Author : Rumana Reza
Previously we have talked about sciences,myths,anthropological evidences on dinosaurs and dragons. But we can't rely on them 100%. The reason is, myths are mixed up with so many colors of thousands years . On the other hand, scientific explanation is always confusing. The law which is given today ,tomorrow might be thrown as a dust. But the Holy Al-Qur'an is beyond all comparisons where all the answers are to be found, just all we need to understand properly. Here I've focused on some verses that related to discover the origin of dragons and dinosaurs. Besides this ,some relevant ethnic characters and the nerve point, Great Wall of China will also be highlighted.******************************************************
Surat al-Kahf (surah 18), verses 83-99
18:83
Sahih International
And they ask you, [O Muhammad], about Dhul-Qarnayn. Say, "I will recite to you about him a report."
Muhsin Khan
And they ask you about Dhul-Qarnain. Say: "I shall recite to you something of his story."
Pickthall
They will ask thee of Dhu'l-Qarneyn. Say: I shall recite unto you a remembrance of him.
Yusuf Ali
They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story."
Shakir
And they ask you about Zulqarnain. Say: I will recite to you an account of him.
Dr. Ghali
And they ask you concerning Thulqarnayn (i.e., the two-horned king). Say, "I will soon recite to you a mention of him."
18:84
Sahih International
Indeed We established him upon the earth, and We gave him to everything a way.
Muhsin Khan
Verily, We established him in the earth, and We gave him the means of everything.
Pickthall
Lo! We made him strong in the land and gave him unto every thing a road.
Yusuf Ali
Verily We established his power on earth, and We gave him the ways and the means to all ends.
Shakir
Surely We established him in the land and granted him means of access to every thing.
Dr. Ghali
Surely We established him in the earth, and We brought him means to (accomplish) everything.
18:85
Sahih International
So he followed a way
Muhsin Khan
So he followed a way.
Pickthall
And he followed a road
Yusuf Ali
One (such) way he followed,
Shakir
So he followed a course.
Dr. Ghali
So he followed up (another) means.
18:86
Sahih International
Until,
when he reached the setting of the sun, he found it [as
if] setting in a spring of dark mud, and he found near it a
people. Allah said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, either you punish [them] or
else adopt among them [a way of] goodness."
Muhsin Khan
Until,
when he reached the setting place of the sun, he found it setting in a
spring of black muddy (or hot) water. And he found near it a people. We
(Allah) said (by inspiration): "O Dhul-Qarnain! Either you punish them,
or treat them with kindness."
Pickthall
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.
Yusuf Ali
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."
Shakir
Until
when he reached the place where the sun set, he found it going down
into a black sea, and found by it a people. We said: O Zulqarnain!
either give them a chastisement or do them a benefit.
Dr. Ghali
Until,
when he reached the setting of the sun, (The western part of the then
known world) he found it setting in a muddy spring, and he found a
people at it. We said, "O Thulqarnayn, either you will torment (them) or
you will take to yourself towards them a fair (way)."
18:87
Sahih International
He
said, "As for one who wrongs, we will punish him. Then he
will be returned to his Lord, and He will punish him with a
terrible punishment.
Muhsin Khan
He
said: "As for him (a disbeliever in the Oneness of Allah) who does
wrong, we shall punish him; and then he will be brought back unto his
Lord; Who will punish him with a terrible torment (Hell).
Pickthall
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!
Yusuf Ali
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).
Shakir
He
said: As to him who is injust, we will chastise him, then shall he be
returned to his Lord, and He will chastise him with an exemplary
chastisement:
Dr. Ghali
He
said, "As for him who did injustice, we will eventually torment him;
thereafter he will be turned back to his Lord; then He will torment him
with a highly maleficent torment.
18:88
Sahih International
But
as for one who believes and does righteousness, he will have
a reward of Paradise, and we will speak to him from our
command with ease."
Muhsin Khan
"But
as for him who believes (in Allah's Oneness) and works righteousness,
he shall have the best reward, (Paradise), and we (Dhul-Qarnain) shall
speak unto him mild words (as instructions)."
Pickthall
But as for him who believeth and doeth right, good will be his reward, and We shall speak unto him a mild command.
Yusuf Ali
"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."
Shakir
And as for him who believes and does good, he shall have goodly reward, and We will speak to him an easy word of Our command.
Dr. Ghali
And
as for him who believes and does righteousness, then he will have as
recompense the fairest (reward), and we soon will say to him, of our
command, cEase."
