In Surah 18 of the Quran, we read the story of Zul-Qarnain, literally "The two-horned one". The identity of Zul-Qarnain is contested, but it is only contested because his true identification as Alexander the Great disproves Islam, as it is known historically that Alexander the Great was a Greek Pagan, not a Muslim, as the story portrays him as.
Nevertheless, Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on Surah 18:83 identifies him as Alexander the Great. Maududi, in his Tafsir on Surah 18:83, also admits "in general the commentators have been of the opinion that he was Alexander the Great, but the characteristics of Zul-Qarnain described in the Qur'an are not applicable to him".
The Quran's account reads as follows:
Surah 18:83-91
83 They ask you ˹O Prophet˺ about Ⱬul-Qarnain. Say, "I will relate to you something of his narrative."
84 Surely We established him in the land, and gave him the means to all things.
85 So he travelled a course,
86 Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it setting in a murky spring, and found a people in its vicinity. We said, "O Zul-Qarnain, you may either inflict a penalty, or else treat them kindly."
87 He responded, "Whoever does wrong will be punished by us, then will be returned to their Lord, Who will punish them with a horrible torment.
88 As for those who believe and do good, they will have the finest reward, and we will assign them easy commands."
89 Then he travelled a ˹different˺ course
90 until he reached the rising ˹point˺ of the sun. He found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no shelter from it.
91 So it was. And We truly had full knowledge of him.
Note that Zul-Qarnain travels great distances, allegedly finding the location where the sun rises, and also where it sets. The features of this story find clear parallels in the main subject of this article, the Alexander Romance.
The Alexander Romance is a legendary biography of Alexander the Great, thought to have been composed in Greek in the early centuries AD.
It was widely translated, and extremely popular in late antiquity. Andrew Smith at attalus.org has created a collation of the text in the following three languages, which will be what is cited in this article:
Note that even though the evidence that this text was widely-disseminated by the time of Muhammad is massive and overwhelming, one does not actually need to be dogmatic on either language or dates, as long as they can demonstrate that the text was extant are in the general vicinity of Muhammad chronologically. This is because legends can exist in oral form for centuries in many languages, before they are written down in any language.
Concerning content, the legend mentions the sun dozens of times, as one of the main focuses and plot points of the story. Therefore, it makes sense that the sun is what Muhammad's synopsis focused on in Surah 18. Reading the entire legend will bolster, not weaken, the case presented in this article, because what follows are just some highlights which are particularly striking in how closely they align with the account given in Surah 18 of the Quran:
Alexander Romance - Book 1 (Greek & Armenian)
[8] And the sun on the seal, head of lion and spear, means something like this. From the rising of his sun to its setting, he will be a leader and he will make the cities subject to his spear.
Alexander Romance - Book 1 (Greek & Armenian)
[38] After some days, Alexander wrote a letter to Darius and dispatched it without the knowledge of the messengers to his own satraps. It was to this effect: "King Alexander, son of Philip and Olympias, sends greetings to Darius, great King of the Persians, King of kings, sharing his throne with the sun-god most high, the descendant of gods, the rising sun.
Alexander Romance - Book 2 (Armenian)
[165] When Darius received this and read it, he sent Alexander a letter of this sort: "King Darius makes this announcement to Alexander. You have written me an arrogant letter whereby you ask us to meet you. Behold, have I not passed Ankoura to bring the gods of the Orient to dwell where the sun sets? And I bear witness before the gods to the things you have brought upon me. For I shall consider my mother gone to the gods, that I do not have a wife, and that the children do not exist at all.
Alexander Romance - Book 2 (Syriac)
[6] "Woe is me, which of the stars is it that has destroyed the kingdom of the Persians? I, Darius, who subdued many lands and cities and nations, and reduced a multitude of islands and towns to slavery, have now entered my palace in flight and discomfiture. I who with the sun traversed the world - but in brief; it is not right for a man to rely upon his destiny, for if his luck turn and there be an opportunity, it lifts up and exalts the most despised of men and seats him above the clouds, while it brings down the lofty from his height and casts him into the depths."
Alexander Romance - Book 2 (Armenian)
[209] "Then moving on, we travelled through a desert toward the seacoast. And not again after that did we see anything, neither bird nor beast, other than sky and earth. And we did not see the sun again; but went on through darkness for ten days. And when we came to the coast, we boarded our boats after putting all the troops and tents aboard. And we sailed to an island in the sea which was not far from shore, on which we heard human speech in Greek; but we did not see who was speaking. And the soldiers risked death to swim from the ship over to the island. And a lobster rose and knocked 54 soldiers into the water. And we were frightened and moved on from that area.
"And in two days, we came to a place where the sun does not rise. And when I wished to instruct and send servants to see where the lands of the Blessed were, Callisthenes, my friend, advised me to approach with 40 friends, and 100 youths, and 1,200 soldiers. And later, on the way, we heard a female ass giving birth to a little one, which we joined to the army.
Alexander Romance - Book 3 (Greek & Armenian)
[4] The Macedonians, mounting on these, met the Indians fighting above them and were strong enough to take the rock. In this way he captured Aorne. And when he had mastered these places, he heard that, not far from the river Hydaspes, a king was ruling near the land of sunrise, who possessed a large force of soldiers and elephants. And he wished to make an expedition against them also. And, calling the Macedonians together, he urged them to make an expedition with him against this ruler too. Now Alexander grew still more daring and reckless.
Alexander Romance - Book 3 (Armenian)
[17] And this happened for three days. And for five days the sun disappeared, and there was much snow. It happened that the soldiers who dared go out were buried upright. As a result of this, more than seventy perished in the snow. And when the sun rose, we had lost many possessions and many of our men.
Alexander Romance - Book 3 (Syriac)
When I entered his presence, I did not make obeisance to him, and he questioned me, and said to me, 'Whence comest thou?' I answered and said, ' I am the ambassador of king Alexander.' And he said to me, 'Who is Alexander?' I said, 'He is a Macedonian, the lord of the world, and the bearer of the sovereignty of the Persians and Indians.' And he said to me, 'Where is the land of Macedonia?' I said, 'In the western quarter of the world, at the place where the sun sets.' And he said to me, 'Where didst thou leave this Alexander?' And I said, 'He is near, and not far off;
Alexander Romance - Book 3 (Greek)
[26] For I speak to you of what you have accomplished in about thirty years. Men say of you: 'Alexander of Macedon has travelled from the setting sun to its rising. He has been welcomed by Ethiopians and Scythians, Men dwelling deep in the west and men of the land of the sunrise.
When creating Islam, Muhammad incorporated a legendary biography of Alexander the Great into the Quran, and portrayed him as a Muslim. This gives weight to the accusations that were frequently lobbed at Muhammad by his contemporaries, and are recorded in the text of the Quran itself (Surah 6:25, 16:24, 23:83, 25:4-5, 27:68, 46:17, 68:15, 83:13):
Surah 8:31
31 Whenever Our revelations are recited to them, they challenge ˹you˺, "We have already heard ˹the recitation˺. If we wanted, we could have easily produced something similar. This ˹Quran˺ is nothing but ancient fables!"
Alexander the Great was not a Muslim, nor did he find where the sun sets, or rises. This single passage in Surah 18 indisputably refutes Islam in the mind of those concerned with the truth.