He saw the Aurora lights:

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, saw the aurora lights covering the horizons of space above the earth when he was taken up to Heaven:

Narrated Abdullah: "Regarding the Verse: “Indeed he (Muhammad) did see. Of the Signs of his Lord, The Greatest!” (Quran 53.18) That the Prophet had seen a green carpet spread all over the horizon of the sky." (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 456)
  

Was Dhil Qarnayn an idol-worshiping pagan?

Only said for the sun-up:

Allah Almighty did not say that He made "no cover" for them from it for the sunset.  He said it for the sun-up only, which further proves that indeed the sun being always up, in Noble Verse 18:90 below, is referring to a geographical area in the North, since so much geographical proofs, and 1000-year old maps below, also point to that location as well.
  

"Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"  

"We made no cover...." was never mentioned for sunset.  Only to "where the sun is up...." مطلع الشمس in Noble Verse 18:90, which further supports that "We made no cover...." is indeed talking about the Northern territories near the North Pole.  See ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole.  See below.

Remember that they are located near where the sun never sets.  In the north, no shade was made from it for them.  It is almost always shining on them: لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  "We made no cover for them from it" (18:90).  In other words, it never sets.  Night almost never comes:

(Click to play clip)

Reached all the way north:

Late Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud, may Allah Almighty rest his soul and grant him Paradise, - Ameen, - gave old Islamic maps (video) that date 1000+ old that estimate that Dhil Qarnayn reached all the way north, near the North Pole, where the sun is always up, and reached the Black Sea for sunset, the body of water that is dark and murky.  The Black Sea is also not very far from the northern parts of Russia and the North Pole:

(Click to play & enlarge)

"We made no cover...." was never mentioned for sunset.  Only to "where the sun is up...." in Noble Verse 18:90, which further supports that "We made no cover...." is indeed talking about the Northern territories near the North Pole.  See ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole.

They also almost spoke unintelligibly: "...people who almost spoke unintelligibly" (18:93) لايكادون يفقهون قولا.  See the references below about the Vikings' language, and similar people of the North, when they were Barbarians.  Historians precisely say they spoke unintelligibly [1].

In either case, the Glorious Quran is the Divine and Miraculous Book of Allah Almighty.  The Holy Book is filled with thousands of Numerical and Scientific Miracles.  We have listed them here.  So it should be of no surprise to anyone, at all, to see the Glorious Quran's description of the sun's rising and setting to be scientifically accurate.

At the top of the North Pole, the sun never sets, and shown in this video.  I also quoted the scientific sources from Wikipedia.  Also in the lands near by, the sun almost never sets either, and I quoted sources for that as well, and also showed pictures of the "polar night" skies on these lands.  See ample pictures.

Never mentioned for Sunset:

"Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"  

  
"We made no cover...." was never mentioned for sunset.  Only to "where the sun is up...." مطلع الشمس in Noble Verse 18:90, which further supports that "We made no cover...." is indeed talking about the Northern territories near the North Pole.  See ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole.  See below.

Reaching Gog and Magog:

Allah Almighty in Noble Verses 18:83-100 mentioned three different geographic locations that Dhil Qarnayn marched to:

1-  The place where the sun never sets.
2-  The two barriers and a tribe from Gog and Magog.
3-  The murky body of water that resembles an eye.

Regarding the two barriers and a tribe from Gog and Magog:

[018:094] They said, `O Dhu'l Qarnain, verily, Gog and Magog are creating disorder in the earth; shall we then pay tribute on condition that thou set up a barrier between us and them ?'

The following historical account seems to describe this event accurately:

"The Gates of Alexander was a legendary barrier supposedly built by Alexander the Great in the Caucasus to keep the uncivilized barbarians of the north (typically associated with Gog and Magog [1]) from invading the land to the south. The gates were a popular subject in medieval travel literature, starting with the Alexander Romance in a version from perhaps the 6th century.

The wall, also known as the Caspian Gates, has been identified with two locations: the Pass of Derbent, Russia or with the Pass of Dariel, west of the Caspian Sea. Tradition also connects it to the Great Wall of Gorgan (Red Snake) on its south-eastern shore.

Historically, these fortifications were part of the defence lines built by Sasanians of Persia. The Great Wall of Gorgan may have been built by the Parthians.

The name Caspian Gates originally applied to the narrow region at the southeast corner of the Caspian Sea, through which Alexander actually marched in the pursuit of Bessus, although he did not stop to fortify it. It was transferred to the passes through the Caucasus, on the other side of the Caspian, by the more fanciful historians of Alexander.

Josephus, a Jewish historian in the 1st century, is known to have written of Alexander's gates, designed to be a barrier against the Scythians. According to this historian, the people whom the Greeks called Scythians were known (among the Jews) as Magogites, descendants of Magog in the Hebrew Bible. These references occur in two different works. The Jewish War states that the iron gates Alexander erected were controlled by the king of Hyrcania (on the south edge of the Caspian), and allowing passage of the gates to the Alans (whom Josephus considered a Scythic tribe) resulted in the sack of Media. Josephus's Antiquities of the Jews contains two relevant passages, one giving the ancestry of Scythians as descendants of Magog son of Japheth, and another that refers to the Caspian Gates being breached by Scythians allied to Tiberius during the Armenian War. [a][2]" (Source)

References:

1. Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius 8; Alexander Romance, epsilon recension 39.

a. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 1.123 and 18.97; The Jewish War 7.244-51.

2. Bietenholz, Peter G. (1994). Historia and fabula: myths and legends in historical thought from antiquity to the modern age. Brill. ISBN 9004100636.

