One day, Mûsâ عليه السلام stood among the Banû Isrâ’îl and was giving them a reminder when a question was put to him: who was the most knowledgeable man? Mûsâ replied that he was the most knowledgeable, but Allah reproached him for not having attributed that knowledge to Him, for all knowledge comes from Allah and no human being, no matter how knowledgeable, possesses all knowledge.
One day, Mûsâ عليه السلام stood among the Banû Isrâ’îl and was giving them a reminder when a question was put to him: who was the most knowledgeable man? Mûsâ replied that he was the most knowledgeable, but Allah reproached him for not having attributed that knowledge to Him, for all knowledge comes from Allah and no human being, no matter how knowledgeable, possesses all knowledge.
Allah then informed Mûsâ that there existed, at the place where the two seas met, a servant to whom He had taught a knowledge that Mûsâ did not possess.
This news could have surprised Mûsâ عليه السلام, for Allah had granted him immense knowledge and had chosen him as a Messenger. Yet, when he learned that another servant of Allah knew something that he did not, he did not consider that he had nothing more to learn. On the contrary, he immediately wanted to know how to meet him.
So he asked:
— O Lord, how can I find him?
Allah then gave him a precise sign: Mûsâ was to take with him a fish and place it in a container. At the place where the fish would disappear, he would find the man he was seeking.
Mûsâ therefore set out with his young companion, Yûsha‘ Ibn Nûn.
Their goal was clear: to reach the place where the two seas met.
Mûsâ was determined to continue his journey until he found this servant of Allah, even if it were to take him a long time. The Qur’an reports his words:
“I will not stop until I reach the confluence of the two seas, even if I must walk for many years.”
A confluence is a place where two bodies of water meet.
So they advanced with the fish that was to serve as their sign, until they reached a rock where they stopped.
It was at this place that something extraordinary happened.
The fish they were carrying made its way to the sea.
The sign they were waiting for had just appeared.
But Mûsâ did not know it.
Yûsha‘ Ibn Nûn had seen what had happened, but he forgot to mention it to Mûsâ. So they resumed their journey and continued to move away from the place they were seeking without knowing that they had just passed it.
It was only after they had continued their march that Mûsâ felt the fatigue of the journey and asked his companion:
— Bring us our meal. We have encountered fatigue in this journey.
At that moment, Yûsha‘ suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
He then spoke of the rock where they had stopped and told Mûsâ that the fish had made its way into the sea in an astonishing manner.
Mûsâ understood immediately.
That was what they were seeking.
The sign given by Allah had appeared at the rock.
They had simply continued too far.
So Mûsâ said:
— That is exactly what we were seeking.
The two travelers retraced their steps, following exactly the path they had just taken until they found the place of the rock again.
And there, Mûsâ finally met the one for whom he had undertaken this journey.
A servant to whom Allah had given special knowledge
The Qur’an does not begin by giving him a long description, nor by recounting his past. It simply says that they found:
“one of Our servants to whom We had granted mercy from Us and to whom We had taught knowledge from Us.”
This man is known in the hadiths as Al-Khidr.
Mûsâ عليه السلام had just traveled all this way to learn from him, but he did not speak to him with pride nor as someone who demanded to be taught. He asked him with respect:
— May I follow you so that you may teach me some of what you have been taught of guidance?
Al-Khidr’s answer was astonishing.
He did not immediately say to him:
“Yes, come with me.”
He warned him:
— You will not be able to be patient with me.
Then he asked him a question that explained why:
— How could you be patient about things whose reality you do not know?
Mûsâ was going to see certain things, but he would not know their reasons.
He might observe an action without knowing what Allah had placed behind it.
And Al-Khidr knew that this ignorance would make patience difficult.
Mûsâ nevertheless replied:
— You will find me, if Allah wills, patient, and I will not disobey any of your orders.
Al-Khidr then agreed to let him accompany him, but on one condition:
— If you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I myself give you an explanation of it.
Mûsâ accepted.
The journey could begin.
The boat
Mûsâ and Al-Khidr set off together until they reached a boat.
The owners of the boat knew Al-Khidr and agreed to carry them without asking for payment.
So Mûsâ found himself aboard a boat belonging to people who had just done them a favor for free.
It was then that a small bird came and perched near them and dipped its beak into the water.
Al-Khidr drew Mûsâ’s attention to this gesture and explained to him that their knowledge, compared to the knowledge of Allah, was no greater than the small amount of water that this bird had just taken from the sea.
Mûsâ had precisely just undertaken this entire journey because he had accepted that there were things he did not know.
And soon, he was going to see an example of it.
For while they were still on the boat of these people who had welcomed them for free, Mûsâ saw Al-Khidr approach a part of the vessel.
Then Al-Khidr did something that Mûsâ had no reason to foresee.
He damaged the boat.
Mûsâ had nevertheless promised not to ask any questions.
But in the face of what he had just seen, remaining silent was going to be much more difficult than he had imagined.
To be continued…
