2.2 The Junction Of The Two Waters
Wensinck has already admitted that there is no connection between the madjma` al-bahrayn or "junction of the two seas (or rivers)" with Gilgamesh's "mouth of the rivers" or with the Alexander stories. Let us summarise the issue of the waters and the difference between the various accounts:[18]
In the Epic of Gilgamesh Utnapishtim is said to reside at the "mouth of the waters." The Akkadian phrase ina pi narati has also been understood to mean the "head of the waters," signifying the junction and source of the waters flowing from Dilmun, the Sumerian equivalent of the Garden of Eden. Both of these water sources are associated, in different contexts, with the Garden of Eden, although in the Epic of Gilgamesh the water at the "mouth of the waters" is not considered to grant immortality.

In the Alexander stories the water is supposed to be located at or flow from a source in the Garden of Eden.

In the Qur'anic commentaries, the expression madjma` al-bahrayn ("the junction of the two waters") is understood in variety of ways. Some of them contain allusions to elements from the Gilgamesh Epic and Alexander stories; some consider it to be the meeting place of Mediterranean Sea (i.e., "Roman" Sea) and Indian Ocean (i.e., "Persian" Sea). The meeting place of the two waters was identified with the "Garden of Eden". Is this from the commenraries or opinions?
Wheeler says that the Qur'anic exegesis were not familiar with the name of Gilgamesh, though they were familiar with certain elements of the Gilgamesh story, notably Gilgamesh's journey to Utnapishtim. It is possible that in late antiquity and beyond, the Gilgamesh story was known through the medium of the Alexander stories and that the figure of Alexander represented Gilgamesh.[19]
3. Conclusions

It was claimed by Wensinck that specific elements in Qur'an 18:60-65 were borrowed from the Epic of Gilgamesh such as the "meeting place of the two waters" and the supposedly immortal "servant of God". Wheeler pointed out that the connection seen by Wensinck are not based on Qur'an 18:60-65 but on the information attributed to these verses in the Qur'anic commentaries.
Wensinck does not make any distinction between the Qur'an and its commentaries. The commentaries give no indication of being aware of the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is most likely that the Qur'anic commentaries used elements present in the Epic of Gilgamesh (which surfaced in the Alexander stories) along with the stories associated with the Sa`b Dhul-Qarnayn to explain Qur'an 18:60-82.


References & Notes

[1] "Gilgamesh Epic", Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopaedia, ©1995 Funk & Wagnalls Corporation, Infopedia 2.0, SoftKey Multimedia Inc.
[2] "Al-Khadir", Encyclopaedia Of Islam, 1978, Volume IV, E. J. Brill (Leiden) & Luzac & Co. (London), pp. 902.
[3] ibid., p. 902-903.
[4] ibid., p. 903.
[5] ibid.
[6] C. C. Torrey, The Jewish Foundation Of Islam, 1967, Ktav Publishing House, Inc.: New York, pp. 123-125.
[7] Ibn Warraq,Why I Am Not A Muslim, 1995, Prometheus Books: Amherst, NY, p. 60.
[8] B. Meissner,Alexander Und Gilgamos, 1894, Druck von A. Pries: Leipzig.
[9] B. M. Wheeler, "Moses Or Alexander? Early Islamic Exegesis Of Qur'an 18:60-65", Journal Of Near Eastern Studies, 1998, Volume 57, p. 204.
[10] E. A. W. Budge, The History Of Alexander The Great Being The Syriac Version Of The Pseudo-Callisthenes, 1889, Cambridge: At The University Press, lines 170-197 on pp. 172-175.
[11] R. Stoneman, The Greek Alexander Romance, 1991, Penguin Books, pp. 119-122.
[12] B. M. Wheeler, "Moses Or Alexander? Early Islamic Exegesis Of Qur'an 18:60-65", Journal Of Near Eastern Studies, op cit., p. 205.
[13] M. Lidzbarski, "Wer Ist Chadhir?", Zeitschrift Für Assyriologie Und Verwandte Gebiete, 1892, Volume 7, p. 111.
[14] B. M. Wheeler, "Moses Or Alexander? Early Islamic Exegesis Of Qur'an 18:60-65", Journal Of Near Eastern Studies, op cit., p. 206.
[15] ibid., pp. 206-207.
[16] ibid., p. 208.
[17] ibid.
[18] ibid., pp. 208-209.
[19] ibid., p. 210.