Was Quranic story of Dhul Qarnain taken from Flavius Josephus?A response to atheists and orientalists objection on Quran

Was Quranic story of Dhul Qarnain taken from Flavius Josephus?A response to atheists  and orientalists objection on Quran
This objection was not fully answered by any muslim.So I decided to do research on it and reply it.
Compiled and written by Dr Ahead Hassan

In the first century AD, the Jewish historian Josephus wrote in the Jewish Wars, VII, vii, that "a nation of the Alans, which we have formerly mentioned some where as being Scythians" travelled through "a passage which king Alexander [the Great] shut up with iron gates." That's over 500 years before the Quran there.
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37–100 AD) mentions that:
...a nation of the Alans, whom we have previously mentioned elsewhere as being Scythians ... travelled through a passage which King Alexander [the Great] shut up with iron gates.
Josephus also records that the people of Magog, the Magogites, were synonymous with the Scythians. According to Andrew Runni Anderson, this merely indicates that the main elements of the story were already in place six centuries before the Qur'an's revelation, not that the story itself was known in the cohesive form apparent in the Qur'anic account.
The orientalists and atheists say that there might have been  an Arabic copy of Josephus that's among the earliest non-Quranic literature in the language we have on record. Some have even dated it to before the Quran was written, though that seems to be unbelievable since written Arabic hardly existed before the Quran. Still, the early translation is evidence of the text's familiarity to the Arabs, at least Arabic scholars
When did the Arabic version of Jospehus appear? So far, atheists and orientalists have not given any references. And what evidence is there that Muslims scholars have translated Josephus?
What type of Jewish literature was circulating in Arabia during the time of the Prophet?
Moreover, Surah 18 was revealed in mecca during the third stage of Muhammad's Prophethood. I'm sure you are quite aware that Jews were heavily located in Medina during that period, not .But there is no proof of arabic copy of josrphus before islam.so quran is right.
Now,  they are saying that Josephus is the source of the Quran. Was Josephus' materials available in Mecca during the time of Muhammad(pbuh)?
The only preIslamic Arabic documents were poetries written by various individuals. Sure, there are inscriptions on rocks which can be seen at www.islamic-awareness.org, but I've never heard of an Arabic copy of Josphus which predates Islam. Can you show me the manuscript of one such copy?
Remember, what Josepshus or anyone else stated as HIS opinion matters very little. It is what the Qur'an or the Hadeeths actually say that matter. Ali, for example, said Qarnayn means two braids (from the meaning bound together). He never said two Horns. You never quote that part.
Josephan scholar Louis Feldman highlights several of the misconceptions about the Jewish people that were being circulated in Josephus' time. In particular, the Jews were thought to lack great historical figures and a credible history of their people. They were also accused of harboring hostility toward non-Jews, and were thought to be generally lacking in loyalty, respect for authority, and charity.With these harsh accusations against the Jews fluttering about the Roman empire, Josephus, formerly Joseph ben Matthias, set out to provide a Hellenized version of the Jewish history. Such a work is often called an "apologia," as it pleads the case of a group of people or set of beliefs to a larger audience.
In order to accomplish this goal, Josephus omitted certain accounts in the Jewish narrative and even added a Hellenistic "glaze" to his work. For example, the "Song of the Sea" sung by Moses and the people of Israel after their deliverance at the Red Sea is completely omitted in Josephus' text. He does mention, however, that Moses composed a song to God in hexameter—a rather unusual (and Greek) metrical scheme for an ancient Hebrew. Josephus also writes that Abraham taught science to the Egyptians, who in turn taught the Greeks, and that Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which like Rome resisted monarchy. Thus, in an attempt to make the Jewish history more palatable to his Greco-Roman audience, the great figures of the biblical stories are presented as ideal philosopher-leaders.
Josephus received aid from Greek assistants (synergoi).  Two of these -- the principal assistants -- are most visible in the later books, where the author seems to have handed over composition to them.  Books 15-16 are the work of an assistant who also worked on the Jewish War, a cultured writer with a love of the Greek poets and Sophocles in particular.  Books 17-19 show the marked mannerisms of a hack, a slavish imitator of Thucydides.  In these books the two assistants have practically taken over the entire task.  In the earlier books they have lent occasional assistance.
