Critics argue that the Quranic story of Dhul-Qarnayn in Surah 18 borrows from the Syriac Alexander Legend, while traditional Islamic scholarship denies that Dhul-Qarnayn is Alexander the Great. The debate involves several key arguments regarding texts, history, and theology. THE CRITICAL CLAIM • The Figure of Dhul-Qarnayn : In Surah 18 (verses 83–102) of the Quran, a righteous king named Dhul-Qarnayn (meaning "The Two-Horned One") travels to the ends of the earth. • Striking Parallels : The Quranic narrative describes Dhul-Qarnayn travelling to where the sun sets in a muddy spring and building a barrier of iron and molten brass to trap the tribes of Gog and Magog. These details closely match older Christian and Syriac stories found in the Alexander Romance and the Syriac Alexander Legend, which depict Alexander as a pious king who built a copper-and-iron gate against apocalyptic nations. The Alexander Romance is a massive collection of fabulous, semi-mythical stories about A...