Historians and archeologists are now discovering that the ancient Vikings have discovered and reached vast lands on earth, including being the first to discover the lands of Canada and America.  So there is so much that remains unknown about the Barbarians of the Vikings and other similar tribes from other nations.

Again, visit: 

Some of his stories:

Keep in mind that Allah Almighty began Noble Verses 18:83-100 by saying that He will tell us some of the stories of Dhil Qarnayn.  So there is a lot more to Dhil Qarnayn and his people than what is mentioned in the Noble Verses:

ويسألونك عن ذي القرنين قل ساتلو عليكم منه ذكرا

[018:083] They ask thee concerning Dhil Qarnayn. Say, "I will rehearse to you something of his story منه ذكرا."

Key Words:

Allah Almighty in the Glorious Quran, in Noble Verses 18:83-100, said the following key Words about Dhul or Dhil Qarnayn:

1. بلغ

2. مطلع الشمس

3. لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر

4. مغرب الشمس

5. وجدها تغرب في عين حمئة

بلغ when used physically or geographically, it means reaching near the area/land, or in it.  This is for Noble Verse 18:86.  For example:

اذ جاؤوكم من فوقكم ومن اسفل منكم واذا زاغت الابصار وبلغت القلوب الحناجر وتظنون بالله الظنونا
  
[033:010] When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached (بلغت balaghat) to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah.
  
The hearts didn't literally reach the throats.  بلغ is clearly metaphoric, and it means coming near to.  Ample other examples from the Glorious Quran on بلغ  Balagha at: www.answering-christianity.com/sunrise_sunset.htm#balagha

‏مطلع الشمس.  Again, see ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole.

18:90 حتى اذا بلغ مطلع الشمس وجدها تطلع على قوم لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر

"Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"

مطلع الشمس where the sun is up.  It does not mean sunrise.  In Arabic, sunrise is مشرق الشمس, where مشرق  is derived from  شرق  east.  See ample examples from the Glorious Quran about sunrise and sunset.  مغرب الشمس is sunset.  مغرب is derived from غرب  west.  But here, Allah Almighty used مطلع الشمس , which literally here means where the sun is always up.   مطلع is derived from طلع which means going up, which is why some Muslims a few centuries after Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, believed that Dhul Qarnyn reached up north, not east.  Late Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud, may Allah Almighty rest his soul, presented these maps.

See ample examples from the Glorious Quran about sunrise.
See ample examples from the Glorious Quran about sunset.

Also, let us look at Noble Word طلع in depth:

طلع , which is what مطلع is derived from, means that something (the sun in our case here) appears from somewhere, such as from behind a big object, such as a chain of mountains or clouds, or when the sun is always up.  For example:

  
The sun never sets at the North Pole:

"The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the sun remains visible at the local midnight.  Around the summer solstice (approximately 21 June in the Northern Hemisphere and 22 December in the Southern Hemisphere), the sun is visible for the full 24 hours, given fair weather. The number of days per year with potential midnight sun increases the closer towards either pole one goes. Although approximately defined by the polar circles, in practice the midnight sun can be seen as much as 55 miles (90 km) outside the polar circle, as described below, and the exact latitudes of the farthest reaches of midnight sun depend on topography and vary slightly year-to-year." (Source)

(Click to play clip)

Polar Nights in lands near by the North Pole:

"While the Sun doesn't rise above the horizon, it does come close to doing so. Instead of the pitch black many imagine it to be like, you get a blue light much of the time during the days of the polar night." (Sources: 1, 2)    "Polar night on Nordkinn Peninsula in Norway, mainland Europe's northernmost peninsula." (Sources: 1, 2)    Polar Night at Russia: "Polar night in Naryan-Mar, Russia. December 23, 2014, 11:27 (noon)" (Sources: 1, 2)

Polar night in Stockholm, Sweden.  Click on image.    Polar nights in the Arctic Circle.  Click on image.    Sources: 1, 2

Again, Allah Almighty didn't say مشرق الشمس sunrise, which is the term that counters مغرب الشمس sunset.  مغرب is derived from غرب  west.  No, instead, the Almighty used مطلع الشمس.  The Noble Verses were talking about near by lands to the North Pole.

  
They almost spoke unintelligibly:

"...people who almost spoke unintelligibly" (18:93) لايكادون يفقهون قولا. 

This perfectly fits the Vikings when they were considered barbarians.  They were brute, uncivilized, very primitive, disconnected from other civilizations, and didn't have a fully developed and intelligible language.  In fact, the word itself, barbarian, originates from Greek, and it means one who speaks unintelligibly:

1-  "The word barbarian conjures up more forus than the original Greek notion of someone whose unintelligible non-Greek language sounds like “bar-bar-bar..." (Source)

2-  Also from Indiana University: "....And finally, Maurice F. Hurley considers "Craft and Handiwork: Wood, Antler and Bone as an Everyday Material in Viking-Age Waterford and Cork," reminding us that most of the raw materials for urban crafts came from the surrounding hinterlands, even when these were marked by disparate political allegiances, mutually unintelligible languages or sharp differences in ethnicity...." (Source)
  

3-  "So what happened in the Northern Isles?

I don’t think that the Picts were ‘absorbed’ in Viking Shetland, or Viking Orkney, ...... I don’t think the Picts were just ‘overwhelmed’, or ‘submerged’, as Wainwright put it, while continuing to practise their religion and speak an unintelligible language at home." (Source)

Dhil Qarnayn ذي القرنين (one with the double horns):

Again, "Dhil Qarnayn" ذي القرنين in Noble Verse 18:83 means "one with the two horns".  We read about his story in more details in Noble Verses 18:83-100:

Dhul or Dhil = One who has.