18:89
Sahih International
Then he followed a way
Muhsin Khan
Then he followed another way,
Pickthall
Then he followed a road
Yusuf Ali
Then followed he (another) way,
Shakir
Then he followed (another) course.
Dr. Ghali
Thereafter he followed up (another) means.
18:90
Sahih International
Until,
when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising
on a people for whom We had not made against it any shield.
Muhsin Khan
Until,
when he came to the rising place of the sun, he found it rising on a
people for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun.
Pickthall
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.
Yusuf Ali
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.
Shakir
Until when he reached the land of the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people to whom We had given no shelter from It;
Dr. Ghali
Until, when be reached the rising of the sun, he found it rising upon a people for whom We had not made a screen there from.
18:91
Sahih International
Thus. And We had encompassed [all] that he had in knowledge.
Muhsin Khan
So (it was)! And We knew all about him (Dhul-Qarnain).
Pickthall
So (it was). And We knew all concerning him.
Yusuf Ali
(He left them) as they were: We completely understood what was before him.
Shakir
Even so! and We had a full knowledge of what he had.
Dr. Ghali
Thus it was, and We already encompassed in cognizance what was close to him.
18:92
Sahih International
Then he followed a way
Muhsin Khan
Then he followed (another) way,
Pickthall
Then he followed a road
Yusuf Ali
Then followed he (another) way,
Shakir
Then he followed (another) course.
Dr. Ghali
Thereafter he followed up (another) means.
18:93
Sahih International
Until,
when he reached [a pass] between two mountains, he found
beside them a people who could hardly understand [his] speech.
Muhsin Khan
Until,
when he reached between two mountains, he found, before (near) them
(those two mountains), a people who scarcely understood a word.
Pickthall
Till, when he came between the two mountains, he found upon their hither side a folk that scarce could understand a saying.
Yusuf Ali
Until, when he reached (a tract) between two mountains, he found, beneath them, a people who scarcely understood a word.
Shakir
Until
when he reached (a place) between the two mountains, he found on that
side of them a people who could hardly understand a word.
Dr. Ghali
Until, when he reached between the two barriers, he found close to them a people who almost did not comprehend speech.
18:94
Sahih International
They
said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great]
corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an
expenditure that you might make between us and them a barrier?"
Muhsin Khan
They
said: "O Dhul-Qarnain! Verily! Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) are
doing great mischief in the land. Shall we then pay you a tribute in
order that you might erect a barrier between us and them?"
Pickthall
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 between us and
them?
Yusuf Ali
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 between us and them?
Shakir
They
said: O Zulqarnain! surely Gog and Magog make mischief in the land.
Shall we then pay you a tribute on condition that you should raise a
barrier between us and them
Dr. Ghali
They
said, "O Thulqarnayn! Surely YaÉjûj and MÉajûj (God and Magog) are
corruptors in the earth; so shall we make for you a tribute on condition
that you make a barrier between us and them?" (Literally: between us
and between them)
18:95
Sahih International
He
said, "That in which my Lord has established me is better
[than what you offer], but assist me with strength; I will
make between you and them a dam.
Muhsin Khan
He
said: "That (wealth, authority and power) in which my Lord had
established me is better (than your tribute). So help me with strength
(of men), I will erect between you and them a barrier.
Pickthall
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.
Yusuf Ali
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 between you and them:
Shakir
He
said: That in which my Lord has established me is better, therefore you
only help me with workers, I will make a fortified barrier between you
and them;
Dr. Ghali
He
said, "That wherein my Lord has established me is more charitable;
(i.e., what I have from my lord is better than your tribute) so help me
with (your) power, so that I will make up a rampart between you and
between them.
18:96
Sahih International
Bring
me sheets of iron" - until, when he had leveled [them]
between the two mountain walls, he said, "Blow [with bellows],"
until when he had made it [like] fire, he said, "Bring me,
that I may pour over it molten copper."
Muhsin Khan
"Give
me pieces (blocks) of iron," then, when he had filled up the gap
between the two mountain-cliffs, he said: "Blow," till when he had made
it (red as) fire, he said: "Bring me molten copper to pour over it."
Pickthall
Give
me pieces of iron - till, when he had levelled 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.
Yusuf Ali
"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."
Shakir
Bring
me blocks of iron; until when he had filled up the space between the
two mountain sides, he said: Blow, until when he had made it (as) fire,
he said: Bring me molten brass which I may pour over it.
Dr. Ghali
Bring
me ingots of iron." Until, when he had leveled up between the two
cliffs, he said, "Blow!" Until, when he made it a fire, he said, "Bring
me, that I may pour out molten brass on it."
