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Question: The Holy Qur’an in Surah Kahf states with reference to the legend of Zulqarnain:

When he reached the place where the sun set, he found it going down into a black sea,(18:86)


Answer: According to those latest research that the Islamic scholars and highly respected writers of Qur’anic exegesis have done with respect to the legend of Zulqarnain the meaning of above-mentioned verse is this:



In any ease it was the time of sunset when Zulqarnain was standing on the shore and looking at the astonishing sight, because when a person stands on the seashore, then due to the earth being spherical, at the time of sunset he gets to see that the sun is slowly going down in the sea on the last point of the horizon. On the same basis the Holy Qur’an also narrates the state and the feelings of Zulqarnain in this way.


Thus the verse is completely in concordance regarding the earth's spherical shape and by “ain-e-hamaa” is meant to be the same ocean in the last point of whose horizon the sun had set.
Nevertheless it is a separate question that why the Holy Qur’an has interpreted the water of the ocean as “aineen”?

Mufassereen have explained it in this way:


As far as the question that why the Holy Qur’an has interpreted this seawater as dark water is concerned some reasons can be given to that:


(2) In fact when at the time of sunset its rays fall on seawater, it takes up a dark color. This is the reason that the Holy Qur’an has compared it with muddy water.

(3) Water which is more and deeper, under the effect of intensity of blue color, looks black since Zulqarnain saw that sea-water which was much more and it had acquired the state which was almost blackish, that is why the Holy Qur’an has interpreted it as the water mixed with black soil.1

  • 1. Tafseer Muraghi, Part 16, Page 17, Tafseer Majmaul Bayan, Vol. 7, Page 490, Tafseer Tantavi, Part 9, Page 200. Al Munjid , under the words 'Ham'aa' and 'Aien'. Mufradate Raghib, Qisase Qur’an, under the word Zulqarnain.

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