The Dhul Qarnain Archetype

October 29, 2018 By: Zain Mankani ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. Muslims all over the world profess their belief in the Lordship of the One, True God, Allah and claim submission to His Word. But when it comes to the selection of political leaders they rely on campaign promises and their own determination of the necessary qualities for leadership, rather than turning to God for guidance in the selection process. In this sense, we are not far from Bani Israel when they asked their prophet to appoint a leader for them. "Have you not considered the chiefs of the children of Israel after Musa, when they said to a prophet of theirs: Raise up for us a king, (that) we may fight in the way of Allah...."1 They professed their belief in Allah, which is evident in their willingness to fight for His cause, and also accepted the Prophet appointed by Allah, which is why they turned to him for the appointment of their political leader. But although they accepted the religious principles of Tawheed and Nabuwwat, when it came to political leadership they had their own predefined ideas regarding the necessary attributes of a leader. Hence, when their prophet announced that God had appointed Talut (Saul) to be their King, their first impulse was to reject this choice because it did not comply with their own preconceived notions of what makes a successful leader. And they said, "...How can he hold kingship over us while we have a greater right to kingship than he, and he has not been granted an abundance of wealth?..."2 If we look at the political structures today, even in so-called democratic countries, it is only the wealthy and well connected elite that can afford to run election campaigns and therefore it is only they who are eligible for top leadership of the nations. Although not defined explicitly, the prevalent system implicitly weeds out the economically weak from the selection process, and favors the appointment of affluent members of society to leadership roles. Similarly, when we look at the representative organizations of specific communities, it is the wealthy businessmen who we find in top leadership positions. They feel entitled to the leadership of the community due to their worldly success and their acquisition of wealth. And this fact is not even questioned by members of the community because they also share this ideology that leadership should be held by persons who are "successful"; the measure of success being worldly acquisitions. In other words, they share this notion with Bani Israel that right to kingship / leadership belongs to one who has been "granted an abundance of wealth". 1 2 The Holy Quran: Chapter 2, Verse 246. Translation by M.H. Shakir. The Holy Quran: Chapter 2, Verse 247. Translation by M.H. Shakir. 1 October 29, 2018 Even if, for the sake of argument, we accept that their appointment is due to their ability to successfully manage large organizations, making them competent for managing the affairs of the community, we must bear in mind that the corporations managed by such business tycoons are not focused on divine goals. Rather the ends are purely commercial and their management is with the intent of safeguarding commercial interests - or interests limited to this temporal world. Therefore, when such members of the community are placed in leadership roles, their focus is to guide the community towards worldly success. And this too, is the best-case scenario – that is, when the appointed leader is sincere and willing to devote his time and effort for the greater good of the community, even at the expense of neglecting his personal interests. In response to the objections of the leaders of Bani Israel, who considered themselves to be more worthy of leadership, God confirms the appointment of Talut through his messenger, who informs them: "...Surely Allah has chosen him in preference to you, and He has increased him abundantly in knowledge and physique..."3 God mentions the two qualities which are His prerequisites for leadership, as opposed to the standard of wealth which had been wrongly adopted by the Bani Israel. Knowledge may be understood as knowledge of the laws of God, which are necessary to abide by in order to walk the path of God and reach the goal determined by the Divine being. It may also be understood as knowledge of the needs of the community one is intended to lead. In the final analysis, both these interpretations mean one and the same thing because what is decreed by God is as per the needs of the people. Physique has been translated from the original Jism and can mean physical strength. Alternatively, it can also mean the strength to implement the Will of God, as understood through the knowledge bestowed by Him. As Allamah Tabatabai says in his Tafseer al-Mizan, in reference to the verse under discussion: "Kingship was created so that the ruler should manage the society in such a way that every member might reach his deserved perfection. To achieve