Flavius Josephus Wikipedia free encyclopedia
The extant copies of this work, which all derive from Christian sources (even the recently recovered Arabic version), contain two disputed passages about Jesus. The long one has come to be known as the Testimonium Flavianum. If genuine, it is an early extrabiblical record of Jesus, and as such is sometimes cited as independent evidence for the historical existence of Jesus. The earliest complete Greek manuscript of the Antiquities dates from the eleventh century, the Ambrosianus 370 (F 128); preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
As is common with ancient texts, however, there are no surviving extant manuscripts of Josephus' works that can be dated before the 11th century, and the oldest of these are all Greek minuscules, copied by Christian monks
Feldman & Hata 1989, p. 431
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
There are about 120 extant Greek manuscripts of Josephus, of which 33 predate the 14th century, with two thirds from the Comnenoi period which means eleventh to twelfth century AD.
Baras 1987, p. 369
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus
In 1971, a 10th-century Arabic version of the Testimonium due to Agapius of Hierapolis was brought to light by Shlomo Pines who also discovered a 12th-century Syriac version of Josephus by Michael the Syrian.But no Syriac and Arabic version was present in Holy Prophet Muhammad s.a.w time.
Pines 1971, p. 19.
Maier 2007, pp. 336–337.
Feldman 2006, pp. 329–330.
Because manuscript transmission was done by hand-copying, typically by monastic scribes, almost all ancient texts have been subject to both accidental and deliberate alterations, emendations (called interpolation) or elisions.
Both the lack of any original corroborating manuscript source outside the Christian tradition as well as the practice of Christian interpolation has led to the scholarly debate regarding the authenticity of Josephus' references to Jesus in his work.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus_on_Jesus#Arabic_and_Syriac_Josephus
Claims that the Arabic passage itself dates from the 4th century are untenable (written Arabic barely existed at such an early date).
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/josephus-etal.html
I have been searching for Arabic and Syriac references to Josephus present in prophet Muhammad s.a.w time but no one is there and we also see that text was vulnerable to alterations and additions.So it  is very likely that the stories of Dhul Qarnain were ascribed to Alexander by josephus himself or othe other editors.
Arabic version of the Testimonium recounted in the Tenth Century work, "Book of the Title." The author was Agapius, a Christian Arab and Melkite bishop of Hierapolis. His recitation of the TF did not come to light until 1971. the most prominent Christian glosses were not a part of earlier manuscripts.so it is very likely that stories of Dhul Qarnain were ascribed to Alexander in later versions of Josephus.
http://www.bede.org.uk/Josephus.htm
The work in question is actually a history of the world to the year 941/942 penned by a Christian Arab bishop, Agapius of Hierapolis. His World History preserves, in Arabic translation, a version of the Testimonium minus the most obvious Christian interpolations.
More over,Dhul Qarnain story was present before Alexander and some people erroneously ascribed itto to Alexander.The jewish Rabbis certainly knew about dhul qarnain and he was mentioned in their books,so they inquired about it from Holy Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
 The earliest complete Greek manuscript of the Antiquities dates from the eleventh century, the Ambrosianus 370 (F 128); preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.so why to blame islam when it was not present even in greek at time of quran revelations
Clare K. Rothschild, "Echo of a Whisper": The Uncertain Authenticity of Josephus' Witness to John the Baptist, in David Hellholm, Tor Vegge, Ayvind Norderval, Christer Hellholm (editors), Ablution, Initiation, and Baptism: Late Antiquity, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity, page 273 (Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2011). ISBN 978-3-11-024751-0
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquities_of_the_Jews
Wikipedia explains that the Arabic term "Dhul Qarnayn" is equivalent to the Hebrew term "Ba'al Qarnayn," which appears in Daniel 8:20.
http://www.hashkafah.com/index.php?/topic/73151-cyrus-dhul-qarnayn/
 Baal-Qarnain according to Micha F. Lindemans was the Phoenician mountain-god, named "lord of the two horns" after the two mountains with the same name in the Gulf of Tunis.
