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fulfilled for the children of Israel because they had patience and constancy and We levelled to
the ground the great works and fine buildings which Pharaoh and his people erected (with
such pride). 1096
18:83 - They ask thee concerning Zul-qarnain. Say "I will rehearse to you something of his story."
2428
2428 Literally, "the Two-horned one", the King with the Two Horns, or the Lord of the Two Epochs. Who was he? In what
age, and where did he live? The Qur-an gives us no material on which we can base a positive answer. Nor is it
necessary to find an answer, as the story is treated as a Parable. Popular opinion identifies Zul-qarnain with
Alexander the Great. An alternative suggestion is an ancient Persian king, or a pre-historic Himyarite King. Zul-qarnain
was a most powerful king, but it was Allah, Who, in His universal Plan, gave him power and provided him with the
ways and means for his great work. His sway extended over East and West, and over people of diverse civilisations.
He was just and righteous, not selfish or grasping. He protected the weak and punished the unlawful and the
turbulent. Three of his expeditions are described in the text, each embodying a great ethical idea involved in the
possession of kingship or power. (18.83)
19:16 - Relate in the Book (the story of) Mary when she withdrew from her family to a place in the
East. 24702471
24:35 - Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were
a Niche and within it a lamp: the Lamp enclosed in Glass: the glass as it were a brilliant star: lit
from a blessed Tree an Olive neither of the East nor of the West whose Oil is well-nigh
luminous though fire scarce touched it: Light upon Light! Allah doth guide whom He will to His
Light. Allah doth set forth Parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.
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26:28 - (Moses) said: "Lord of the East and the West and all between! If ye only had sense!"
43:38 - At length when (such a one) comes to Us he says (to his evil companion): "Would that
between me and thee were the distance of East and West!" Ah! Evil is the companion
(indeed)! 46404641
4641 Distance of East and West: literally, 'distance of the two Easts'. Most Commentators understand in this sense, but
some construe the phrase as meaning the distance of the extreme points of the rising of the sun, between the
summer solstice and the winter solstice. Cf. n. 4034 to xxxvii. 5. A good equivalent idiom in English would be "poles
apart", for they could never meet. (43.38)
70:40 - Now I do call to witness the Lord of all points in the East and the West that We can certainly
570057015702
5700 For the form of adjuration, cf. lxix. 38, n. 5665; also lvi. 75. Here the witness placed before us by Allah is His own
power and glory manifested in the splendour of sunrise and sunset at different points through the solar year. (70.40)
5701 See n. 4034 to xxxvii. 5. If Allah has such power in the wonderful phenomena of the rising of the sun at varying points,
repeated year after year, can you not see that He can easily substitute better men than you Unbelievers and
blasphemers? (70.40)
73:9 - (He is) Lord of the East and the West: there is no god but He: take Him therefore for (thy)
Disposer of Affairs. 5760
5760 Allah is Lord of all places. He rules the world. Therefore be not discouraged by the plots or enmity of wicked men.
Leave all things to Allah; trust Him; He is just and will do justice. Only turn away from the unjust, but in a worthy and noble way;
i.e., to show them clearly that you do not fear them, but that you leave all affairs in Allah's hands. If we divide the world into
hemispheres from north to south, "East and West" will cover all directions. (73.9)
World of Islam
Conclusion
The Islamic world remains today a vast land stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with an important presence in Europe
and America, animated by the teachings of Islam and seeking to assert its own identity. Despite the presence of nationalism
and various secular ideologies in their midst, Muslims wish to live in the modern world but without simply imitating blindly the
ways followed by the West. The Islamic world wishes to live at peace with the West as well as the East but at the same time
not to be dominated by them. It wishes to devote its resources and energies to building a better life for its people on the basis of
the teachings of Islam and not to squander its resources in either internal or external conflicts. It seeks finally to create better
understanding with the West and to be better understood by the West. The destinies of the Islamic world and the West cannot
be totally separated and therefore it is only in understanding each other better that they can serve their own people more
successfully and also contribute to a better life for the whole of humanity.
Fiqh-us-Sunnah
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2013