إِنَّا مَكَّنَّا لَهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَآتَيْنَاهُ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ سَبَبًا ﴿۸۴﴾ فَأَتْبَعَ سَبَبًا ﴿۸۵﴾ حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ مَغْرِبَ الشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَغْرُبُ فِي عَيْنٍ حَمِئَةٍ وَوَجَدَ عِنْدَهَا قَوْمًا قُلْنَا يَا ذَا الْقَرْنَيْنِ إِمَّا أَنْ تُعَذِّبَ وَإِمَّا أَنْ تَتَّخِذَ فِيهِمْ حُسْنًا ﴿۸۶﴾

﴾84﴿ Innaa makkannaa lahoo fil ardi wa aatainaahu min kulli shai'in sababaa
﴾85﴿ Fa atba'a sababaa
﴾86﴿ Hattaaa izaa balagha maghribash shamsi wajadahaaa taghrubu fee 'aynin hami'a tinw wa wajada 'indahaa qawmaa; qulnaa yaa Zal Qarnaini immaaa an tu'az ziba wa immaaa an tattakhiza feehim husnaa

﴾84﴿ "Indeed, We established him upon the earth, and We gave him the means to achieve everything he needed
﴾85﴿ So he followed a way (towards the west)
﴾86﴿ Until he reached the setting place of the sun, he found it setting in a dark, muddy spring, and he found a people near it. We said, 'O Dhul-Qarnayn, either punish them or treat them kindly

[84] This indicates that his empowerment and all means at his disposal were from Allah the Exalted.
What is meant by tamkīn fī al-arḍ (establishment in the land) is that he was given power and kingship on earth, enabling him to prevail over his enemies.
And the meaning of (wa ātaynāhu min kulli shay’in sababā) (and We gave him means for everything) is that he was granted the resources and means necessary for conquest and dominance.
[85] One meaning is that he set out on a journey—that is, toward the west—and this journey was a form of migration to establish the religion of truth.
He traveled westward, and in every town he preached the call to truth.
Whoever opposed him, he fought against them.
The second meaning is that he began to employ some of the means and resources as he headed westward.
[86] What is meant by "Maghrib al-Shams" is the farthest point of sunset, and that is not possible.
The reason is the verse "taghrobu fī ‘aynin ḥami’ah" (it sets in a muddy spring), meaning the sun is many times bigger than the earth, so how could it disappear into a sea?
Rather, what is meant is that he reached the shore of the Black Sea, where a person looking at the sea appears to see the sun disappearing into it.
The “muddy spring” refers to the Black Sea, and the people and kingdom referred to are the Greeks, which was called Lydia.
The distance from Persia to this land was about 1,400 miles.
There is a disagreement about whether Dhul-Qarnayn was a prophet.
Those who say he was a prophet interpret “Qulnā” (We said) as revelation, while those who say he was a saint interpret “Qulnā” as divine inspiration.
The phrase “immā an tu‘adhdhiba” means that he was given complete power and authority over those people.
“Punishment” means either killing or restraining them, and “ḥusnā” means to release them with kindness or forgive them through ransom—similar to the phrase “fa-immā mannan ba‘d” (then either release them as a favor…).