9. THE STORY OF MOOSA AND AL-KHIDR
Allah, Most High, says, “And (remember) when Moosa said to his servant, ‘I will not give up (traveling) until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and years in traveling.’ But when they reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish, and it took its way through the sea as in a tunnel. So when they passed further on (beyond that fixed place), Moosa said to his servant, ‘Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey.’ He said, ‘Do you remember when we took ourselves to the rock? I indeed forgot the fish; none but Shaitan made me forget it. It took its course into the sea in a strange (way)!’ (Moosa) said, ‘That is what we have been seeking.’ So they went back retracing their footsteps. Then they found one of Our slaves, unto whom We had bestowed Mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us. Moosa said to him (Al-Khidr), ‘May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance and true path) which you have been taught (by Allah)?’ He (Al-Khidr) said, ‘Verily! You will not be able to have patience with me! And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not?’ Moosa said, ‘If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you in aught.’ He (Al-Khidr) said, ‘Then, if you follow me, ask me not about anything till I myself mention it to you.’ So they both proceeded, till, when they boarded the ship, he (Al-Khidr) scuttled it. Moosa said, ‘Have you scuttled it in order to drown its people? Verily, you have committed a thing imran (a munkar – evil, bad, dreadful thing).’ He (Al-Khidr) said, ‘Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ (Moosa) said, ‘Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you).’ Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, and he (Al-Khidr) killed him. Moosa said, ‘Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have committed a thing nukran (a great munkar – prohibited, evil, dreadful thing)!’ (Al-Khidr) said, ‘Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ (Moosa) said, ‘If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.’ Then they both proceeded till, when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to entertain them. Then they found therein a wall about to collapse and he (Al-Khidr) set it up straight. (Moosa) said, ‘If you had wished, surely, you could have taken wages for it!’ (Al-Khidr) said, ‘This is the parting between me and you; I will tell you the interpretation of (those) things regarding which you were unable to have patience: As for the ship, it belonged to masakeen (poor people) working in the sea. So I wished to make a defective damage in it, as there was a king after them who seized every ship by force. And as for the boy, his parents were Believers, and we feared lest he should oppress them by rebellion and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should change him for them for one better in righteousness and near to mercy. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a Mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those (things) regarding which you could not be patient’.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:60-82)
And Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Sa‘eed Ibn Jubair that he said, “I said to ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him), ‘Nawf Al-Bikali claims that Moosa of the Children of Isra’eel was not Moosa, the companion of Al-Khidr’.” Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said, “Allah’s enemy tells a lie! Ubayy Ibn Ka‘b narrated to us that Allah’s Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Moosa got up to deliver a sermon before the Children of Isra’eel and he was asked, “Who is the most learned person among the people?” Moosa replied, “I (am the most learned).” Allah then admonished Moosa for he did not ascribe all knowledge to Allah only. (Then) came the Divine Inspiration: “Yes, one of Our slaves at the junction of the two seas is more learned than you.” Moosa said, “O, my Lord ! How can I meet him?” Allah said, “Take a fish in a basket and wherever the fish is lost, follow it (you will find him at that place). So Moosa set out along with his slave, Yoosha‘ Ibn Noon, and they carried with them a fish till they reached a rock and rested there. Moosa put his head down and slept. (Sufyan, a sub-narrator said that somebody other than ‘Amr said:) “At the rock there was a water spring called ‘Al-Hayat’ and none came in touch with its water but became alive. Some of the water of that spring fell over that fish, so it moved and slipped out of the basket and entered the sea. When Moosa woke up, he said to his servant, “Bring us our morning meal.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:62) The narrator added: Moosa did not suffer from fatigue except after he had passed the place he had been ordered to observe. His servant, Yoosha‘ (Joshua) said to him, “Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the rock? I indeed forgot the fish; none but Shaitan made me forget it. It took its course into the sea in a strange (way)!” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18.63) The narrator added, “So they came back, retracing their steps and then they found in the sea, the way of the fish looking like a tunnel. So there was an astonishing event for his slave, and there was a tunnel for the fish. When they reached the rock, they found a man covered with a garment. Moosa greeted him. The man said astonishingly, “Is there any such greeting in your land?” Moosa said, “I am Moosa.” The man said, “Moosa of the Children of Isra’eel?” Moosa said, “Yes,” and added, “May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance and true path) which you have been taught (by Allah)?” (18.66) Al-Khidr said to him, “O, Moosa! You have something of Allah’s knowledge which Allah has taught you and which I do not know; and I have something of Allah’s knowledge which Allah has taught me and which you do not know.” Moosa said, “But I will follow you.” Al-Khidr said, “Then if you follow me, ask me no question about anything until I myself speak to you concerning it.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:70) After that both of them proceeded along the seashore. There passed by them a boat whose crew recognized Al-Khidr and received them on board free of charge. So they both got on board. A sparrow came and sat on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak unto the sea. Al-Khidr said to Moosa, “My knowledge and your knowledge and all the creation’s knowledge compared to Allah’s knowledge is not more than the water taken by this sparrow’s beak.” Then Moosa was startled by Al-Khidr’s action of taking an adze and scuttling the boat with it. Moosa said to him, “These people gave us a free lift, but you intentionally scuttled their boat so as to drown them. “In order to drown its people? Verily, you have committed a thing imran (a munkar – evil, bad, dreadful thing) He (Al-Khidr) said, Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me? Moosa said, “call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not haved upon me for my affair (with you).” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:71-73) Then they both proceeded and found a boy playing with other boys. Al-Khidr took hold of him by the head and cut it off. Moosa said to him, “Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have committed a thing nukran (a great munkar – prohibited, evil, dreadful thing)!” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:74) He said, “Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?” – up to “…but they refused to entertain them. Then they found therein a wall about to collapse.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:75-77) Al-Khidr moved his hand thus and set it upright (repaired it). Moosa said to him, “When we entered this town, they neither gave us hospitality nor fed us; if you had wished, you could have taken wages for it,” Al-Khidr said, “This is the parting between me and you; I will tell you the interpretation of (those) things regarding which you were unable to have patience.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:78)
Allah’s Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “We wished that Moosa could have been more patient so that He (Allah) could have described to us more about their story.”
Sa‘eed Ibn Jubair said that ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) used to recite, “as there was a king before them who seized every ship by force.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:79) and he used to recite, “And as for the boy, he was a disbeliever and his parents were Believers.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:80).”
And He, Most High, says, “And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man, and your Lord intended that they should attain their age of full strength and take out their treasure as a Mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of those (things) regarding which you could not be patient.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:82) As-Suhaili said that they were Asram and Sareem, the sons of Kashih. “…and there was under it a treasure belonging to them.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:82) According to ‘Ikrimah, it was gold. ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) said that it was knowledge. What appears most likely is that it was a golden tablet on which knowledge was written.
He, Most High, says, “…and their father was a righteous man.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:82) It was said that he was the seventh father and it was also said that he was the tenth. At all events, in it there is evidence that the righteous man is protected in his offspring and Allah is the One Whose Help is sought. And He, Most High, says, “…as a Mercy from your Lord.” (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:82) This proves that he was a Prophet and that he did nothing of his own accord; rather, he acted in accordance with the Command of his Lord, which means that he was a Prophet. It was also said that he was a Messenger and also that he was a Wali. But stranger than that is the claim of those who said that he was an angel.
By Ibn Katheer
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