قرنين Qarnayn = two horns.

They also spoke unintelligibly, the Quran says.  They hardly spoke intelligibly (18:93).  Historians have proven that the Barbarians of the North used to speak unintelligibly.  The description of the people of the North, whose North Pole is truly sunsetless (see ample pictures), perfectly fits the Barbarians of the Vikings in the Scandinavian and other Barbarians in the near by lands:

Dhil-Qarnayn literally means "man of two horns"

Only said for the sun-up:

Allah Almighty did not say that He made "no cover" for them from it for the sunset.  He said it for the sun-up only, which further proves that indeed the sun being always up, in Noble Verse 18:90 below, is referring to a geographical area in the North, since so much geographical proofs, and 1000-year old maps below, also point to that location as well.

"Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"  

"We made no cover...." was never mentioned for sunset.  Only to "where the sun is up...." مطلع الشمس in Noble Verse 18:90, which further supports that "We made no cover...." is indeed talking about the Northern territories near the North Pole.  See ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole.  See below.

Remember that they are located near where the sun never sets.  In the north, no shade was made from it for them.  It is almost always shining on them: لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  "We made no cover for them from it" (18:90).  In other words, it never sets.  Night almost never comes:

(Click to play clip)

The infidels' nonsense:

So the sun sets inside a body of water? [1]  And how exactly does it rise back up again according to the anti-Islamics?

1. First of all, the Arabic Quran doesn't have the word PLACE (MAKAAN) in the Noble Verse.  Anti-Islamics such as David Wood deliberately use a wrong translation to prove their falsehood.
     
2. BALAGHA (reached) is used for time and place approximation and estimation. ADRAKA would've been literal, and that's not in the Noble Verses.  Again, for example:
     
   اذ جاؤوكم من فوقكم ومن اسفل منكم واذا زاغت الابصار وبلغت القلوب الحناجر وتظنون بالله الظنونا
     
   [033:010] When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached (بلغت balaghat) to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah.
     
   The hearts didn't literally reach the throats.  Ample more Noble Verses on BALAGHA are listed in this article.
     
     
     
3. MAGHREB (sunset) is also used for time and not actual place.  The Glorious Quran speaks about the earth's SUNRISES and SUNSETS.  The same Noble Words used in but in the plural:
   
   7:137 واورثنا القوم الذين كانوا يستضعفون مشارق الارض ومغاربها
   [007:137] And We made the people who were deemed weak to inherit the eastern lands and the western ones مشارق الارض ومغاربها
     
   37:5 رب السماوات والارض ومابينهما ورب المشارق
   [037:005] Lord of the heavens and of the earth and all between them, and Lord of every point at the rising of the sun! المشارق
     
   ‏70:40 فلا اقسم برب المشارق والمغارب انا لقادرون
   [070:040] And I need not swear by the Lord of the easts and the wests المشارق والمغارب; verily, we are able
     
   
     
   "Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)"  

   "We made no cover...." was never mentioned for sunset.  Only to "where the sun is up...." مطلع الشمس in Noble Verse 18:90, which further supports that "We made no cover...." is indeed talking about the Northern territories near the North Pole.  See ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole.  See below.

     
     

4. The context of the Noble Verses speak about Dhul-Qarnayn marching with his army and he reached people during sunset in a mountainous area:

   
     
     
     

5. Sunset مغرب الشمس:
     
   Lake Issk Kul or the Black Sea or a similar body:

     
     
   Like an eye عين:
     
   
   (Click to play video)
     
   Dr. Zaghloul Al-Najjar talks about the muddy pool of water that also happens to look like an eye.
   This is a picture of the Issyk Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan.  It has muddy waters, and it looks like and eye
   as Allah Almighty in the Glorious Quran described.  And Allah Almighty always Knows Best.  And
   again, عين means both an eye and a body of water in Arabic.
     

