<P> The manuscripts also contain evidence of lost texts . For example, there is some evidence of a lost pre-Islamic Arabic version of the translation that is thought to have been an intermediary between the Syriac Christian and the Ethiopic Christian translations . There is also evidence that the Syriac translation was not directly based on the Greek recensions but was based on a lost Pahlavi (pre-Islamic Persian) intermediary . </P> <P> The identity of Dhul - Qarnayn has been a matter of theological controversy amongst Muslim scholars for centuries . Dhul - Qarnayn was equated with Alexander by the majority of classical Islamic scholars during a period when Christians and Jews had themselves co-opted Alexander the Great as a religious figure . However, it is clear that the historical Alexander the Great was a Greek pagan (for example, Alexander's mother Olympias is said to have been a devout member of the orgiastic snake - worshiping cult of Dionysus, and may have slept with snakes). Such historical facts about Alexander the Great became well known only after the Renaissance period (1300--1600 AD) when the Anabasis Alexandri of Arrian (AD 86--160) was rediscovered . In light of the modern view of Alexander the Great, his identity as Dhul - Qarnayn has become a matter of great controversy for Muslims . In reaction, alternative theories about the identity of Dhul - Qarnayn have been advanced by some Muslim scholars . For example, it has been suggested that Dhul - Qarnayn could be Cyrus the Great (see Cyrus the Great in the Quran). The Muslim sentiment against Alexander is reflected in Islamic textbooks (e.g. "Some (Muslim Scholars) say it was Alexander the Great, who lived from 356 BCE to 323 BCE, but that is highly unlikely, given that Alexander was an idol - worshipper ."), often with references to his polytheistic religious beliefs and (more recently) his personal relationships . </P> <P> "Dhul - Qarnayn" (the "Two - Horned One" in English) is a person described in the Quran, the sacred scripture believed by Muslims to have been revealed by Allah to Muhammad . The story of Dhul - Qarnayn appears in seventeen short verses of the Quran, specifically verses 18: 83--99 of Surah Al - Kahf . Dhul - Qarnayn is mentioned in only one place in the Quran, unlike the more familiar stories that are repeated throughout the text (for example, Jesus is mentioned in 93 verses in 15 different surahs of the Quran). The Quranic story describes a man called Dhul - Qarnayn (meaning "the Two - Horned"), who was already familiar to the inhabitants of the region, to whom Allah gave great power, and who traveled to a place, where it appeared to him as if the sun was setting in a murky (or boiling) sea . At this place, Dhul - Qarnayn builds a wall in order to enclose the nations of Gog and Magog . It is thought that Gog and Magog will breach Dhul - Qarnayn's wall before Yaum al - Qiyāmah (the Day of Judgement) and will wreak havoc in the world (Islamic Armageddon): </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Quran Verse </Th> <Th> Abdullah Yusuf Ali </Th> <Th> Pickthall </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 83 </Td> <Td> They ask thee concerning Zul - qarnain Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story ." </Td> <Td> They will ask thee of Dhu'l - Qarneyn . Say: "I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 84 </Td> <Td> Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends . </Td> <Td> Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 85 </Td> <Td> One (such) way he followed, </Td> <Td> And he followed a road </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 86 </Td> <Td> Until, when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it set in a spring of murky water: near it he found a people: We said: "O Zul - qarnain! (thou hast authority), either to punish them, or to treat them with kindness ." </Td> <Td> Till, when he reached the setting - place of the sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring, and found a people thereabout . We said: "O Dhu'l - Qarneyn! Either punish or show them kindness ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 87 </Td> <Td> He said: "Whoever doth wrong, him shall we punish; then shall he be sent back to his Lord; and He will punish him with a punishment unheard - of (before). </Td> <Td> He said: "As for him who doeth wrong, we shall punish him, and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, Who will punish him with awful punishment!" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 88 </Td> <Td> "But whoever believes, and works righteousness, he shall have a goodly reward, and easy will be his task as we order it by our command ." </Td> <Td> "But as for him who believeth and doeth right, good will be his reward, and We shall speak unto him a mild command ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 89 </Td> <Td> Then followed he (another) way . </Td> <Td> Then he followed a road </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 90 </Td> <Td> Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had provided no covering protection against the sun . </Td> <Td> Till, when he reached the rising - place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had appointed no shelter therefrom . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 91 </Td> <Td> (He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him . </Td> <Td> So (it was). And We knew all concerning him . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 92 </Td> <Td> Then followed he (another) way . </Td> <Td> Then he followed a road </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 93 </Td> <Td> Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word . </Td> <Td> Till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 94 </Td> <Td> They said: "O Zul - qarnain! the Gog and Magog (people) do great mischief on earth: shall we then render thee tribute in order that thou mightest erect a barrier (wall) between us and them?" </Td> <Td> They said: "O Dhu'l - Qarneyn! Lo! Gog and Magog are spoiling the land . So may we pay thee tribute on condition that thou set a barrier (wall) between us and them?" </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 95 </Td> <Td> He said: "(The power) in which my Lord has established me is better (than tribute): help me therefore with strength (and labour): I will erect a strong barrier (wall) between you and them: </Td> <Td> He said: "That wherein my Lord hath established me is better (than your tribute). Do but help me with strength (of men), I will set between you and them a bank (wall)." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 96 </Td> <Td> "Bring me blocks of iron ." At length, when he had filled up the space between the two steep mountain sides, he said, "Blow (with your bellows)" then, when he had made it (red) as fire, he said: "Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead ." </Td> <Td> "Give me pieces of iron"--till, when he had leveled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said: "Blow!"--till, when he had made it a fire, he said: "Bring me molten copper to pour thereon ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 97 </Td> <Td> Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it . </Td> <Td> And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it). </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 98 </Td> <Td> He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord: but when the promise of my Lord comes to pass, He will make it into dust; and the promise of my Lord is true ." </Td> <Td> He said: "This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise of my Lord cometh to pass, He will lay it low, for the promise of my Lord is true ." </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 18: 99 </Td> <Td> On that day We shall leave them (Gog and Magog) to surge like waves on one another: the trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together . </Td> <Td> And on that day we shall let some of them (Gog and Magog) surge against others, and the Trumpet will be blown . Then We shall gather them together in one gathering . </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who is the servant through whom allah provided the quran