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/baal-qarnain.html
Baal (/ˈbeɪəl/),properly Baʿal (Ugaritic: 𐎁𐎓𐎍;[5] Phoenician: 𐤋𐤏𐤁; Biblical Hebrew: בעל‎‎, pronounced [ˈbaʕal]),was a title and honorific meaning "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity.From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods.
It means that Baal qarnain was apresent real noble pre historic man who later was called God as it was done in ancient times to call noble men as Gods.The ere of Phoenician civilizations is around 1000 BC.
Smith (1878), pp. 175–176
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal
In Sumerian, the Akkadian bēlu and Northwest Semitic baʿal (as well as its feminine form baʿalah) was used as a title of various deities in the Mesopotamian and Semitic pantheons.and sumerian civilization existed ago 10th century BC implying that Baal Qarnain is very old figure.
Baʿal is well-attested in surviving inscriptions and was popular in theophoric names throughout the Levant.so history proves that men named Baal have passed in history and Baal qarnain may be one of them.
Baʿal appears about 90 times in the Hebrew Scriptures in reference to various gods.The noble men were called Baal among which Baal qarnain is one.see interpretation of the term Baal from
www.wikipedia.com
The title "The Two-Horned' was at least familiar to the Jews. This is evident from the fact they had instigated the Meccan unbelievers to ask the Prophet about him. One must, therefore, inevtiably turn to Jewish literature to find out who this person was or to establish what was the kingdom know as 'The Two-Horned.Alexander has no connection with Jews by the way
The word "qarn" in the Koran has one meaning and one meaning only:  It means: People or Nation.  Thus, he was called Zhulkarnein because he was a king of two peoples or two nations. 
http://www.answering-christianity.com/king_cyrus.htm
The books that constitute the Hebrew Bible developed over roughly a millennium. The oldest texts seem to come from the 11th or 10th centuries BCE, whilst most of the other texts are somewhat later. They are edited works, being collections of various sources intricately and carefully woven together.
Since the 19th century, most biblical scholars have agreed that the Pentateuch (the first five books of Scriptures) consists of four sources which have been woven together. These four sources are J (Yahwist), D (Deuteronomist), E (Elohist) and P (Priestly) sources. They were combined to form the Pentateuch sometime in the 6th century BCE. This theory is now known as the documentary hypothesis, and has been the dominant theory for the past two hundred years.
Hamilton, Mark (April 1998). "From Hebrew Bible to Christian Bible: Jews, Christians and the Word of God". Frontline. From Jesus to Christ. WGBH Educational Foundation.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_Bible
Now we see that according to Hadith of Qurtbi,Dhul Qarnain is also mentioned in Torah and we see that old Hebrew Bible was finally compiled in 6th century B.C which means that Dhul Qarnain was mentioned long before  Alexander.
According to some scholars,Dhul qarnain is mentioned in Telmud.The Talmud has two components: the Mishnah (Hebrew: משנה, c. 200 CE), a written compendium of Rabbinic Judaism's Oral Torah, and the Gemara (c. 500 CE), an elucidation of the Mishnah and related Tannaitic writings that often ventures onto other subjects and expounds broadly on the Hebrew Bible.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud
It means Dhul Qarnain was present in oral traditions and in written form in Talmud long before Alexander and his stories were hellenized and ascribed to Alexander by Josephus and other people.Alexander was mixed with stories of certain biblical legends and called saint by Christians of middle East leading to Syriac Christian legends of 7th century A.D in which Dhul Qarnain stories are ascribed to Alexander.
Like Gog and Magog, and Alexander the Great, a great wall in China was well-known about 2200 years ago.  A millennium later, a story existed, with learned support, that Alexander the Great built a wall in China to protect civilization from Gog and Magog.It is clearly showing that how vely old story of long before Alexander was ascribed to Alexander,same occurred with story of Dhul Qarnain building the wall against Gog Magog and conquering the world which appeared in Josephus and 7th century Christian legends of Syria or Syriac version of Romance of Alexander.
