The Referent of the Pronoun “minhu”

There are two possibilities for the referent of the pronoun “minhu” in “I will recite to you a mention of him”: God, or Dhū al-Qarnayn.(14) If the pronoun refers to God and dhikr means the verses of the Noble Qur’an themselves, the verse means: I will soon recite to you a verse or verses from God – “I will recite to you from God a verse or verses”. If the pronoun refers to Dhū al-Qarnayn and dhikr means his story and history, the verse means: I will tell you the story of Dhū al-Qarnayn. A third possibility is that the pronoun refers to Dhū al-Qarnayn but dhikr means the Qur’an and its verses. The first possibility is the more fitting, and it is supported by the fact that “Indeed We established him”(15), which opens the recitation, is the speech of God the Glorified. Had the discourse centred on Dhū al-Qarnayn, the pronoun “fīhi” would have referred to him; but the pivot of the discourse and the original starting point of the account is the mention of God’s gifts to Dhū al-Qarnayn, and the original source of dhikr is none other than God.