Al-Kahf (The Cave)

79. “As for the ship, it belonged to (some) poor people working on the sea, and I intended to damage it, for there was after them a king who seized every (safe) ship by force.”

The Arabic term /wara’/, used here, is called to any hidden or concealed place whether that place is located in front of a person or behind him.

What a person sees is the apparent feature of the affairs while there may be some hidden features for them, too. The apparent view of Khidr’s affairs seemed wrong to Moses (as), but there was a secret, mystery and reality hidden in those affairs.

The verse says:

“As for the ship, it belonged to (some) poor people working on the sea, and I intended to damage it, for there was after them a king who seized every (safe) ship by force.”

Of course, Khidr did not make a hole in the ship in a way that water could arrive in it and caused it to be drowned, but he made it only defective.

There are sometimes so many defects and faults wherein lie some common good. Khidr (as) made the ship damaged in order that it could not be taken by that oppressive king and its miserable owners would not become more miserable. In fact, he repelled a worse state by a bad one.

This work is not the job of everyone, and the recognition of the difference between an important thing in religion and a more important one is the job of the expert theologians.

Ahlul-Bayt, (the Prophet’s progeny) (p.b.u.t.), sometimes reprimanded some of their sincere friends in front of others in order that they might not be suspicioned by the tyrannical government of the time, and their lives could be saved.

For instance, Imam Sadiq (as) once openly criticized Zurarah, so that he would remain safe from the trouble of the Abbassides.

After that, he (as) sent a message for him saying that he did such to protect his life, and then the Imam (as) recited the abovementioned verse, and said that Zurarah was the best ship of that sea whom the illegitimate ruler was seeking for and watching after.¹

Only those can enter the world of mysteries, and may be aware of the innate of the things, who have passed the stage of the apparent of the things; like Moses who knew the laws of the religion and practised accordingly, but by accompanying Khidr in a course, he learned the innate secrets, too.