that object, the King must have two qualities: (1) Knowledge of all that is good for his people and all that is bad; (2) Physical strength to implement and enforce what he thinks is good for the people."4 Similarly, when Prophet Yusuf (pbuh) gives his credentials for one of the most powerful positions in the Kingdom of Egypt, he cites two distinctive qualities in support of his claim: "He said: Place me (in authority) over the treasures of the land, surely I am a good keeper, knowing well."5 He refers to his qualities of Hafeez (guardian) and Aleem (knowledgeable). Here again one of the two qualities has to do with the knowledge necessary for the job at hand and the other is a specific quality 3 Ibid. Allamah al-Sayyid Muhammad Husayn al-Tabatabai, Tafsir Al-Mizan online version, Chapter 2. Al-Baqarah, Verse 244-252. http://www.almizan.org/ 5 The Holy Quran: Chapter 12, Verse 55. Translation by M.H. Shakir. 4 2 October 29, 2018 related to the task - in this case, the protection of the resources of the land to ensure that they are not wasted or misused. Again, it must be emphasized that if the knowledge is such that its scope is limited to this world it is ultimately useless and cannot guarantee real success. For everlasting success, it is necessary to have knowledge of Divine Laws and be cognizant of the Divine Purpose of creation. Those who are knowledgeable, competent and skillful, but only in the acquisition of worldly aims and objectives are criticized and condemned as the "greatest losers" by God Himself in Surah Al-Kahf: “Say: Shall We inform you of the greatest losers in (their) deeds? (These are) they whose labor is lost in this world's life and they think that they are well versed in skill of the work of hands. These are they who disbelieve in the communications of their Lord and His meeting, so their deeds become null, and therefore We will not set up a balance for them on the day of resurrection.”6 Surah Al-Kahf is particularly instructive about the prerequisites of leadership, as well as about human psychological development and actualization. Carl Jung7 wrote an exposition of the Surah, interpreting it as an alchemical text and using the symbolism to describe the psychological process of transformation and individuation. After dealing with the encounter between Hazrat Musa (pbuh) and Hazrat Khizr (pbuh), he takes up the story of Dhul Qarnain. However, he is unable to effectively explain the sudden appearance of Dhul Qarnain in the Surah. He writes: “How are we to account for this apparently abrupt transition to Dhulqarnein, the Two-horned One, that is to say, Alexander the Great? …one does not understand why Alexander is brought in here at all.”8 By erroneously equating Dhul Qarnain with Alexander the Great, Jung fails to make the connection between the story of Hazrat Musa’s quest and that of Dhul Qarnain’s and even accuses the Quran of “anachronism”. The error is due to the fact that some Muslim scholars have asserted in their commentaries that the Dhul Qarnain mentioned in the Quran was indeed Alexander9. However, other commentators have rejected this assertion and argued that Dhul Qarnain has been described in the Quran as a Just and God-fearing ruler, whereas Alexander was a despot who laid claim to divinity. In fact, there is no question of “anachronism” because Dhul Qarnain is not Alexander and his appearance following the story of Hazrat Musa (pbuh) and Hazrat Khizr (pbuh) is very relevant. Jung himself makes a passing assertion to this link: 6 The Holy Quran: Chapter 18, Verses 103-105. Translation by M.H. Shakir. Carl Gustav Jung, (1875-1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. 8 Carl Gustav Jung, A Typical Set of Symbols Illustrating the Process of Transformation, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Pg. 78 9 See Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 83: And they the Jews question you concerning Dhū’l-Qarnayn whose name was Alexander; he was not a prophet. Say ‘I shall recite relate to you a mention an account of him’ of his affair. https://www.altafsir.com/ 7 3 October 29, 2018 “Afterwards when he (Moses) comes to his people, the Jews, who are counted among the infidels, and wants to tell them about his experience, he prefers to use the form of a mystery legend. Instead of speaking about himself, he speaks about the Two-horned One. Since Moses himself is also “horned”, the substitution of Dhulqarnein seems plausible.”10 Indeed, Hazrat Musa (pbuh) has been depicted with a set of horns, most notably in the sculptural representation of the prophet by the Renaissance artist Michelangelo. The reason for this is that some versions of the Bible state that when Prophet Musa (pbuh) returned from his meeting with God on Mount Sinai, carrying with him the tablets with God’s commandments, his face had become “horned” as a result of the encounter with God. “And when Moses came down from the mount Sinai, he held the two tables of the testimony, and he knew not that his face was horned from the conversation of the Lord.” 11 The term “horned” has been translated from the Hebrew qāran. The same word also appears in the name Dhul Qaranain. But the word can also be interpreted to mean “shining”, and this latter meaning is used in later versions of the Bible as well. The Sanskrit word Kiran, meaning ray of light, also appears to be related to qāran and it is still in currency today in Urdu/ Hindi with the same meaning. 