   Lake Issk Kul or the Black Sea or a similar body: بلغ when used physically or geographically, it means reaching near the area/land, or in it.  This is for Noble Verse 18:86.  For example: اذ جاؤوكم من فوقكم ومن اسفل منكم واذا زاغت الابصار وبلغت القلوب الحناجر وتظنون بالله الظنونا    [033:010] When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes grew wild and the hearts reached (بلغت balaghat) to the throats, and you were harbouring doubts about Allah.    The hearts didn't literally reach the throats.  بلغ is clearly metaphoric, and it means coming near to.  Ample other examples from the Glorious Quran on بلغ  Balagha at: www.answering-christianity.com/sunrise_sunset.htm#balagha    Let us now look at the top candidates for the body of water in Noble Verse 18:86: 1-  Lake Issk Kul: عين حمئة AYN HAME'AH in Noble Verse 18:86 means Murky and/or muddy water [1] [2] [3].  Some Muslims read it as AYN HAAMIYAH عين حامية, which means hot water [1].  This is based on Ibn Masood and Ibn Al-Zubayr's reading.  See below.  Interestingly, lake Issyk Kul, for example, which is shaped like an eye, and is murky and muddy, is also nicknamed the "hot lake" because it never freezes: ""Issyk-Kul" means "hot lake" in Kyrgyz, as it never freezes." (Source) "Issyk Kul lake is the second-largest alpine lake in the world....and though temperatures do dip significanty in the winter, the lake never freezes. The reason for this is its high salt content, which has also endowed it with its name, which translates to ‘hot lake’." (Source, 2) "About 118 rivers and streams flow into the lake; the largest are the Djyrgalan and Tyup. It is fed by springs, including many hot springs, and snow melt. The lake has no current outlet, but some hydrologists hypothesize[7] that the lake's water filters deep underground into the Chu River. The bottom of the lake contains the mineral monohydrocalcite: one of the few known lacustrine deposits." (Source) حمئة is murky and/or muddy [1] [2] [3]. "وجَدها تَغْرُب في عَيْنٍ حَمِئةٍ، وقرأَ ابن مسعود وابن الزبير: حاميةٍ", translates as "He found it setting in a body of water that is HAME'AH حمئة , is read by Ibn Masood and Ibn Al-Zubayr as: HAAMIYAH حاميةٍ"    Why حمئة and not حاميةٍ: The hotness of the lake here is symbolic, which is perhaps why Allah Almighty chose حمئة and not حامية, which the latter literally means "hot".  So حمئة is symbolically hot, and it is actually murky and/or muddy.  And Allah Almighty always Knows Best. Lake Issyk Kul is indeed both murky and muddy [2]: (Click on image) Lake Issyk Kul here gives us a beautiful natural description on what the body of water that Dhil Qarnayn ذي القرنين  and his army reached was like.  It could very well be indeed lake Issyk Kul itself.  Or it could be a similar body of water with similar features.  Only Allah Almighty Knows.    2-  The Black Sea: Late Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud, may Allah Almighty rest his soul and grant him Paradise, - Ameen, - gave old Islamic maps (video) that date 1000+ old that estimate that Dhil Qarnayn reached all the way north, near the North Pole, where the sun is always up, and reached the Black Sea for sunset, the body of water that is dark and murky.  The Black Sea is also not very far from the northern parts of Russia and the North Pole: (Click to play video and to enlarge pictures) "We made no cover...." was never mentioned for sunset.  Only to "where the sun is up...." in Noble Verse 18:90, which further supports that "We made no cover...." is indeed talking about the Northern territories near the North Pole.  See ample pictures of the sun never sets at the North Pole. They also almost spoke unintelligibly: "...people who almost spoke unintelligibly" (18:93) لايكادون يفقهون قولا.  See the references below about the Vikings' language, and similar people of the North, when they were Barbarians.  Historians precisely say they spoke unintelligibly [1]. At the top of the North Pole, the sun never sets, and shown in this video.  I also quoted the scientific sources from Wikipedia.  Also in the lands near by, the sun almost never sets either, and I quoted sources for that as well, and also showed pictures of the "polar night" skies on these lands.  See ample pictures.    *** Thousands of Miracles: In either case or in any case regarding Noble Verse 18:86's body of water, the Glorious Quran is the Divine and Miraculous Book of Allah Almighty.  The Holy Book is filled with thousands of Numerical and Scientific Miracles.  We have listed them here.  So it should be of no surprise to anyone, at all, to see the Glorious Quran's description of the sun's rising and setting to be scientifically accurate, and very beautiful.

     

6. Again, Allah Almighty referred to the actual rising and setting points of the sun on earth.  The Glorious Quran says there are many rising and setting points [2] of the sun on earth.
     
     

     

   The sun never ceases nor disappears [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]:

   
   (Play video file: [1] [2])

   

   Prophet Muhammad: The sun is in constant orbit always rising on people while setting on others.

   عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما ان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم سئل :هذه المغارب اين تغرب ؟ وهذه المطالع اين تطلع ؟ فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم هي على رسلها لا تبرح ولا تزول , تغرب عن قوم وتطلع على قوم ,وتغرب عن قوم وتطلع , فقوم يقولون غربت ,وقوم يقولون طلعت

   "Ibn Abbas narrated on Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that the Prophet was asked: Where does the sun go after all of these sunsets? And where does it come from after all of these sunrises? The Prophet, peace be upon him, replied: It is in constant motion. It doesn't stop nor disappear. It sets on people and rises on others, and it sets on people and rises on others. So people would say it has risen while others say it has set."

   Sources:

   1- Jami'a Al-Usool li-ibn Al-Atheer.
   جامع الأصول لابن الأثير

   2- Musnad Al-Imam Abi Is'haq Al-Hamadani
   مسند الامام ابي اسحاق الهمداني

   3- Al-Ijaz Al-Ilmi Fe Al-Sunna Al-Nabawiyyah, Dr. Zaghloul Al-Najjar, Page 132.
     