18:97
Sahih International
So Gog and Magog were unable to pass over it, nor were they able [to effect] in it any penetration.
Muhsin Khan
So they [Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog)] were made powerless to scale it or dig through it.
Pickthall
And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it).
Yusuf Ali
Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it.
Shakir
So they were not able to scale it nor could they make a hole in it.
Dr. Ghali
So, in no way were they able to surmount it, and in no way were they able to bore it.
18:98
Sahih International
[Dhul-Qarnayn]
said, "This is a mercy from my Lord; but when the promise
of my Lord comes, He will make it level, and ever is the
promise of my Lord true."
Muhsin Khan
Dhul-Qarnain)
said: "This is a mercy from my Lord, but when the Promise of my Lord
comes, He shall level it down to the ground. And the Promise of my Lord
is ever true."
Pickthall
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.
Yusuf Ali
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."
Shakir
He
said: This is a mercy from my Lord, but when the promise of my Lord
comes to pass He will make it level with the ground, and the promise of
my Lord is ever true.
Dr. Ghali
He
said, "This is a mercy from my Lord. Then when the promise of my Lord
comes, He will make it pounded (into dust); and the promise of my Lord
has (always) been true."
18:99
Sahih International
And
We will leave them that day surging over each other, and
[then] the Horn will be blown, and We will assemble them in
[one] assembly.
Muhsin Khan
And
on that Day [i.e. the Day Ya'juj and Ma'juj (Gog and Magog) will come
out], We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another, and the
Trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together.
Pickthall
And
on that day we shall let some of them surge against others, and the
Trumpet will be blown. Then We shall gather them together in one
gathering.
Yusuf Ali
On
that day We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another: the
trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together.
Shakir
And
on that day We will leave a part of them in conflict with another part,
and the trumpet will be blown, so We will gather them all together;
Dr. Ghali
And
upon that Day We will leave some of them surge against others;
(Literally: Some of them against some others) and the Trumpet will be
blown; then We will gather them in (one) gathering.
*********************************************************************************
Dhul-Qarnayn and Yajuj and Majuj:
Dhul-Qarnayn or Zulqarnayn, (Arabic: ذو القرنين ḏū al-qarnayn, , "he of the two horns",
appears in Surah 18 verses 83-98 of the Qur'an
as a figure empowered by Allah to erect a wall between mankind and Yajuj
and Majuj, the representation of chaos. According to the holy Qur’an, the end
of the world would be preceded by the release of Yajuj and Majuj from behind
the wall, and their destruction by Allah in a single night would usher in the
Day of Resurrection.
Dhul-Qarnayn with the help of some jinn, building the Iron Wall to keep the barbarian Gog and Magog from civilized peoples. (16th century Persian miniature).
When Classical writers identified Yajuj an Majuj with real peoples it was the Turks, who threatened Baghdad and the Muslims in northern Iranin , but in the year 842 the Caliph Al-Wathiq had a dream in which he saw that it had been breached, and sent an official named Sallam to investigate. Sallam returned a little over two years later and reported that he had seen the wall and also the tower where Dhul Qarnayn had left his building equipment, and all was still intact. It is not entirely clear what Sallam saw, but he may have reached the Jade Gate, the westernmost customs point on the border of China. Somewhat later the 14th-century traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the wall was sixty days' travel from the city of Zeitun, which is on the coast of China; the translator notes that Ibn Battuta has confused the Great Wall of China with that built by Dhul-Qarnayn.26
The Great Wall of Gog and Magog depicted in the Book of
Wonders, a late 14th century Arabic text
The early traditions were summarized by al-Qazwini (d. 1283) in two popular works called the Cosmography and the Geography. Gog and Magog, he says, are a people who can be counted only by God, but only half the height of a normal man, with claws instead of nails and a hairy tail and huge hairy ears which they use as mattress and cover for sleeping. Their land was explored by "The Two-Horned One," who found them living near to the sea that encircles the Earth.24 They scratch at their wall each day until they almost break through, but each night God restores it; but when they do break through, they will be so numerous that "their vanguard is in Syria and their rear in Khorasan."25
The Scythians:
The Scythians were a large group of Iranian nomads who were mentioned by the
literate peoples surrounding them as inhabiting large areas in the central Eurasian
steppes from about the 9th century BC up until the 4th century AD. Their Scythian
languages probably belonged to the Eastern branch of the Iranian languages .The
"classical Scythians" known to ancient Greek historians were located in
the northern Black Sea and fore-Caucasus region. Other Scythian groups
documented by Assyrian, Achaemenid and Chinese sources show that they also
existed in Central Asia, where they were referred to as the Iskuzai/Askuzai,
Saka (Old Persian: Sakā; New Persian/Pashto: ساکا; Sanskrit: शक Śaka; Greek: Σάκαι; Latin: Sacae), and Sai
(Chinese: 塞;
pinyin: Sāi), respectively.The Scythians were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. In the 8th century BC they possibly raided Zhou China. Soon after they expanded westwards and dislodged the Cimmerians from power on the Pontic Steppe. At their peak, Scythians came to dominate the entire steppe zone, stretching from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the central China (Ordos culture) and the south Siberia (Tagar culture) in the east, creating what has been referred to as the first Central Asian nomadic empire.