10 Carl Gustav Jung, A Typical Set of Symbols Illustrating the Process of Transformation, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Pg. 79 11 Exodus 34, Verse 29, Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA). 4 October 29, 2018 So when Hazrat Musa (pbuh) returned from his meeting with God, he had transformed into Dhul Qarnain – the Two-horned One, or rather the one with two rays of light or two distinct qualities. The fact that these rays of light, really refer to two distinct qualities has been alluded to by Aqa Mahdi Puya in his Quranic commentary of Surah Al-Kahf: “Qarn literally means a distinctive mark in a man, animal or thing which is distinguished and known by it. Therefore, any person who possesses two such distinctive qualifications is described as Dhul Qarnayn. Whether Dhul Qarnayn was Alexander or Darius or someone else is not the issue in these verses but the Quran aims to provide guidance to man through the narrative of a man who possessed two qualities, knowledge and strength, like Talut.” 12 The meeting of Hazrat Musa (pbuh) with Hazrat Khidr (pbuh) may also be seen as a kind of encounter with God. Because, as Jung himself says, “Khidr may well be a symbol of the self”13. The “Self”, in Jungian Psychology, refers to “the totality of the psyche. The self is not only the centre, but also the whole circumference which embraces both conscious and unconscious” 14. This inner centre serves as a guide for consciousness, and was therefore held in reverence by ancient cultures, like the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. “The Self can be defined as an inner guiding factor that is different from the conscious personality and that can be grasped only through the investigation of one’s dreams. These show it to be a regulating centre that brings about a constant extension and maturing of the personality.”15 In any case, the fact that Hazrat Khizr (pbuh) is acting as the hand of God is evident from his own admission that “I did not do it of my own accord”16, when he finally explains his actions to Hazrat Musa (pbuh). It is possible that both encounters are one and the same, and that they have been described in the two texts in different forms – the physical and the psychological. Nevertheless, when Hazrat Musa (pbuh) returns from his encounter with the Divine Being, he has been transformed and has transcended to a higher form, and this is evident from the very visible dual marks of distinction. These two qualities that Hazrat Musa (pbuh) acquires are those very qualities that are the prerequisites of leadership. One of these is the knowledge, which he himself set out to gain: “Musa said to him: Shall I follow you on condition that you should teach me right knowledge of what you have been taught?”17 12 Aqa Mahdi Puya, commentary on the Quranic verse 18:83. Multilingual Quran, online version. http://quran.alislam.org/ 13 Carl Gustav Jung, A Typical Set of Symbols Illustrating the Process of Transformation, The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Pg. 75 14 Carl Gustav Jung, Individual Dream Symbolism in Relation to Alchemy, Dreams, Pg115. Bollingen Series, Princeton University Press. 15 Marie Louise Von Franz, The Pattern of Psychic Growth, Man and His Symbols, Pg. 162. Anchor Press. 16 The Holy Quran: Chapter 18, Verse 82. Translation by M.H. Shakir. 17 Ibid. Verse 66. 5 October 29, 2018 The other is the quality that Hazrat Khizr (pbuh) demands from him, that is, patience and unquestioning reliance on God. “He said: Surely you cannot have patience with me And how can you have patience in that of which you have not got a comprehensive knowledge? He said: If Allah pleases, you will find me patient and I shall not disobey you in any matter. He said: If you would follow me, then do not question me about anything until I myself speak to you about it.”18 Hence, when Hazrat Musa (pbuh) returns from his encounter, he is equipped with knowledge and the experience that has taught him to always rely on God, even when His acts seem incomprehensible. These are the two qualities that are necessary for him to lead his people, now that he has received the Law from God in the form of the sacred tablets. In conclusion, it is the two qualities of knowledge and inner strength / conviction that are the necessary prerequisites for leadership, as explained in the Holy Quran. And it is these two qualities which we should look for when selecting our leaders, if indeed we want to achieve real and everlasting success as a community or nation. 18 Ibid. Verses 67-70 6