Musa and al - Khidr

[1mran]

Musa and al - Khidr

[Taken from The Noble Quran, Surah Al – Khaf 18: 60 – 82; and Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 3, Number 124; Volume 4, Book 55, Number 613; Volume 6, Book 60, Number 249; Volume 6, Book 60, Number 25]


The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Once the Prophet Moses stood up and addressed Bani Israel. He was asked,





"Who is the most learned man amongst the people.”





He said, "I am the most learned."





Allah admonished Moses as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to Him (Allah). So Allah inspired to him "At the junction of the two seas there is a slave amongst my slaves who is more learned than you."





Moses said, "O my Lord! How can I meet him?"





Allah said: Take a fish in a large basket (and proceed) and you will find him at the place where you will lose the fish.





So Moses set out along with his (servant) boy, Yusha' bin Nuin and carried a fish in a large basket till they reached a rock, where they laid their heads (i.e. lay down) and slept.





“And (remember) when Mûsa (Moses) said to his boy-servant: "I will not give up (travelling) until I reach the junction of the two seas or (until) I spend years and years in travelling." (Al-Kahf 18:60)





The fish came out of the basket and it took its way into the sea as in a tunnel.





“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.” (Al-Kahf 18:61)





So it was an amazing thing for both Moses and his (servant) boy. They proceeded for the rest of that night and the following day. Moses did not get tired till he passed the place about which he was told. When the day broke, Moses said to his (servant) boy:





So when they had passed further on (beyond that fixed place), Mûsa (Moses) said to his boy-servant: "Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue in this, our journey." (Al-Kahf 18:62)





There the (servant) boy told Moses, "Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the rock? I indeed forgot the fish, none but Shaitân (Satan) made me forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a strange (way)!" (Al-Kahf 18:63)





Moses remarked, "That is what we have been seeking." So they went back retracing their footsteps. (Al-Kahf 18:64)





There they saw a man covered with a garment (or covering himself with his own garment).





“Then they found one of Our slaves, unto whom We had bestowed mercy from Us, and whom We had taught knowledge from Us.” (Al-Kahf 18:65)





Moses greeted him. Al-Khidr replied saying, "How do people greet each other in your land?"





Moses said, "I am Moses."





He asked, "The Moses of Bani Israel?"





Moses replied in the affirmative 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 Allâh)?" (Al-Kahf 18:66)





Al-Khidr replied, "Verily! You will not be able to have patience with me! "And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not?" (Al-Kahf 18:68)





I have some of the knowledge of Allah which He has taught me and which you do not know, while you have some knowledge which Allah has taught you which I do not know."





Moses said, "If Allâh will, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you in aught." (Al-Kahf 18:69)





“He (Khidr) said: "Then, if you follow me, ask me not about anything till I myself mention it to you." (Al-Kahf 18:70)





So both of them set out walking along the sea-shore, as they did not have a boat. In the meantime a boat passed by them and they requested the crew of the boat to take them on board. The crew recognized Al-Khidr and took them on board without fare.



Then a sparrow came and stood on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak once or twice in the sea. Al-Khidr said: "O Moses! My knowledge and your knowledge have not decreased Allah's knowledge except as much as this sparrow has decreased the water of the sea with its beak." Al-Khidr went to one of the planks of the boat and plucked it out. Moses said, "These people gave us a free lift but you have broken their boat and scuttled it so as to drown its people."





So they both proceeded, till, when they embarked the ship, he (Khidr) scuttled it. Mûsa (Moses) said: "Have you scuttled it in order to drown its people? Verily, you have committed a thing "Imra" (a Munkar - evil, bad, dreadful thing)." (Al-Kahf 18:71)





He (Khidr) said: "Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me?" (Al-Kahf 18:72)





Moses said, “"Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you)." (Al-Kahf 18:73)





The first (excuse) of Moses was that he had forgotten. Then they proceeded further and found a boy playing with other boys. Al-Khidr took hold of the boy's head from the top and plucked it out with his hands (i.e. killed him).





“Then they both proceeded, till they met a boy, he (Khidr) killed him.





Mûsa (Moses) said: "Have you killed an innocent person who had killed none? Verily, you have committed a thing "Nukra" (a great Munkar - prohibited, evil, dreadful thing)!" (Al-Kahf 18:74)





Al-Kha,dir replied, "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me?" (Al-Kahf 18:75)





[Mûsa (Moses)] said: "If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me." (Al-Kahf 18:76)





“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 (Khidr) set it up straight.





