Purpose
To learn what the word قَرْنٍ means in The Hebrew and Aramaic Bible, and The Arabic Quran.
Full Text
وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَن ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ قُلْ سَأَتْلُو عَلَيْكُم مِّنْهُ ذِكْرًا
And they ask thee of Zul Qarnain. Say thou: shall recite unto you of him some mention.
[Al-Quran 18:83, Translation: Daryabadi]
...
قَالُوا يَا ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ مُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَهَلْ نَجْعَلُ لَكَ خَرْجًا عَلَىٰ أَن تَجْعَلَ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَهُمْ سَدًّا
`They said: O Zul-Qarnain verily Yajuj and Majuj are working corruption in the land; shall we then pay thee tribute on condition that thou place between us and them a barrier!
[Al-Quran 18:94, Translation: Daryabadi]
The last story in Surah al-Kahf mentions a person ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ in response to a question.
The Quran uses the word قَرْنٍ to generally mean generations. Variations of the root ق ر ن also lend meaning to words for companion, bound together, capable, accompanying. Of the 23 times it is used as the noun qarn (قَرْن), twenty are translated as generation(s), and thrice is it used for the name of the person ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ mentioned in Surah al-Kahf (Q18:83, 86, 94).
The name or title of this legendary person is important in the context of end times prophecies, especially as regards to Yajuj Majuj, the corrupters (Q18:93-94) who were contained by him behind a metallic wall, and are supposed to be released during the end times (Q18:98-99 || Q21:95-96).
قَالَ هَٰذَا رَحْمَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّي فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي جَعَلَهُ دَكَّاءَ وَكَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّي حَقًّا
وَتَرَكْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَمُوجُ فِي بَعْضٍ وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَجَمَعْنَاهُمْ جَمْعًا
He said: this is a mercy from my Lord; then when the promise of my Lord cometh, He shall make it powder, and the promise of my Lord is ever true.
And We shall leave them on that day surging one against anot her and the trumpet shall be blown, and then We shall assemble them together.
وَحَرَامٌ عَلَىٰ قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَاهَا أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرْجِعُونَ
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُتِحَتْ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ وَهُم مِّن كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنسِلُونَ
And a ban is laid on every town which We have destroyed, that they Shall not return.
Until when Ya'juj and Ma'juj are let out, and from every mound they are trickling down.
In an earlier post, I have identified two of the three places he travels to as the North and South polar regions respectively. Imran Hossein, in his YouTube lectures, insists that his name represents two generations. The Bible uses the same word Qaran || Qeren in Hebrew || Aramaic respectively. The Aramaic version occurs ten times in the Book of Daniel, for example:
24 'As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.
Daniel, a noble Jew, and later a prophet, was exiled to Babylon after the first destruction of the Temple of Solomon, to serve the King. According to the Book of Daniel, he serves under the Babylonians, the Medians and the Persians.
Daniel has a series of visions, in which he is shown creatures with horns. In an overview of the Book of Daniel, Chapter 7, it reads:
24 And the ten horns of the same kingdom, shall be ten kings: and another shall rise up after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall bring down three kings. 25 And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.
So, it appears that the ten horns in that vision represent the ten generations of that dynasty.
References
In this blog: Dhu al Qarnayn visited the Polar Regions?
Bible / Bible Studies links:
Quran search links:
Wikipedia: Book of Daniel
YouTube:
Last updated on: July 6, 2020
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