spring because there was no habitation or dry land in sight. This is like being in an open field while the Sun is setting where as far as one can see there appears to be no mountain, tree, or structure, naturally one who looks at the sight would feel that the Sun was sinking into the land mass.

Said in the sentence which follows immediately was: وَوَجَدَ عِندَهَا قَوْمًا (and found near it a people), that is, near this dark spring, Dhul-Qarnain found a people. The later part of the verse shows that these people were infidels. Therefore, as said in the next verses, Allah Ta’ ala gave Dhul-Qarnain the choice of punishing them right away for their infidelity. Or, if he so wished, he could choose to deal with them benevolently by first asking them to consider the message of faith and bring them round to embrace it through dissemination of information and good counsel. After that, he could reward those who believe and punish those. who do not. In response, Dhul-Qarnain elected to go by the second option. He said that he would try to bring them to the straight path through good counsel and advice. Then, he would punish those who stood by their infidelity and reward those who believed and did what was good.

The statement: قُلْنَا يَا ذَا الْقَرْ‌نَيْنِ (We said, 'O Dhul-Qarnain...) shows that Allah Ta` ala has Himself said this addressing Dhul-Qarnain. Now, if Dhul-Qarnain is taken to be a prophet, there is no problem here. It will mean that it was said to him through the medium of revelation. And if, his prophethood is not to be recognized, there is only one way to rationalize the statement: قُلْنَا (qulna: We said) and the address: يَا ذَا الْقَرْ‌نَيْنِ

Dhul-Qarnain). This way could be to take this address to have been made to Dhul-Qarnain through the medium of some prophet - as suggested by the reported presence of Al-Khadir (علیہ السلام) with him. Then, it is also possible that this revelation is just not the kind of wahy that is peculiar to a prophet or messenger of Allah. May be, it is a wahy or revelation in the literal sense like the word: وَاَوحَینَا (awhaina: We revealed or put into the heart) used in the Qur’ an for the mother of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) - though, there is no probability of her being a prophet or messenger of Allah. But, Abu Hayyan says in al-Bahr al-Muhit that the command given here to Dhul-Qarnain is a command to punish and kill those people. No such command can be given without the authority of a revelation to a prophet. This action cannot be taken on the authority of Kashf (illumination) and Ilham (inspiration), nor can it be activated through any other source without the authority of wahy (revelation) to a nabiyy (prophet). For this reason, no probability other than the one being mentioned here is sound: Either Dhul-Qarnain himself is taken to be a prophet, or that there may be a prophet present during his time and it is through him that Dhul-Qarnain is addressed. And Allah knows best.

Dhu’l-Qarnayn, in making his conquests, possibly proceeded in a westward direction from Iran, and thus reached Asia Minor, halting only when he came to the ‘black water’ of the Aegean Sea. If one stands on the sea-shore here and looks out over the sea in the evening, it will appear as if the sphere of the sun is sinking into the water and setting there. This is a figurative description of the furthermost point which Dhu’l-Qarnayn reached. Dhu’l-Qarnayn had reached this seashore not as a wayfarer but as a conqueror. Thus he gained full control over the people inhabiting that area and established his rule there. As a ruler he had full powers to deal with the inhabitants as he liked. But Dhu’l-Qarnayn was a just king. He was not cruel to anybody. He made the general announcement that he would deal severely only with anyone found indulging in evil deeds and that no excess would be perpetrated upon those who maintained peace and order.