Story of Prophet Musa and Al Khidr (AS) [notes]

 

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Story of

Musa and Al-Khidr

The theme / essence of the story is: “traveling far to seek knowledge”

You can’t expect knowledge to come to you

- But Alhumdulillah now due to modern day technology, we have laptops, etc.

- Seeking knowledge is now very easy for us now.

- Unlike the times of Prophet (ﷺ) & Musa (as).

What is the story of Musa & Al-Khidr?

- One day when he was talking to Bani Israel & he was asked

- “Is there anyone more knowledgeable then you?”

- He said nope, Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) had given me the knowledge.

The difference between a Prophet & a Messenger:

- Abraham was a Messenger because he came with the Scrolls... same was Jesus, Musa & Prophet (ﷺ)

- The Messenger is above the Prophet.

- Musa was a Messenger & a Prophet.

- Messengers come with Shariah of Allah.

LESSON 1:  THERE ARE MANY SCHOLARS WE'VE NEVER HEARD ABOUT

- Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) refuted Musa (as) & Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) told him that no, there is indeed someone more knowledgeable then him.

- But the Taghoot bring their own Scholars, those who are on the TV all day.

- Because Taghoot will never bring forward those Scholars who call for Jihad & support the Mujahideen.

- Like Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi - who is in Jail now (2011); he’s a great Scholar who calls for Jihad.

Yusuf 12|76| He could not have taken his brother within the religion of the king except that Allah willed. We raise in degrees whom We will, but over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing.

LESSON 2:  WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE KNOWLEDGE, ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT ALLAH SAID THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN YOU

IN THE QURAN "We raise by grades (of mercy) whom We will, and over every lord of knowledge there is one more knowing."

LESSON 3:  THE STORY OF MUSA & AL-KHIDR HELPS US KNOW HOW TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE with ADAB

SHAIKH and DR HAKIM QUICK

- When Shaikh was in UK, he had a meeting with Dr. Hakim Quick

- he advised him to live in Newham & that was the best advice ever.

- Because of the community, environment.

- To protect Shaikh from the plot of the black community.

- It’s not every culture who know how to treat & respect Scholars.

WHAT IS THE ISLAMIC ADAB WHEN YOU'RE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ISLAMIC SCHOLAR?

- What is so special about the two seas & what is so special about the servant boy - Joshua (Yusha bin Nun)

- Some translations say two seas while others say two rivers.

Al-Kahf 18|60|And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."

 “Al Bahrain means the seas

Yusuf Ali translation says "seas" 

“An Nahrain” means the rivers

- Allah says: al Bahrain: this is Arabic means the two seas

- in Arabic, al Nahrain means two rivers 

- Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) said: in Surah Kahf 18:60 "Al Bahrain": meaning two seas

- a person who does not know the causes of revelation, or grammar, or seerah (and the like)

- is not allowed to give tafseer

- one of the prerequisites of the one who gives tafseer is that he should be firmly grounded in the Arabic language

WHAT Is so special about the two seas?

- Allah rebuked Musa telling him that someone else has more knowledge than you

- so the two seas was the place where Musa was to find the person who had more knowledge

- why was he so enthused and eager to acquire the knowledge?

- this was because he had taqwa: and when a person has taqwa, they seek knowledge

“The world and all its contents are accursed except the remembrance of Allah and what supports it, the a’lim and the student of knowledge.” (TIRMIDHI, IBN MAAJAH, BAYHAQI)

- Musa was the teacher; then he embarked on a difficult journey to be a student: so, we learn that

LESSON 4:  SOMETIMES YOU ARE A TEACHER AND AT OTHER TIMES YOU WILL BE A STUDENT

- you should humble yourself

- not only was Musa a Prophet he was a messenger, yet he humbled himself to become a student

- you have to seek knowledge; if you are not one who makes dhikr, or a student of knowledge

- or a scholar you are a cursed human being

Az-Zumar 39|9|Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.