During the period of history during which the Alexander romance  (and Josephus )was written, little was known about the true historical Alexander the Great as most of the history of his conquests had been preserved in the form of folklore and legends. It was not until the Renaissance (1300–1600 AD) that the true history of Alexander III was rediscovered:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great_in_the_Quran
Since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC there has been no age in history, whether in the West or in the East, in which his name and exploits have not been familiar. And yet not only have all contemporary records been lost but even the work based on those records though written some four and a half centuries after his death, the Anabasis of Arrian, was totally unknown to the writers of the Middle Ages and became available to Western scholarship only with the Revival of Learning [the Renaissance]. The perpetuation of Alexander's fame through so many ages and amongst so many peoples is due in the main to the innumerable recensions and transmogrifications of a work known as the Alexander Romance or Pseudo-Callisthenes which is showing that how many myths and stories were dedicated to him.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great_in_the_Quran
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 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.
In reality, these fortifications were built by Persian monarchs. Derbent (Persian: دربند Darband, "closed gates"), was established in the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 6th century, when the city was refounded by Kavadh I of the Sassanid dynasty of Persia; The Great Wall of Gorgan during the Parthian dynasty.
And who knows how many more rulers built walls on top of which these recent ones were built. The Great Wall of China itself is multiple walls, one built on the ruins of another. It should also be noted that the newest rebuilding of the Great Wall of China (on top of much earlier ruins) was undertaken by the Ming Dynasty. A dynasty that started with the Chinese Emperor Hongwu who had this to say about Islam.
Considering that was a real even,we are not sure why it's been conflated with Alexander except as romanticization done by Roman Christians.
It makes no logical sense for everyone to pick Alexander since he didn't actually build any damn walls but Persian, Indian, and Chinese rulers did.
Apparently, building walls to keep out barbarians (especially those from the Steppe) was a very popular tactic among old world kings! (Maybe Donald Trump wants to add himself to that list?)
https://www.reddit.com/r/islam/wiki/dhulqarnayn/
But in Islamic history it is clearly put forward by the statement of Prophet Mohammed in the book Sahih Bukhari that the barrier was already broken during or before his time as it was symbolized in a dream.
“Narrated by Zainab bint Jahsh, “That the Prophet once came to her in a state of fear and said, “None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. Woe unto the Arabs  from a danger that has come near. An opening has been made in the wall of
Gog and Magog
 like this,” making a circle with his thumb and index finger. Zainab bint Jahsh said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we be destroyed even though there are pious persons among us?” He said, “Yes, when the evil person will increase.” Volume 4, Book 55, Number 565.

In between the ancient and the contemporary scholars, Meqrizi (c. 1380-1460 A.D.) suggested in his book "Al-Khotatt" that Zolqarnain was Sa'b, the king of Yemen. This suggestion was so important, but he made another remark, which was significant. He wrote: "Those who believe he was Iranian, Roman, or that he was Alexander of Macedon, are wrong" (quoted from "Cyrus the Great in the Qur'an and in the Old Testament", written by Fereydoun Badre'i, p. 110). These signified two points:
During his time, there were people who believed that Zolqarnain was an Iranian.It means that Dhul Qarnain story was present in old persions also and long before Alexander.So it is wrong to say that it was takenalso from Josephus while it is a reality present in many nstions of middle East.
Though there were many who believed Zolqarnain was Alexander, this opinion was considered wrong.
Just like Muslims have differences of opinion regarding the identity of Dhul-Qarnayn, the Jews are also divided on his identity. Some outright deny the existence of any such king while the other two groups are divided between Alexander the Macedonian and Persian King Cyrus۔
In a narration of Qurtbi,Jews asked Holy Prophet Muhammad s.a.w to tell the the name of a Prophet whose name is mentioned only once in Torah.He replied that his name is Dhul Qarnain.It means that Dhul Qarnain was mentioned long before Alexander in torah which was last compiled in 6th century B.C.