The Scythians established and controlled a vast trade network (Silk Road) connecting Ancient Greece, Persia, India and China, perhaps contributing to the contemporary flourishing of those civilizations. The Scythians and settled metalworkers producing for them made portable decorative objects, which survive mainly in metal forming a distinctive Scythian art. Their arts also contain the symbol of dragons.
Gold Scythian belt title, Mingachevir (ancient Scythian
kingdom), Azerbaijan, 7th century BC.
Gold Scythian pectoral, or neckpiece, from a royal kurgan in Tolstaya Mogila, Ordzhonikidze, Ukraine, dated to the second half of the 4th century BC. The central lower tier shows three horses, each being torn apart by two griffins.
Around 650–630 BC, Scythians briefly dominated the Medes of the Iranian Plateau, stretching their power all the away to the borders of Egypt. After losing control over Media the Scythians continued intermeddling in Middle Eastern affairs, playing a leading role in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire in the Sack of Nineveh in 612 BC. The Scythians subsequently engaged in frequent conflicts with the Achaemenid Empire. The western Scythians suffered a major defeat against Macedonia in the 4th century BC, and were subsequently gradually conquered by the Sarmatians, a related Iranian people from Central Asia. The Scythians of the Asian Steppe (Saka) were attacked by the Yuezhi, Wusun and Xiongnu in the 2nd century BC, promting many of them to migrate into South Asia, where they became known as Indo-Scythians
Chinese jade and steatite plaques, in the Scythian-style animal art of the steppes. 4th to 3rd centuries BC. British Museum
The Kambojas:
The ancient Kambojas were probably an Indo-Iranian tribe. They are however, sometimes described as Indo-Aryans and sometimes as having both Indian and Iranian affinities. The Kambojas are also described as a royal clan of the Sakas.
The earliest reference to the Kamboja is in the works of Pāṇini, around the 5th century BCE. Other pre-Common Era references appear in the Manusmriti (2nd century) and the Mahabharata (1st century), both of which described the Kambojas as former kshatriyas who had degraded through a failure to abide by Hindu sacred rituals. Their territories were located beyond Gandhara, beyond Pakistan, Afghanistan laying in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan where Buddha statues were built in the name of king Maurya & Ashoka and the 3rd century BCE Edicts of Ashoka refers to the area under Kamboja control as being independent of the Mauryan empire in which it was situated.
Some scholars believe that the Trans-Caucasian hydronyms and toponyms viz. Cyrus, Cambyses and Cambysene were due to tribal extension of the Iranian ethnics — the Kurus and Kambojas of the Indian texts, who according to them, had moved to the north of the Medes in Armenian Districts in remote antiquity. Though numerous scholars link Cambyses to the Sanskrit tribal name Kamboja there are also few scholars who suggest Elamite origin of the name. Jean Przyluski had sought to find an Austric (Kol or Munda) affinity for Kamboja.
Chandra Chakraberty also theorizes that the Kambojas---the Kambohs of NW Panjab was a branch of the Scythian Cambysene from ancient Armenia.
As against the above, Buddha Prakash, S. Misra and others have done further research on this topic and have come to the conclusion that the Kurus and Kambojas were in fact, a Eurasian Nomads from the Central Asian Steppe who, as a composite horde, had entered Iran, Armenia, Anatolia as well as Indian Sub-continent through the passage between the Pamir mountains and the Caspian sea around 8th or 9th century BCE (or even earlier).
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall in 1907
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made
of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along
an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China to protect
the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various
nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were being built as early
as the 7th century BC;
these, later joined together and made bigger and stronger, are now collectively
referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built
220–206 BC
by Qin Shihuang, the first Emperor of China. Little of that wall remains. Since
then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the
majority of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty.
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