[Mûsa (Moses)] said: If you had wished, surely, you could have taken wages for it!" (Al-Kahf 18:77)





Al-Khidr replied, "This is the parting between me and you, I will tell you the interpretation of (those) things over which you were unable to hold patience.” (Al-Kahf 18:78)





"As for the ship, it belonged to Masâkîn (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) over which you could not hold patience." (Al-Kahf 18:79 - 82)










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[This part is taken from the Lessons described by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, in his lectures series "The Foundations of Islamic Studies"]





There are many great lessons one can derive from this beautiful and inspiring story. One of them is the concept of “little Evil, for greater Good”





Clearly, the things Al – Khidr did can be seen as evil. He broke part of the boat, killed a boy, and helped an evil people.





But why? He later explains to Musa why.





The damaging of the boat was so that an oppressive king won’t take it.


The killing of the boy was because he would grow up to be oppressive to the parents


And the helping of the villagers was in fact for the two orphans.

Another thing to reflect upon is the blessings of Allah. When He takes something from you, He always returns it either in the same form or better!





The boat was only damaged to an extent that it would be left alone by the king, however it could easily be fixed and hence they were able to keep the boat, which was in fact their livelihood


The boy would have been bad, and Allah didn’t only save the parents from a horrible fitnah, but will bless them with a good child after. [This makes you think. All those parent that loose children who are young; they start hating Allah and don’t understand why their child was taken from them. But it is only on the day of judgement when they will be told that their child would have been infact oppressive to them and this was a test to see if they would have patience and Imaan!!]


As for the villagers, they without doubt would have stolen the treasure of the orphans if they had known about its. So Allah was taking care of the children [of righteous parents]. This tells you a lot about those who worry about the future of their children.


Evil is from Allah. But Allah does don’t create anything purely Evil. Everything thing Evil in this Life has some good in it. This is evident in the above story.





Other examples of this include:-



When Allah created Iblees and knew he would become evil, why did He not just destroy him? Simple, because shaytan would be a fitnah to Adam and hence would make him sin. This in turn, made Adam turn to repentance and repentance is one of the best of ibadaats. It truly is a blessing and something we would have not had if iblees had not tricked Adam.


When someone comes to you with a needle and says he wants to inject you. Obviously you would run away from that crazy person. But when we are ill and need a jab/injection, what do we do? We go to the doctor and he gives us one. Certainly that act of injecting you is evil because of the pain you will feel? Yes, but the benefit (cure) is worth that small pain and you will accept it without question.


Hence, if that’s the case, then surely everything in our lives happens for a reason? Things happen that we may not understand or even like, but if we reflect in the wisdom of Allah’s actions, we will realise that everything that happens, is infact good for us. Some people say “Well, I don’t see what good some of the pains in my life has”.





The reply to this is a saying, “the ignorance of something, is not knowledge of it.” I.e. just because you don’t know about the benefit, doesn’t mean its not there!!





Its true that sometimes the benefits are obvious and sometimes we will never see the benefits, but we should holdfast on the rope of Allah and seek help in patience and Salah:-





“And seek help in patience and As-Salât (the prayer) and truly it is extremely heavy and hard except for Al-Khâshi'ûn [i.e. the true believers in Allâh - those who obey Allâh with full submission, fear much from His Punishment, and believe in His Promise (Paradise, etc.) and in His Warnings (Hell, etc.)].” (Al-Baqarah 2:45)



“… and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allâh knows but you do not know.” (Al-Baqarah 2:216)





And Allah Knows Best

[1mran]

Assalam alaikum

ther were some comments about Al-Khidr that may arise insha'Allah



Why was he named so?

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Al-Khadir was named so because he sat over a barren white land, it turned green with plantation after (his sitting over it)." [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 614]




Is he Alive?

Most probably not!

the evidence is:-

No1 lives forever, and if anyone did, it would be the Prophet (peace be upon him:-

And We granted not to any human being immortality before you (O Muhammad SAW), then if you die, would they live forever? (Al-Anbiya 21:34)

Also, al-Khidr was most likely a prophet of Allah, because of the knowledge bestowed on him and because of how Musa and the the prophet muhammad (peace be upon him) spoke about him.

and if Khidr was alive at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) surely he would have come and followed him?

the evidence that Prophets would help the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is:-

And (remember) when Allâh took the Covenant of the Prophets, saying: "Take whatever I gave you from the Book and Hikmah (understanding of the Laws of Allâh, etc.), and afterwards there will come to you a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) confirming what is with you; you must, then, believe in him and help him." Allâh said: "Do you agree (to it) and will you take up My Covenant (which I conclude with you)?" They said: "We agree." He said: "Then bear witness; and I am with you among the witnesses (for this)." (Aali Imran 3:81)


and if we do say he was alive at the time of the Prophet peace be upon him, thn he is definetly dead now because of this hadith:-


'Abdullah b. Umar reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) led us 'Isha' prayer at the latter part of the night and when he had concluded it by salutations he stood up and said: Have you seen this night of yours? At the end of one hundred years after this none would survive on the surface of the earth (from amount my Companions).