   Allah Almighty in the Glorious Quran said that earth is:        -  Spherical: "egg-shaped" [1].        -  Is rotating around itself.        -  Is moving in space in curvy orbits [2].        -  Is in constant motion.        -  Is suspended in space.        -  Is swimming in space.        -  Is traveling through the constantly expanding universe [3].        -  The sunsetless North Pole miracle in the Glorious Quran [4].  At the top of the North Pole, the sun never sets, and I showed the video for that, and also quoted the scientific sources for that. Also in the lands near by, it almost never sets either, and I quoted sources for that as well, and also showed pictures of the "polar night" skies on these lands.    He saw the Aurora Lights covering: Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, saw the aurora lights covering the horizons of space above the earth when he was taken up to Heaven: Narrated Abdullah: "Regarding the Verse: “Indeed he (Muhammad) did see. Of the Signs of his Lord, The Greatest!” (Quran 53.18) That the Prophet had seen a green carpet spread all over the horizon of the sky." (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 456)    Regarding Dhil-Qarnayn (literally means "man of two horns"), Allah Almighty said this about his journey to the farthest northern lands and people: ‏18:90 حتى اذا بلغ مطلع الشمس وجدها تطلع على قوم لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر "Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)" Noble Verse(s) 18:91 Rodwell: [018:091]  Thus it was. And we had full knowledge of the forces that were with him. Arabic (Read from right to left.  Also, all png image files: [1] [2]): ‏18:91 كذلك وقد احطنا بما لديه خبرا     Prophet Muhammad "did see" (Quran 53.18) the Aurora Lights covering the horizons above the earth from space.  Dhil-Qarnayn went up to the farthest northern lands where the sun is up, and "Thus it was", Allah Almighty completed the "full knowledge" regarding Dhil-Qarnayn's mission.  This further supports the story below about Dhil-Qarnayn's journey to the farthest northern lands and people (The sunsetless North Pole Quran-miracle).  They also spoke unintelligibly, the Quran says.  They hardly spoke intelligibly (18:93).  Historians have proven that the Barbarians of the North used to speak unintelligibly.  The description of the people of the North, whose North Pole is truly sunsetless (see ample pictures), perfectly fits the Barbarians of the Vikings in the Scandinavian and other Barbarians in the near by lands: Dhil-Qarnayn literally means "man of two horns" Dhil = One who has. قرنين Qarnayn = two horns.  Qarnayn is a dual plural of Qarn (horn). Three or more horns is Quroon, in Arabic.    I believe Noble Verses 53:18 and 18:91 are prophetically linked together; that Prophet Muhammad also saw what Dhil-Qarnayn ذي القرنين  saw.  Also visit:  Aurora Lights Hadith    Other pronunciations to "Dhil Qarnayn"ذي القرنين  name:  Zul-qarnain, Dhul Qurnain, Dhu'l Qarnain, Zulqarnain, Dhu'l-Qarneyn, Dhu'lkarnein, Dhul-Qarnain, Dhu'l Qarnain, Dhool Karnain, Zul-Qarnain, Dhoulkarnain.        -  The Glorious Quran also speaks about many earths [5] and not just earth.        -  The Glorious Quran predicts 11 planets in our solar system [6].    In the end, Allah Almighty uses the Glorious Quran to "...Thus doth God leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth..." (74:31).  The infidels misuse the Glorious Quran to find "scientific errors".  The Glorious Quran is Allah Almighty's Perfect Divine Holy Book.  It contains no scientific error.  Visit the following example and the link to see 1000s of Numerical and Scientific Miracles: 1-  The root for message and all of its derivatives, such as messenger and others occurs 513 times throughout the Glorious Quran.  The Prophets' and Messengers', peace be upon them, actual names (Muhammad, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Lot etc....) were also all combined mentioned 513 times in the Glorious Quran.  The detailed breakdown of all of this is thoroughly listed here. Coincidence?  See 1,000s of examples! [1]. (zip file). Quran's Stunning Numerical & Scientific Miracles.

   www.answering-christianity.com/egg-shaped_earth.htm

       
     

7. The Glorious Quran speaks about the SUN TRAVELING IN SPACE IN ITS ORBIT [2].
     
8. The Glorious Quran in multiple Noble Verses spoke about the earth being SPHERICAL, TRAVELING IN SPACE, ROTATING AROUND ITSELF, and IS IN CONSTANT MOTION [1].
     
9. If the sun were to set in a body of water, then it would have to rise back again from that place.  And no where does it say that it would set again in another pool of water (i.e., bouncing back and forth).
     
     
10. Allah Almighty never declared that Dhul-Qarnayn reached the ends of the earth.  No mention of ends of the earth in the entire Glorious Quran.  Unlike the Bible, for example, where it talks about earth's "four corners", the Quran has no such phrases.
      
    Allah Almighty never Said that Dhul-Qarnayn had reached the "ends of the earth" where the sun supposedly rises and sets.  The Glorious Quran says clearly that the earth is spherical [2].  Also on the contrary, it is the Bible that says that:
      

    1. The earth has ends.

    2. It is standing on pillars that prevent it from shaking.

    3. GOD Almighty will shake the earth to throw the people into space.

    4. It has four corners.

    Please visit: The Bible declares that the earth is flat [2].

    Clearly, the Glorious Quran is in no scientific blunder regarding the shape of the earth, and the solar system.  In fact, there are ample Noble Verses that clearly and indisputably state:

