1. Some interpreters of Quran consider Dhu al-Qarnayn to be the very Cyrus, the great king of Iran. What is the opinion of Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani in this case?

2. What is his Honor’s interpretation about Gog and Magog?

The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. Most of those who consider Dhu al-Qarnayn in Quran to be Cyrus, the great king of Persia, have no knowledge of him, and only follow conjecture and only guess, and seek to “beg the question”[1] about him; as most deniers of this viewpoint are involved with the same plight, and have racist and anti-Persian motives, whereas Islamic issues are not the place for such games, and it is dangerous to bring political and ethnic conflicts into the realm of religion. That is why the great scholar his Excellency Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani may God protect him, does not consider these people worthy of knowledge and has reluctance to have wisdom be available to them; because they use knowledge as a means of achieving the world and use wisdom against the wise man, and they harvest from the stack of his grace, while they deny and fight him; like their predecessors, who, whenever they were immersed in something, referred to the scholar of the family of Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and when he met their needs, they began to deny and fight him. Although these wickednesses and ingratitudes never prevented those leaders of guidance from expressing knowledge and spreading wisdom, and also today they do not prevent their righteous descendant and their first disciple, his Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani may God protect him, from this work; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«كُنْتُ عِنْدَ الْعَبْدِ الصَّالِحِ فِي دَارِهِ فَوَجَدْتُهُ فَارِغًا، فَقُلْتُ لَهُ: جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ، أَسْأَلُكَ؟ فَقَالَ بِرَأْسِهِ: نَعَمْ، فَظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ يُسَبِّحُ، فَقُلْتُ: إِنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ فِي ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ، وَأَنْتَ عَالِمُهُمْ وَسَيِّدُهُمْ، فَإِنْ رَأَيْتَ -جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ- أَنْ تُخْرِجَهُمْ فِيهِ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ فَعَلْتَ، فَمَكَثَ حَتَّى قَضَى سُبْحَتَهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: دَعْنِي مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ السَّفَلَةِ الْمَرَدَةِ الْقَائِلِينَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ، أَلَا تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ كَنْزٌ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْجَنَّةِ هَبَطَ مِنْهَا مَعَ آدَمَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، ثُمَّ انْتَقَلَ مِنْهُ إِلَى النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّالِحِينَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ، حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ مَعَ آخِرِهِمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ؟! أَفَتُرِيدُ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ مِثْلَ هَذَا الْكَنْزِ فِي أَيْدِي الصِّبْيَانِ وَالْمَجَانِينِ وَالْمُدْمِنِينَ عَلَى الْمُخَدِّرَاتِ؟! لَا وَاللَّهِ لَيْسَ هَؤُلَاءِ بِمَأْمُونِينَ عَلَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ أَهْلِهِ، وَإِنَّ فِيهِمْ سَارِقِينَ يَسْرُقُونَهُ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَيَسْتَعِينُوا بِهِ عَلَى حُجَجِ اللَّهِ وَأَوْلِيَائِهِ، ﴿فَذَرْهُمْ فِي غَمْرَتِهِمْ حَتَّى حِينٍ﴾[2]! فَنَدَمْتُ عَلَى مَسْأَلَتِي حَتَّى رَأَى ذَلِكَ فِي وَجْهِي، فَقَالَ: كَانَ الْيَهُودُ يَجِدُونَ ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ عِنْدَهُمْ فِي كِتَابِ دَانِيَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، فَسَأَلُوا عَنْهُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِيَعْلَمُوا أَيُوحَى إِلَيْهِ أَمْ لَا، فَأَوْحَى اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ: ﴿وَيَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنْ ذِي الْقَرْنَيْنِ ۖ قُلْ سَأَتْلُو عَلَيْكُمْ مِنْهُ ذِكْرًا﴾[3]، قُلْتُ: وَمَا كَانَ عِنْدَهُمْ فِي كِتَابِ دَانِيَالَ؟ قَالَ: إِنَّ دَانِيَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ رَأَى فِي الْمَنَامِ كَبَشًا لَهُ قَرْنَانِ طَوِيلَانِ، أَحَدُهُمَا أَطْوَلُ مِنَ الْآخَرِ، وَرَآهُ يَنْطَحُ غَرْبًا وَشَرْقًا وَشَمَالًا مِنْ غَيْرِ أَنْ يَقْدِرَ حَيَوَانٌ عَلَى دَفْعِهِ، حَتَّى عَظُمَ شَأْنُهُ، فَأَخْبَرَهُ جَبْرَئِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِأَنَّ الْكَبَشَ ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ هُوَ مَلِكُ مَادِي وَفَارِسَ، قُلْتُ: أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ قَدْ آتَاكَ الْحِكْمَةَ وَفَصْلَ الْخِطَابِ! أَفَأُحَدِّثَهُمْ عَنْكَ بِهَذَا الْحَدِيثِ؟ قَالَ: حَدِّثْهُمْ بِهِ، أَرْغَمَ اللَّهُ أُنُوفَ قَوْمٍ مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ»; “I was with the righteous servant in the house of his Honor, so I found him in his spare time, so I said to him: May I be your sacrifice, may I ask you a question? So by nodding his head, he said: Yes, so I realized that he is Glorifying (God), so I said: These people argue about Dhu al-Qarnayn, and you are their scholar and their master, so if you see it fit - May I be your sacrifice – to bring them out of darkness into the light about him, do so! His Honor waited to finish his Dhikr (Glorifying), then said: Leave me from these lowly arrogant people who libel God with things of which they do not have knowledge! Do you not know that this knowledge is a treasure of the treasures of the Paradise which descended from it with Adam peace be upon him, and then it was transferred to the Prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the righteous from his children, until it returns to the Paradise with the last of them?! So do you want to put such a treasure in the hands of children and lunatics and addicts?! No, I swear to God, they are not considered trustworthy to it and are not from its people, and among them are thieves who steal it in order to sell it for a small price and use it against the proofs and the friends of God! ‘So leave them in their confusion for a time’! (The narrator said:) So I regretted my question to the extent that his Honor saw it on my face, so he said: The Jews found Dhu al-Qarnayn with themselves in the book of Daniel, so they asked the Messenger of God peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, about him, so that they would know Whether it will be revealed to him or not, then God revealed it to him: ‘And they ask you about Dhu al-Qarnayn, say, I will recite to you about him a report’, I said: What was with them in the book of Daniel? He said: Daniel peace be upon him, saw in a dream a ram that had two long horns, one of which was taller than the other, and he saw it butting to the west and the east and the north, without any animal to be able to stop it until its work rose, so Gabriel peace be upon him, informed him that the ram with two horns (Dhu al-Qarnayn), is the king of Medes and Persia! I said: I bear witness that God has given you wisdom and the saying of final decision! So should I narrate this saying from you for them? He said: Narrate for them, may God rub the nose of the arrogant on the ground”.