Ibn Umar said: People were (not understanding) these words of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) which had been uttered pertaining to one hundred years. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in fact meant (by these words) that on that day none from amongst those who had been living upon the earth (from amongst his Companions) would survive (after one hundred years) and that would be the end of this generation. [Sahih Muslim, Book 031, Number 6160]

so after 100 years, all that generation had died.

and also, scholars like Imam Bukhari, Ibn Taymiyah, Ibn Al-Jawzi, Ibn katheer, etc have all said Khidr is dead, from the sound narrations.

Most people who say he is alive are Sufis. why do they say that? because they believe in something called "hidden knowledge", they believe this hidden knowledge was transmitted from the Prophet peace be upon him, to Ali (or some other "special" people) and normally, each Isnad (or chain) of narrations of that hidden knowledge has Khidr in the middle!! :huh: , and ofcourse scholars of hadith have prooved these chains to be fabricated.

but this is what sufis, shias, and other deviant sects do... they use fabricated hadith and misinterpretation of the quran to justify there error..

Here is an example:

"ON KASHF AND MUKAASHAFAAT" http://www.sunnah.org/tasawwuf/kashf001.html

They say, "it is well-known that he (Imam Nawawi) used to meet with al-Khidr (as)" and converse with him among many other mukaashafaat "


and Allah knows best

[Abu_Abdillah2000]

and if we do say he was alive at the time of the Prophet peace be upon him, thn he is definetly dead now because of this hadith:-


'Abdullah b. Umar reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) led us 'Isha' prayer at the latter part of the night and when he had concluded it by salutations he stood up and said: Have you seen this night of yours? At the end of one hundred years after this none would survive on the surface of the earth (from amount my Companions).

Ibn Umar said: People were (not understanding) these words of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) which had been uttered pertaining to one hundred years. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in fact meant (by these words) that on that day none from amongst those who had been living upon the earth (from amongst his Companions) would survive (after one hundred years) and that would be the end of this generation. [Sahih Muslim, Book 031, Number 6160]

so after 100 years, all that generation had died.

That hadith is not clear enough proof to definitely say for sure that al-Khidhr is dead. Why? Because according to the hadith of Fatimah bint Qays, in which there is the story of Tamim ad-Dari and his journey to the island where the Dajjal was being kept in chains, it is clearly mentioned that the Dajjal was living at that time and will stay alive until the time that he comes out, following which he will be killed by 'Isa ('alayhis-salam). The fact that the Dajjal was on earth is proven by the saying of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam) in the same hadith that "he is in the east."

And as you can see, the very quotes that you have brought indicate that the people referred to in the hadith are the Prophet's companions (sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam wa-radhiyallahu 'anhum).

However, regarding the issue of al-Khidhr, I tend to incline towards the view of al-Bukhari and Ibn Taymiyyah and the others who said that he has died. This is because of the fact that there is no clear and authentic hadith stating otherwise, wallahu a'lam.

[1mran]

That hadith is not clear enough proof to definitely say for sure that al-Khidhr is dead. Why? Because according to the hadith of Fatimah bint Qays, in which there is the story of Tamim ad-Dari and his journey to the island where the Dajjal was being kept in chains, it is clearly mentioned that the Dajjal was living at that time and will stay alive until the time that he comes out, following which he will be killed by 'Isa ('alayhis-salam). The fact that the Dajjal was on earth is proven by the saying of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam) in the same hadith that "he is in the east."

And as you can see, the very quotes that you have brought indicate that the people referred to in the hadith are the Prophet's companions (sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam wa-radhiyallahu 'anhum).

However, regarding the issue of al-Khidhr, I tend to incline towards the view of al-Bukhari and Ibn Taymiyyah and the others who said that he has died. This is because of the fact that there is no clear and authentic hadith stating otherwise, wallahu a'lam.


Thats true, that occured to me too.

But i thought it possible that the Dajjal was an exception, just like shaytan? because only Allah knows when the Dajjal was put there, and we do know that he will die, so he's not immortal.

or maybe the sheikh used that hadith because it said "companions" and if Khidr was alive, he probably would have been with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)

and Allah knows best

Just incase someone is not aware of what story the brother reffered to, here is the long hadith:-