    Allah Almighty in the Glorious Quran said that earth is:        -  Spherical: "egg-shaped" [1].        -  Is rotating around itself.        -  Is moving in space in curvy orbits [2].        -  Is in constant motion.        -  Is suspended in space.        -  Is swimming in space.        -  Is traveling through the constantly expanding universe [3].        -  The sunsetless North Pole miracle in the Glorious Quran [4].  At the top of the North Pole, the sun never sets, and I showed the video for that, and also quoted the scientific sources for that. Also in the lands near by, it almost never sets either, and I quoted sources for that as well, and also showed pictures of the "polar night" skies on these lands.    He saw the Aurora Lights covering: Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, saw the aurora lights covering the horizons of space above the earth when he was taken up to Heaven: Narrated Abdullah: "Regarding the Verse: “Indeed he (Muhammad) did see. Of the Signs of his Lord, The Greatest!” (Quran 53.18) That the Prophet had seen a green carpet spread all over the horizon of the sky." (Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 456)    Regarding Dhil-Qarnayn (literally means "man of two horns"), Allah Almighty said this about his journey to the farthest northern lands and people: ‏18:90 حتى اذا بلغ مطلع الشمس وجدها تطلع على قوم لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر "Until he reached near حتى اذا بلغ where the sun is up مطلع الشمس, he found it above وجدها تطلع على people قوم whom We made no cover for them from it لم نجعل لهم من دونها ستر.  (The Noble Quran, 18:90)" Noble Verse(s) 18:91 Rodwell: [018:091]  Thus it was. And we had full knowledge of the forces that were with him. Arabic (Read from right to left.  Also, all png image files: [1] [2]): ‏18:91 كذلك وقد احطنا بما لديه خبرا     Prophet Muhammad "did see" (Quran 53.18) the Aurora Lights covering the horizons above the earth from space.  Dhil-Qarnayn went up to the farthest northern lands where the sun is up, and "Thus it was", Allah Almighty completed the "full knowledge" regarding Dhil-Qarnayn's mission.  This further supports the story below about Dhil-Qarnayn's journey to the farthest northern lands and people (The sunsetless North Pole Quran-miracle).  They also spoke unintelligibly, the Quran says.  They hardly spoke intelligibly (18:93).  Historians have proven that the Barbarians of the North used to speak unintelligibly.  The description of the people of the North, whose North Pole is truly sunsetless (see ample pictures), perfectly fits the Barbarians of the Vikings in the Scandinavian and other Barbarians in the near by lands: Dhil-Qarnayn literally means "man of two horns" Dhil = One who has. قرنين Qarnayn = two horns.  Qarnayn is a dual plural of Qarn (horn). Three or more horns is Quroon, in Arabic.    I believe Noble Verses 53:18 and 18:91 are prophetically linked together; that Prophet Muhammad also saw what Dhil-Qarnayn ذي القرنين  saw.  Also visit:  Aurora Lights Hadith    Other pronunciations to "Dhil Qarnayn"ذي القرنين  name:  Zul-qarnain, Dhul Qurnain, Dhu'l Qarnain, Zulqarnain, Dhu'l-Qarneyn, Dhu'lkarnein, Dhul-Qarnain, Dhu'l Qarnain, Dhool Karnain, Zul-Qarnain, Dhoulkarnain.        -  The Glorious Quran also speaks about many earths [5] and not just earth.        -  The Glorious Quran predicts 11 planets in our solar system [6].    In the end, Allah Almighty uses the Glorious Quran to "...Thus doth God leave to stray whom He pleaseth, and guide whom He pleaseth..." (74:31).  The infidels misuse the Glorious Quran to find "scientific errors".  The Glorious Quran is Allah Almighty's Perfect Divine Holy Book.  It contains no scientific error.  Visit the following example and the link to see 1000s of Numerical and Scientific Miracles: 1-  The root for message and all of its derivatives, such as messenger and others occurs 513 times throughout the Glorious Quran.  The Prophets' and Messengers', peace be upon them, actual names (Muhammad, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Lot etc....) were also all combined mentioned 513 times in the Glorious Quran.  The detailed breakdown of all of this is thoroughly listed here. Coincidence?  See 1,000s of examples! [1]. (zip file). Quran's Stunning Numerical & Scientific Miracles.

    Ample vocabularies from seven encyclopedic Arabic dictionaries about earth in the Glorious Quran.  Please visit:
      

    Earth is spherical [2].
      

    Detailed Analysis from Lisan Al-Arab (this alone is 10 big books) and 7 other dictionaries proving the Scientific Miracles in the Holy Quran in Great Details.
      

    The Overwhelming Scientific and Numerical Miracles in the Glorious Quran.
      

    See also the 1000s of examples of the Glorious Quran's Stunning Numerical and Scientific Miracles.
      
    Allah Almighty Said that He will show the latter generations these Miracles to prove that the Quran is from Him.

Possible Geographical and Astronomical Significance:

I also believe that since Allah Almighty speaks also in plural about the sunrise and sunset points of the sun on earth, then it is possible that Allah Almighty here referred to geographical locations that have astronomical alignment significance.  The sun and the earth orbit each other in an S-shaped or number 8 orbit:

This is also all demonstrated in good details in the following video file and articles:

www.answering-christianity.com/egg-shaped_earth.htm
www.answering-christianity.com/detailed_meanings_of_scientific_words_in_verses.htm
www.answering-christianity.com/ac20.htm#links

This is why the sun doesn't orbit around the earth in one straight line.  This is due to earth's axle tilt and change of orbit.  So the sunset and sunrise points (plural) in the Glorious Quran could be astronomical points.  This might be similar to the location of Mecca, and the location of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, where Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was taken up to Heaven from that rock (before the Dome was built above it).

Consider the following moon's orbit Miracle in the Glorious Quran.  Notice below "...until it ends up looking like حتى عاد...".   Where does it astronomically begin and end up عاد?
  

Again, Where does the moon astronomically begin and end?  Read ample Noble Verses, analysis, quotations from scientific sources, and so much more in this article.

  
Again, read the ample Noble Verses, analysis, quotations from scientific sources, and so much more, after the Abstract table, in this article.

Imam Bukhari threw away thousands of Hadiths:

The Holy Quran made it clear that earth was:

1-  Spherical.
2-  Rotating around itself.
3-  Is traveling in space.

We don't only have DAHAHA دحاها.  We also have KIFAATA كفاتا (used for flying birds), TAQOOM تقوم (used for moving firmly), WADA'A وضع (used for moving something), MIHAADA مهادا (used for rocking back and forth; science calls this "Axial Tilt" for earth, which is what causes the seasonal changes).

And again, have Allah Almighty not DAHA the earth, it would not have been able to produce water and pasture.  This clearly and indipsubably means that earth became balanced in its rotation around the sun, and cool enough and stable enough to where it now can support the life that we are living today.

The Noble Words that Allah Almighty used to describe earth are all ones that deal with motion.  Why are you dismissing them?  If people back then failed to understand it, or accept it, then that's there problem.  Imam Bukhari said that he threw away THOUSANDS OF HADITHS:

http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Hadith/bukhari.html

Do we not have outside Bukhari this Hadith:



So it is quite probable that Prophet Muhammad did go indepth about the earth and its spherical shape, and its motion in space.  But since many probably thought it was unbelievable and ridiculous, then Imam Bukhari and other Hadiths collectors didn't include them.