Given the close ties among the countries of the eastern Mediterranean, the Alexander legends became incorporated in Jewish traditions. He was originally portrayed as a vainglorious king but this changed when it couldn’t be reconciled with his success. A just, all-powerful God wouldn’t permit such success to a wicked ruler. So his image was transformed into one of that suited Jewish traditions, one in which he accepted the truth of the Jewish religion even if he himself didn’t believe in Judaism.
 http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/alexander-and-legends-of-the-middle-east.aspx?pageID=238&nID=49656&NewsCatID=375
http://lib.bazmeurdu.net/ذو-القرنین-۔۔۔-محمد-انور-ایوبی/
To put horn in crown was a sign of grace and dignity in ancient times as Solomon used to wear a crown with two horns.This is the reason that people call him Dhul Qarnain.It is also written in Zaboor(زبور ) chsdpter 75 that people and lords in ancient times used to put a crown on head with two horns.It is written in Zaboor
"I will cut all horns of the wicked people but the horns of the noble people will be raised to dignity(Zaboor 75:4)
It clearly shows that it was a very common practice in ancient times and it is not true to ascribe it to Alexander.
The name of a man called Dhul Qarnain was also present in prehistoric Persian people.Read the following

کتاب المنتظم فی تاريخ الأمم والملوك از ابن الجوزی (المتوفى: 597هـ) کے مطابق
الخضر قَدْ كَانَ قبل موسى، قَالَ الطبري : كَانَ فِي أَيَّام أفريدُونَ الْمَلِك بْن أثفيان. قَالَ: وقيل: إنه كَانَ عَلَى مقدمة ذي الْقَرْنَيْنِ الأكبر، الَّذِي كَانَ أَيَّام إِبْرَاهِيم.
وذي الْقَرْنَيْنِ عِنْدَ قوم هُوَ أفريدُونَ، وزعم بَعْضهم أَنَّهُ من ولد من كَانَ آمن بالخليل عَلَيْهِ السَّلام، وهاجر مَعَهُ من أرض بابل.
وَقَالَ عَبْد اللَّهِ بْن شوذب: الخضر من ولد فارس .
وَقَالَ ابْن إِسْحَاق: هُوَ من سبط هَارُون بْن عمران.
وقول من قَالَ: إنه كَانَ فِي زمان أفريدُونَ أَكْثَر من ألف سَنَة، والخضر قديم إلا أَنَّهُ لما كَانَ ذكره لَمْ ينبغ إلا في زمان موسى ذكرناه هاهنا.
And read Ibn Aseer in ذكر ملك أفريدون
وهو أفريدون بن أثغيان ، وهو من ولد جم شيد . وقد زعم بعض نسابة الفرس أن نوحا هو أفريدون الذي قهر الضحاك ، وسلبه ملكه ، وزعم بعضهم أن أفريدون هو ذو القرنين صاحب إبراهيم الذي ذكره الله في كلامه العزيز ، وإنما ذكرته في هذا الموضع لأن قصته في أولاده الثلاثة شبيهة بقصةنوح على ما سيأتي ولحسن سيرته ، وهلاك الضحاك على يديه ، ولأنه قيل إن هلاك الضحاك كان على يد نوح .
The summary of all this is that Khidr And Moses A.S were contemporary and Dhul Qarnain is very very ancient figure present not only  long before Alexander but also  Moses A.S when the writing of history has not yet commenced.The archaic Persian and Iranian people called Dhul Qarnain Afridoon and told him from the generation of prehistoric king of Persia,Jamshed and he is mentioned in very old traditions of Persia.Jamshed and faridoon are prehistoric and they were called prophets by Zoroastrians.
All of these factors show that the name and story of Dhul Qarnain was present in verly old traditions of jews and Persia and Dhul Qarnain was a prehistoric rather than a mythical figure.So it is absolutely wrong to say that Dhul Qarnain was a mythical figure and Quranic story of Dhul Qarnain was taken from Flavius Josephus.
الحمد للٰہ رب العلمین۔ھذا ما عندی۔و اللہ اعلم با الصواب