Al-Kahf (The Cave)

82. “And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath it there was a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man, so your Lord willed that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord, and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the interpretation of what you could not bear patiently.”

In this holy verse the learned man (Khidr) uncovers the secret of his third action, i.e., mending the wall, and said as follows:

“And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath it there was a treasure belonging to them, and their father was a righteous man, so your Lord willed that they should attain their maturity and take out their treasure as a mercy from your Lord…”

That is, Khidr was commissioned to mend that wall for the righteousness of the parents of these two orphan boys, otherwise it might fall and, appearing its treasure, it might be exposed to danger.

At the end of the verse, in order to remove any doubt from Moses (as), and that he assuredly knew that all those deeds were fulfilled upon a special plan and commandment, Khidr added that he did not perform them of his own accord, but it was the command of Allah that he followed. Yes, this was the mystery of the affairs that Moses (as) could not bear patiently.

The verse continues saying:

“…and I did not do it of my own accord. This is the interpretation of what you could not bear patiently.”

The Story of Moses and Khidr and Its Facts

1. Finding a learned leader and taking benefits from his knowledge is of so importance that even a great prophet such as Moses paves a long way to find him. This is an example for all human beings in whatever condition and standard of knowledge and age they may be.

2. The essence of the divine knowledge (the metaphysical theology) can be obtain from the servitude and submission to Allah.

3. Knowledge should ever be learnt for practice, as Moses says to his learned teacher that he teaches him a knowledge that leads him to the aim, the right conduct. He means that he does not want the knowledge only for itself, but he wants it to use as a means to reach the aim.

4. We must not haste in some affairs because there are some things which need an appropriate opportunity.

5. The Apparent and the Innate Features of Affairs:

This is another important matter that this story teaches us. We ought not make haste in judging about the unpleasant happenings which come forth in our lives. There are many events in our lives that we are not pleased with them, but later we understand that they have been from the secret divine favours.

This is the same thing which the Qur’an points out in Surah Al-Baqarah, No.2, verse 122.

6. Confessing the Reality:

When Moses (as) unwillingly broke his promise against his learned friend (Khidr) for three times, he did not persist on this bitter reality and gave justly the right to that learned man. Moses (as) kindly separated from him and continued his own affairs.

A person should not be always busy experimenting himself until his life-time ends, and must not turn his living into a laboratory for the future, which will never come. After he examined a matter for several times, he must usually accept its result.

7. The Results of the Parents’ Faith for their Children:

Khidr, for the sake of a righteous father, undertook the support of his children in that part that he could. That is, under the light of the faith and trust of the father, a child can become prosperous, and its good consequence reaches his offspring, too.

8. Lifetime Shortens because of Hurting the Parents:

Where a child, for the sake that he may hurt his parents in future with his disobedience and ingratitude, or causes them to come out of the way of Allah, deserves death, how is the state of a child who is busy committing this sin now? What is the circumstance of such persons before Allah?

9. People May Become Enemy because of What They Do not Know:

Many times it happens that a person do good upon us but, since we are not aware of the innate of the affairs, we consider it enmity, and sometimes we may become disturbed in mind and impatient, concerning what we do not know. But, the abovementioned story teaches us that we should not haste in judgment. We must verify every matter from different points of view.

10. The Courtesy of a Student Before a Teacher:

In conversation between Moses and that learned man (Khidr) some interesting points around the courtesy of a student before his teacher attract the attention; among them are:

A. Moses (as) introduced himself as a follower of Khidr (as) when he said:

“Shall I follow you…?”1

B. In the rank of humility, Moses (as) announced that the knowledge of Khidr was abundant, and he said that he desired to learn a part of his knowledge.

Moses said:

“…So that you teach me right conduct of what you have been taught?”

11. The holy Prophet (S) in a tradition said:

“That treasure was the wise words which were written on a golden tablet. Its content was: ‘It is surprising why a person who believes in Allah’s decree becomes grievous’.

‘It is amazing why a person who is sure of the death, is happy; who is certain of Reckoning, is neglectful; who is certain of sustenance, troubles himself more than the common; and who is assured of the change of the world but he trusts in it’.”¹

12. According to the Islamic literature, the grace of Allah is not limited to the direct children of a person, but it affects on the later generations, too; so that the righteousness of ancestors causes Allah to have favour upon their progenies.²

13. Imam Sadiq (as) said:

“Allah revealed Moses (that) He rewards Children for the righteousness of fathers.” Then, he (as) added: “If you are treacherous to the honour of people, others will be treacherous to your honour, too.”4

14. In one occasion, in the story, the child is slain for the protection of the Faith of the parents, and in another one, a prophet works, as a labourer, for the sake of a righteous father, in order that the capital under the wall reaches the child.

15. When some people protested Imam Hassan (as) for making peace with Mu‘awiyah, he (as) said:

“Do you not know that Khidr made a hole in the ship, and killed a lad and his actions caused the anger of Moses? O people! If I did not accept peace, all the Shi‘ite on the earth would be vanished.”5

By the way, in Arabic, the terms /qaryah/ and /madinah/ have been used with the same meaning but, as one of the scholars said, if we work with the Qur’an we will see that ‘Madinah’ is used wherein the light of guidance is found, and wherever the light of guidance is not found it is called /qaryah/.