So maybe Imam Bukhari threw away the Hadiths that did speak about the motion of earth in space, because people refused to believe them.  They would think that we would feel the motion too if earth was in motion.  Didn't even a doofus from today's salafies say this very exact thing today?  Watch this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKSKUIjBiM0

I would respond, in laymen's term, to the stupid salafies and others who use his type of argumentation to challenge science, by giving them the example of driving inside a closed car vs a motor cycle or a convertible car.  If you wear a hat inside a closed car, then your hat will remain on your head even if you're going 100 miles per hour on the road.

However, if you're driving a convertible, and the top is down, then your hat will fly away.  Your atmosphere inside the closed car is like our earth and its atmosphere today.  Earth today rotates around itself at a speed of 1000 miles per hour.  Yet, we don't feel it, because we are part of the motion.  When we go outside earth in space, the motion changes, and if we re-enter atmosphere too fast, then the friction with the thicker air will cause us to overheat and burn.  This is why asteroids burn up when they enter earth.


What gravity??

And forget gravity!!  If earth was spherical, then we would all fall off to space.  After all, if you pour water on a spherical object, wouldn't it just drain down to the ground??  And if earth was rotating around itself fast, then it would throw us all off into space!!

So maybe the Hadiths that went into the details of earth's roundness and motion were thrown away, because the people just couldn't fathom them.  Again, please visit:

www.answering-christianity.com/egg-shaped_earth.htm
www.answering-christianity.com/detailed_meanings_of_scientific_words_in_verses.htm#geology_moving_earth_rain
www.answering-christianity.com/ac20.htm#links

  

  
Allah Almighty Promised to Reveal the Scientific Miracles:

Another aspect for you to consider is that Allah Almighty Promised to reveal the Scientific Miracles of the Glorious Quran through the scientific discoveries that man will discover through Allah Almighty's Will:

"We will soon show them  Our signs in the Universe and INSIDE THEIR SELVES, until it will become quite clear to them that it (THE QURAN) is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things?   (The Noble Quran, 41:53)"

So if Allah Almighty chose to show you today that the earth is indeed spherical and is moving in space through NASA and other scientific agencies, and Allah Almighty chose to show you that this is indeed also in the Quran, as He Promised, then who are you to refuse this?

Please visit: www.answering-christianity.com/sci_prophecy.htm

So even if the Hadiths are lacking, it isn't because the Glorious Quran doesn't mention that the earth is spherical and is in motion.  But rather, because the people of that generation weren't ready for this type of knowledge.  So they failed to see it.  But as we advanced today, it became very clear to us.  Again, Allah Almighty PROMISED this:

"We will soon show them  Our signs in the Universe and INSIDE THEIR SELVES, until it will become quite clear to them that it (THE QURAN) is the truth...."

Take care,
Osama Abdallah

Here are some of my favorite Stunning Numerical and Scientific Miracles in the Glorious Quran that are listed in the main sections, below:

1-  The root for message and all of its derivatives, such as messenger and others occurs 513 times throughout the Glorious Quran.  The Prophets' and Messengers', peace be upon them, actual names (Muhammad, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Lot etc....) were also all combined mentioned 513 times in the Glorious Quran.  The detailed breakdown of all of this is thoroughly listed here.

Coincidence?  See 1,000s of examples! [1]. (zip file).

Quran's Stunning Numerical & Scientific Miracles.

2-  The Great Miracle.  Allah Almighty in the Holy Quran called the Number 19 Miracle "One of the Mighty Ones (Miracles)" (74:30-37) [1] [2].  See the 100s of Noble Verses that clearly testify to this Great Miracle.  Also, did you know that Allah Almighty Said in Surat Nuh (that's Noble Chapter Nuh (Noah)) that Prophet Noah lived for 950 years among his people. 

Yet, all Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty Alone, the entire Noble Surah is exactly written in 950 Letters [1] [2]!  You can thoroughly see this in the scanned images that thoroughly verify every single Noble Letter, in the links.  Click on the links to see the many other Numerical Miracles in the Holy Quran.  Also, see the Numerical Miracles section along with all of the other great sections.  Also, 1,000s of examples in zip & PDF (fonts) files all demonstrated in this article.

  
3-  19 X 115 = 2185 Number 19 and BASMALA Miracle.  The total numerical value of Noble Verses 74:30-37 themselves, which are the heart of the Number 19 Miracle, has a stunning Miracle in it.  The value of these Noble Verses matches the multiplication of the BASMALA's number of letters (19 Letters) and their total numerical values (115): 19 X 115 = 2185.  The Basmala, which full text in Arabic means "In the Name of Allah The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful" is the Key to the Glorious Quran.  It is recited first before reading the Holy Quran, and it is also obligatory upon every Muslim to start with the Basmala before starting any task.  Again, 1,000s of examples in zip & PDF (fonts) files all demonstrated in this article.
  

4-  The Glorious Quran has 114 Chapters. The sum of those Chapters is 6555 (1+2+...+114 = 6555). There are also 6236 Noble Verses in the Glorious Quran. Now, if you add each Chapter's number with the number of its Verses, then you get a list of numbers. So 1 (first Chapter) + 7 (# of its Verses) = 8.  Do this for all Chapters.

1-  The sum of the odd numbers from the list = 6555.
2-  The sum of the even numbers from the list = 6236.

See the XLS file for 100% confirmation.  Also, see the ample STUNNING Numerical Miracles in the Glorious Quran, with 1,000s of examples! [1] (zip file).

