While speaking to Bani Israel, Prophet Musa was asked who the most knowledgeable person on Earth was. The Prophet answered: ‘I am’ Allah Almighty blamed Musa for his haste in answering, and for not crediting his Almighty for the knowledge he was proud of. Allah told Musa there was a man who was more knowledgeable. Musa requested Allah to show him how to reach this man, so Allah gave him directions, and asked him to take a fish in a basket. Musa set of to meet the wise man, taking his servant Yusha bin Noon and the fish. The group reached a rock, where they rested, and the two men fell asleep. The fish caught a sprinkle from a water spring called the Spring of Life. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) told the story: ‘At the bottom of the rock there was a water spring called the Spring of Life. Its water brings life back to anything it touches. The fish caught a sprinkle of that water, it went back to life, and jumped off the basket’. Allah stopped water from running in that location so the trail of the fish would remain.
When Prophet Musa woke up, he went ahead without checking on the fish. The Holy Quran tells the story: (And ˹remember˺ when Moses said to his young assistant, ‘I will never give up until I reach the junction of the two seas, even if I travel for ages.’ * But when they ˹finally˺ reached the point where the seas met, they forgot their ˹salted˺ fish, and it made its way into the sea, slipping away ˹wondrously˺). (When they had passed further, he said to his assistant, ‘Bring us our meal! We have certainly been exhausted by today’s journey.’ * He replied, ‘Do you remember when we rested by the rock? ˹That is when˺ I forgot the fish. None made me forget to mention this except Satan. And the fish made its way into the sea miraculously.’) (Moses responded, ‘That is ˹exactly˺ what we were looking for.’1 So they returned, retracing their footsteps. * There they found a servant of Ours, to whom We had granted mercy from Us and enlightened with knowledge of Our Own.) (Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you, provided that you teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?’ * He said, ‘You certainly cannot be patient ˹enough˺ with me.) * (And how can you be patient with what is beyond your ˹realm of˺ knowledge?’) (Moses assured ˹him˺, ‘You will find me patient, Allah willing, and I will not disobey any of your orders.’) * (He responded, ‘Then if you follow me, do not question me about anything until I ˹myself˺ clarify it for you.’) (So they set out, but after they had boarded a ship, the man made a hole in it. Moses protested, ‘Have you done this to drown its people? You have certainly done a terrible thing!’) (He replied, ‘Did I not say that you cannot have patience with me?’ * Moses pleaded, ‘Excuse me for forgetting, and do not be hard on me.’). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) elaborates on the story in this part: ‘A bird perched at the ship, and took a drink from the sea. Khidr said to Musa: “What you and me know is no more than what this bird had in its beak compared to the sea of Allah’s knowledge.* The two men left the ship and started walking on the coastline. Khidr saw a boy playing with his mates. He held his head and severed it, killing the boy. Prophet Muhammad says: “They went ahead, the saw a boy playing with his mates. KHidr held the boy and severed his head.* Musa expressed his dismay, horrified at the killing scene. Holly Quran says: (So they proceeded until they came across a boy, and the man killed him. Moses protested, “Have you killed an innocent soul, who killed no one? You have certainly done a horrible thing.”) (He answered, “Did I not tell you that you cannot have patience with me?” * Moses replied, “If I ever question you about anything after this, then do not keep me in your company, for by then I would have given you enough of an excuse.”) (So they moved on until they came to the people of a town. They asked them for food, but the people refused to give them hospitality. There they found a wall ready to collapse, so the man set it right. Moses protested, “If you wanted, you could have demanded a fee for this.”) (He replied, “This is the parting of our ways. I will explain to you what you could not bear patiently.) The ship and the damage: This was to avoid the wrath of an unjust king, who took every great ship from its owners. I wanted to cause it harm so the King does not wish to take it. After it passes the risk of confiscation, its owners can fix it again. Holly Quran says: (”As for the ship, it belonged to some poor people, working at sea. So I intended to damage it, for there was a ˹tyrant˺ king ahead of them who seizes every ˹good˺ ship by force.) (‘And as for the boy, his parents were ˹true˺ believers, and we1 feared that he would pressure them into defiance and disbelief. * So we hoped that their Lord would give them another, more virtuous and caring in his place.”) As for the wall, it belonged to two orphans in the town, whose father was a good believer in Allah. It protected a treasure for them, and Allah wanted to keep the treasure concealed until they came of age. Khidr then told Musa that anything he did was by orders from Allah. The Holly Quran says: (”And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and under the wall was a treasure that belonged to them, and their father had been a righteous man. So your Lord willed that these children should come of age and retrieve their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it ˹all˺ on my own. This is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently.”)