Amir b. Sharahil Sha'bi Sha'b Hamdan reported that he asked Fatima, daughter of Qais and sister of ad-Dahhak b. Qais and she was the first amongst the emigrant women: Narrate to me a hadith which you had heard directly from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and there is no extra link in between them. She said: Very well, if you like, I am prepared to do that, and he said to her: Well, do It and narrate that to me. She said: I married the son of Mughira and he was a chosen young man of Quraish at that time, but he fell as a martyr in the first Jihad (fighting) on the side of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). When I became a widow, 'Abd al-Rahman b. Auf, one amongst the group of the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), sent me the proposal of marriage. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) also sent me such a message for his freed slave Usama b. Zaid. And it had been conveyed to me that Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him) had said (about Usama): He who loves me should also love Usima. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) talked to me (about this matter), I said: My affairs are in your hand. You may marry me to anyone whom you like. He said: You better shift now to the house of Umm Sharik, and Umm Sharik was a rich lady from amongst the Anqir. She spent generously for the cause of Allah and entertained guests very hospitably. I said: Well, I will do as you like. He said: Do not do that for Umm Sharik is a woman who is very frequently vizited by guests and I do not like that your head may be uncovered or the cloth may be removed from your shank and the strangers may catch sight of them which you abhor. You better shift to the house of your cousin 'Abdullah b. 'Amr b. Umm Maktum and he is a person of the Bani Fihr branch of the Quraish, and he belonged to that tribe (to which Fatima) belonged. So I shifted to that house, and when my period of waiting was over, I heard the voice of an announcer making an announcement that the prayer would be observed in the mosque (where) congregational prayer (is observed).

So I set out towards that mosque and observed prayer along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and I was in the row of the women which was near the row of men. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) had finished his prayer, he sat on the pulpit smiling and said: Every worshipper should keep sitting at his place. He then said: Do you know why I had asked you to assemble? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: By Allah. I have not made you assemble for exhortation or for a warning, but I have detained you here, for Tamim Dari, a Christian, who came and accepted Islam, told me something, which agrees with what I was-telling, yuu about the Dajjal. He narrated to me that he had sailed in a ship along with thirty men of Bani Lakhm and Bani Judham and had been tossed by waves in the ocean for a month. Then these (waves) took them (near) the land within the ocean (island) at the time of sunset. They sat in a small side-boat and entered that Island. There was a beast with long thick hair (and because of these) they could not distinguish his face from his back. They said: Woe to you, who can you be? Thereupon it said: I am al-Jassasa. They said: What is al-Jassasa? And it said: O people, go to this person in the monastery as he is very much eager to know about you. He (the narrator) said: When it named a person for us we were afraid of it lest it should be a Devil. Then we hurriedly went on till we came to that monastery and found a well-built person there with his hands tied to his neck and having iron shackles between his two legs up to the ankles. We said: Woe be upon thee, who are you? And he said: You would soon come to know about me. but tell me who are you. We said: We are people from Arabia and we embarked upon a boat but the sea-waves had been driving us for one month and they brought as near this island. We got Into the side-boats and entered this island and here a beast met us with profusely thick hair and because of the thickness of his hair his face could not be distinguished from his back. We said: Woe be to thee, who are you? It said: I am al- Jassasa. We said: What is al-Jassasa? And it said: You go to this very person in the monastery for he is eagerly waiting for you to know about you. So we came to you in hot haste fearing that that might be the Devil. He (that chained person) said: Tell me about the date-palm trees of Baisan. We &aid: About what aspect of theirs do you seek information? He said: I ask you whether these trees bear fruit or not.

We said: Yes Thereupon he said: I think these would not bear fruits. He said: Inform me about the lake of Tabariyya? We said: Which aspect of it do you want to know? He said: Is there water in it? They said: There is abundance of water in it. Thereupon he said: I think it would soon become dry. He again said: Inform me about the spring of Zughar. They said: Which aspect of it you want to know? He (the chained person) said: Is there water in it and does it irrigate (the land)? We said to him: Yes, there is abundance of water in it and the inhabitants (of Medina) irrigate (land) with the help of it, He said: Inform me about the unlettered Prophet; what has he done? We said: He has come out from Mecca and has settled In Yathrib (Medina). He said: Do the Arabs fight against him? We said: Yes. He said: How did he deal with him? We informed him that he had overcome those in his neighbourhood and they had submitted themselves before him. Thereupon he said to us: Had it actually happened? We said: Yes. Thereupon he said: If it is so that is better for them that they should show obedience to him. I am going to tell you about. myself and I am Dajjal and would be soon permitted to get out and so I shall get out and travel in the land, and will not spare any town where I would not stay for forty nights except Mecca and Medina as these two (places) are prohibited (areas) for me and I would not make an attempt to enter any one of these two. An angel with a sword in his hand would confront me and would bar my way and there would be angels to guard every passage leading to it; then Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) striking the pulpit with the help of the end of his staff said: This implies Taiba meaning Medina. Have I not, told you an account (of the Dajjal) like this? 'The people said: Yes, and this account narrated by Tamim Dari was liked by me for it corroborates the account which I gave to you in regard to him (Dajjal) at Medina and Mecca. Behold he (Dajjal) is in the Syrian sea (Mediterranian) or the Yemen sea (Arabian sea). Nay, on the contrary, he As In the east, he is in the east, he is in the east, and he pointed with his hand towards the east. I (Fatima bint Qais) said: I preserved It In my mind (this narration from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him

[Sahih Muslim, Book 041, Number 7028]