5-  Please also checkout the many hundreds (1,000s) of Great Numerical Miracles, and the many tens (10s) of other Great Scientific Miracles:

Why should we accept the scientific meaning of the Word in the Noble Quran that fits our discoveries today, and not accept any of its other meanings, especially that the Word was revealed 1,500 years ago?

1-  The use of scientific notions in the Noble Quran:

It is important to know that the Noble Quran doesn't give scientific equations.  It instead gives many scientific notions that had been proven today to be clear Scientific Miracles because they fit perfectly with modern science.  One of the Divine Miracles of the Noble Quran is that Allah Almighty (through His perfect use of the complex and artistic language of Arabic) used scientific notions to make the Noble Quran truly dynamic for all the times that It is presented in. These scientific notions hid in them, for many centuries, the scientific statements and discoveries that we just came to know today, and perhaps are even hiding in them more statements that our future generations will discover.  These notions are basically key words and/or terms that describe certain creations of GOD Almighty.  For example:

1-  Allah Almighty in one Word said that the Universe is expanding and in another term said it will shrink back again.  Science confirmed that today through the big bang and the cosmic crunch theories.

2-  Allah Almighty in two Words mentioned the layers of waves and darkness inside the vast oceans.  Science today, again, confirmed that.

3-  Allah Almighty in one Word said that He made the earth as an egg.  We all know today that earth is spherical and science did confirm that the earth is indeed egg-shaped.  Please visit: If the Noble Quran says the earth is "egg-shaped" through a Notion, then why couldn't Prophet Muhammad just say it clear in plain Arabic? (detailed proofs demonstrating the miracle of the Word/Notion "dahaha").

4-  Allah Almighty in few terms in several Noble Verses said that mountains prevent the earth from shaking.  Science today did indeed confirm that mountains stabilize the earth and prevent it from constantly shaking while it is rotating around its own axle.

5-  Allah Almighty in one term talked about the earth reducing in size.  Science today indeed confirmed that earth is shrinking in size due to volcanoes and earth "debris" caused by erosions, earthquakes, sea-waves changing the shape and condition of the land and other natural factors, escaping to space.  In fact, it is estimated that earth lost approximately 10-40 miles from its radius or depth size in the past 10 or so billion years!  (I heard this from Dr. Zaghloul Al-Naggar on TV.  My numbers may not be quite accurate because I am relying on memory, but the fact of the earth shrinking is definitely true, and in the link above I have provided several quotes from Western scientists demonstrating why the earth is reducing/shrinking in size).

6-  Allah Almighty mentioned in one term the moon's fault line.  Science today confirmed that the moon's fault line, which is splitting it in half, was caused by major moonquakes.

7-  Allah Almighty in one term talked about the earth's 7 properties.  Science today confirmed that the earth has 7 inner layers and 7 atmospheric layers.

8-  Allah Almighty in one term talked about the region inside the human-brain that controls the movements.  Science today confirmed that.

Many more examples (and the list is growing) are provided at: The overwhelming Scientific Miracles in the Noble Quran section.

The Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, was already accused of being crazy by the infidels.  Have Allah Almighty given sophisticated scientific statements that covered exact details as we scientifically know them today, then no one would've believed the Prophet of Islam, because:

1-  He wasn't a scientist and such science wasn't known to man back then, which makes it impossible for him to explain it, even if Allah Almighty Inspired it to him.  The information would not have been understood by the nomad bedouins 1,500 years ago.

2-  People had already inclined toward declaring the Prophet as an insane man, and many already did.  Any extraordinary supernatural statement that requires a lot of scientific explanations such as "we have people standing on the other side of the world (under our feet), and all humans are actually standing on the side of the earth not on its top or back."

Such statement would require knowledge in gravity and astronomy, which man did not know about 1,500 years go.

Like I said, many have accused the Prophet of being a madman.  Allah Almighty did not want to complicate Islam, especially to the people who did not know much about science:

"And (O people) your companion (Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) is not a madman;  (The Noble Quran, 81:22)"

That is why Allah Almighty used scientific notions instead of statements and equations.  They are for man to discover as he advances in life.  The more man advances, the more he will find that many of his discoveries are mentioned in the Noble Quran.  That is why the Noble Quran's Miracles are for all times and all places!

Again, please also visit:  The overwhelming Scientific Miracles in the Noble Quran section.

2-  The complex language of Arabic:

Arabic is a very complex, artistic and poetical language by nature!  A single word can mean a host of meanings.  The art and beauty of Arabic comes in how a person constructs and puts together words to form a sentence or paragraph.  The art and creativity in the style and poetry are what determine the strength and beauty of the sentence or poem.  That is why the Noble Quran is extremely difficult to understand sometimes, even by the fluent and professional Arabic speakers.  That is why Muslims always say that the translations of the Noble Quran do it absolutely no justice, because the poetry and complexity of language-art are completely compromised in the translation.  What the English reader, for instance, is left with when reading the English Noble Quran, is the subject that the Noble Verses are talking about.  But he/she doesn't see the beautiful and complex stylistic and linguistic Divine Miracle that the Arabic text carries in it.

At any rate, Allah Almighty Chose for the Noble Quran to be Difficult to comprehend, and to be quite a challenge to interpret and translate, because:

1-  He Chose to have the Miracle of the Noble Quran be an ever lasting one by living in the text of the Holy Book Itself.

2-  To demonstrate Its Divinity to the Arabs back then, who were very experienced/mature, fluent and also addicted to poetry, along with the Arabic-speaking people today, and to challenge them and to show them that certainly the Noble Quran is not just an average everyday book.  It is indeed a Divine Miracle, proving that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is indeed a Truthful and real Prophet.

3-  This is Allah Almighty's way to Lead to the Right Path whom He pleases and to Lead astray whom He pleases.