[tboyd47]

This is because the Romans practiced a form of Christianity (and still do), which Islam recognizes as a revealed (yet corrupted) religion, while the Persians were idol-worshipers. I agree that it is fascinating that this geopolitical orientation is still in place since the time of the Qur'an's revelation.

I don't think you're correct in saying that the scholars agree that Dhul-Qarnain is Alexander. The opinions I've heard rule Alexander out. What I've always heard is that the identity of Dhul-Qarnain is one of those details in Qur'anic exegesis that are not known with total certainty, like the identity of Al-Khidr in the same surah. Cyrus the Great has been floated as another candidate, though [0].

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[0] https://www.iranchamber.com/history/articles/zolqarnain_cyru...

[eternalban]

(Don't know why you are downvoted). Thank you for your reply. I think at the time when "great" was appended to Eskandar's name, so it became a norm, it was a held opinion, but tbh I don't have authoritative knowledge of this bit.

It is possible that Sassanid's had slipped into "idol worship" (promoting a couple of angels into some sort of Iranian pseudo-pantheon had already occurred) but note that there are no idols in Zoroastrianism itself. Fire is effectively a natural phenomena 'icon'.

[tboyd47]

I'm not an expert on Zoroastrianism but just relating something that's come in Muslim tradition.

"The idolaters wanted the Persians to prevail over the Romans, because they were idol worshipers, and the Muslims wanted the Romans to prevail over the Persians, because they were People of the Book."

http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Ar-Room/Foretelling-the-Victory-o...

We may just be splitting hairs, but I would be slacking if I had a reference and didn't provide it.

[glitchc]

Calling Persians idol worshippers sounds revisionist and is materially incorrect. Persians were more attuned to natural symbols. Noting that Muslims pray to a stone in Mecca, would you call that idol worship?

[derecho1412]

Muslims don't pray to a stone, they pray towards the Mosque in Mecca, where the stone happens to be and is only used as part of a ritual during the Hajj pilgrimage. There was a period of history where the stone had been removed from its current place and that did not change the direction of prayer.

Also, idol worship is a misnomer and mistranslation. From an Islamic perspective, associating anything other than God alone in worship would fall into the category of polytheism and paganism, it does not have to be literal idols. Hence, zoroastrians are included in our definition of pagans or polytheists. Frankly, it's really telling how the HN crowd is speaking so confidently about Islam all over this thread while not really having any idea.

[tboyd47]

You know, you're right about most of what you said, but when I looked into it, it seems that idol worshiper is the correct translation. In ibn Kathir you can find the narration. It's not a hadith but this at least shows that it's not a mistranslation or a revisionist stance. [0]

كَانَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَظْهَرَ فَارِسُ عَلَى الرُّومِ؛ لِأَنَّهُمْ أَصْحَابُ أَوْثَانٍ

I wasn't trying to offend anyone, just giving context. Maybe it comes down to whether you consider fire an idol. Muslims certainly would, but if you don't, I understand why you would take exception to that. Either way, it seems obvious that Christianity is closer to Islam than Zoroastrianism because of our shared belief in Jesus and the Israelite prophets. I wanted to highlight this in regards to the Roman-Arab connection. That was really my point, not to pass judgment on ancient Persians' beliefs.

[0]: http://www.quran-wiki.com/surah-overview.php?sura=30&aya=1

[glitchc]

Hit a nerve, did I? And yet folks, you included, are speaking about Zoroastrianism without having any idea. For the record, Zoroastrianism is widely recognized as a monotheistic faith, in fact the world's oldest recorded monotheistic faith [1]. The characterization as pagan or polytheistic is an Islamic interpretation and has no basis in truth.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism

[commentreply1]

>and has no basis in truth

Whose truth?