From this saying of his Excellency, it is understood that Dhu al-Qarnayn was the very Cyrus, the great king of Persia, who united the rule of Persia and Medes and then launched military campaigns in three directions of the west, the east and the north, and achieved many conquests; as God has pointed out in His book these military campaigns and conquests of him in three directions, and has informed about his good methods and deeds in each of them.

2. Contrary to the superstitious and illusory interpretations of interpreters about Gog and Magog, the interpretation of his Excellency Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani may God protect him, about them - inspired by God - is as novel, extraordinary and decisive as his Excellency’s interpretation about Dhu al-Qarnayn; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ -رُوحِي فِدَاهُ- يَقُولُ: إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ قَبِيلَتَانِ مِنْ قَبَائِلِ الْمُغُولِ كَانُوا يُغِيرُونَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ فِي شَمَالِ فَارِسَ لَا يَكَادُونَ يَفْقَهُونَ قَوْلًا، فَاسْتَعَانُوا عَلَيْهِمْ بِكُورَشَ، فَبَنَى لَهُمْ بَيْنَ الصَّدَفَيْنِ سَدًّا، فَمَا اسْطَاعُوا أَنْ يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْبًا، حَتَّى إِذَا فَتَحَ سَبِيلَهُمْ مَلِكُ خوارَزْمَ فِي الْقَرْنِ السَّابِعِ، فَأَقْبَلُوا كَالسَّيْلِ يُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ حَدَبٍ يَنْسِلُونَ! قُلْتُ: وَاللَّهِ قُلْتَ قَوْلًا عَظِيمًا! قُلْتَ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ أَتَى فَمَضَى؟! قَالَ: نَعَمْ، إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ يَأْتِي فَيَمْضِي، وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ يَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ كَانُوا قَوْمًا مِنَ الْخَزَرِ أَوْ يَكُونُونَ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ! قَالَ: إِنَّ قَوْمًا مِنَ الْخَزَرِ كَانُوا مُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَشُبِّهُوا بِيَأْجُوجَ وَمَأْجُوجَ لِإِفْسَادِهِمْ، كَمَا يُقَالُ لِرَجُلٍ شَرِيرٍ إِبْلِيسُ لِشَرَارَتِهِ، فَكُلُّ مُفْسِدِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ، وَفِي كُلِّ قَرْنَيْنِ يَأْجُوجُ وَمَأْجُوجُ»; “I heard his Excellency saying: Indeed, Gog and Magog were two tribes of the Mongols who were attacking a tribe in the north of Persia (present-day Iran) who could hardly understand a language, so they asked help from Cyrus against them, so he built a barrier between the two mountains for them that they could not climb it and could not tunnel it, until the king of Khwarazm (Khwarazm-Shah) opened the way for them in the seventh century, so they rushed like flood, and caused corruption on earth, while they were descending from every height! I said: I swear to God that you said a great saying! Did you say that the promise of God (in Quran) has come and gone?! He said: Yes, surely the promise of God comes and goes, whereas most people do not know! I said: They say that Gog and Magog were a nation from the Caspian or will be a nation at the end of time! He said: A nation from the Caspian spread corruption on earth, so they were likened to Gog and Magog because of their corruption, as a wicked man is called Iblis because of his wickedness, so all corrupters on earth are Gog and Magog, and in every two centuries there are Gog and Magog”.

May God protect this perfect human and great scholar for us, and make us from his helpers and followers, and guide or destroy his miserable and blind-heart enemies, who are a clear example of Gog and Magog, and keep the eyes of the jealous people away from his pure and blessed being; because He is capable of everything and is the most Merciful of the merciful.