سورة الكهف

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): He brought the west and the east of the earth under his control, from where the sun rises to where it sets. This is the meaning of the saying of Allah, who said: حَتَّی إِذا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ الشَّمْسِ وَجَدَها تَغْرُبُ فِی عَیْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ [Until when he reached the setting-place of the sun, he found it setting in a black-muddy spring].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Some people asked Imam Ali (peace be upon him): "Was Zulqarnain a prophet or a king?" He replied: "He was neither a prophet nor a king, but rather a servant who loved Allah and Allah also loved him, and he was sincere towards Allah and Allah was sincere towards him. Allah sent him to his people. They struck him on his right horn and he was hidden from their sight for as long as Allah willed. Then Allah sent him a second time. This time they struck him on his left horn and he was hidden from their sight for as long as Allah willed. Then Allah sent him a third time and gave him power on the earth. And among you too there is one like him." The Imam meant himself. He reached the place of the sun's setting and found it as though the sun was sinking into a dark, muddy spring; and there he found a people; We said: 'O Zulqarnain! Do you wish to punish [them], or choose a good way of dealing with them?'

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him) was asked about "Zulqarnain": "How was he able to reach the east and the west?" He said: "The clouds were subjected to him, and the means and instruments were prepared for him, and light was spread out for him, and night and day were equal to him. He saw in a dream that he had come so close to the sun that he grasped its two sides, east and west. When he narrated this dream to his people, he became honoured among them and they named him 'Zulqarnain'. He then called them to Allah and they accepted and submitted to the truth. Then he ordered them to build a mosque for him and they complied. He then instructed that its length be four hundred cubits, its breadth two hundred cubits, the thickness of its wall twenty-two cubits, and its height one hundred cubits." The people said: "What do you think about the wood [needed] to span between the two walls [for building the roof]?" He said: "When you finish building the walls, fill that place with earth until it reaches the height of the mosque's wall. Cut a quantity of gold and silver into pieces like clippings of a pen and mix them with the earth. And make for it beams of copper and sheets of copper, then melt them — this work is easier and more feasible for you on level ground. When you finish that, call the poor and destitute people to remove the earth, and since there is gold and silver among the earth, they will hasten and rush to do this task. When they built the mosque and the poor took out the earth, the roof was ready by the materials used in it, and the poor and destitute also became free of need. Then Zulqarnain divided them into four armies, ten thousand men in each army, and dispersed them across various lands."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) that Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said: "تَغْرُبُ الشَّمْسُ فِی عَیْنٍ حَامِیَةٍ [The sun sets in a hot spring]; in a sea beyond a city that lies towards the west, namely the city of Jabalqa."