- The Rasool has taught us much, and Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) has told us much about those who have knowledge

- you may wonder why Musa embarked on a journey from Palestine to Turkey: this is a month’s journey

Ta Ha 20|114|So high [above all] is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth. And, [O Muhammad], do not hasten with [recitation of] the Qur'an before its revelation is completed to you, and say, "My Lord, increase me in knowledge."

- Turkey is where you have two continents meeting: European side and the Asian side

- This is why the majority of the scholars say that Musa traveled to Turkey to meet Khidr

- Musa practiced this ayah to the letter: My Lord increases me in knowledge!

LESSON 5:  THE MORE YOU KNOW IS THE MORE YOU REALIZE YOU DO NOT KNOW

- they took with them their lunch: it was a fish; the fish came alive and jumped into the sea

LESSON 6:  YOU SHOULDN’T TRAVEL ALONE

- Musa didn’t travel alone, he went with Joshua

Al-Kahf 18|62|So when they had passed beyond it, [Moses] said to his boy, "Bring us our morning meal. We have certainly suffered in this, our journey, [much] fatigue."

Why didn’t Joshua tell Musa about the fish?

- Musa was sleeping when the fish jumped out of the basket

- but Joshua didn’t wake Musa when he saw this amazing thing

What was the situation of Musa?

- he said that is what we have been seeking.

- Where the fish jumped out of the basket is where al Khidr is. So they retraced their steps

LESSON 7:  SOMETIMES, WE NEED TO RETRACE OUR STEPS

- It is difficult to retrace your steps, but Musa didn’t get upset with Joshua

Al-Kahf 18|64|[Moses] said, "That is what we were seeking." So, they returned, following their footprints.

- the Prophet (ﷺ) said: When you travel with a person, you get to learn about a person

- when you are traveling, you will have ups and downs

- when you do business with a person, you get to know a person (you see their true colours)

- Joshua forgot to tell Musa; Musa didn’t get upset.

- Joshua said: No one caused me to forget except the shaytan: therefore…

LESSON 8:  FORGETFULNESS AND HASTE ARE FROM THE SHAYTAN

- As are the other evils in the world  

- Musa didn’t get upset; this is the character of the Prophets

- Anas ibn Malik said: “I served the Prophet for 10 years, and not once did he get angry with me”

LESSON 9:  WE SHOULD NOT GET ANGRY

- Some of you beat your wives, and call them names:

- if only we all had the patience of the prophets; we would certainly have less divorce

- Musa said "that is what we were seeking" he didn’t get upset.

Anas said, "I served the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace, for ten years. During that time, he never once said to me as much as 'Oof' if I did something wrong. He never asked me, if I had failed to do something, 'Why did you not do it?' and he never said to me, if I had done something wrong, 'Why did you do it? " Sahih Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad

Al-Kahf 18|65|And they found a servant from among Our servants to whom we had given mercy from us and had taught him from Us[certain] knowledge.

- Al Khidr means "the green one"

- it’s a nick name; he sat on a barren piece of land, where no vegetation was and the land became green

Musa said to him: "May I follow thee, on the footing that thou teach me something of the (Higher) Truth which thou hast been taught?" (Al-Kahf 18:66) Yusuf Ali translation

Mûsa (Moses) said to him (Khidr) "May I follow you so that you teach me something of that knowledge (guidance and true path) which you have been taught (by Allah)?" (Al-Kahf 18:66) Noble Qur’an translation

- we prefer the above translation because the Sufis say that the jinn taught al Khidr

- the Sufis tamper with the story and they say that al Khidr had contact with the jinn;

- the Shiites said that al Khidr was not a prophet yet

- he had more knowledge than Musa was a prophet and a messenger

- so the imams have more knowledge than the prophets also

- Al Khidr said: you will never be able to have patience with me.

Al-Kahf 18|67|He said, "Indeed, with me you will never be able to have patience.

- mureed means blind follower of a Sufi shaikh

- a mureed will obey the shaikh even if asked to drink his own urine!

- this ayah; may I follow you (18:66): we learn from this - manners 

LESSON 10:  ISLAMIC ADAB (MANNERS)

"May I follow you?" (66)

Al-Fatihah 1|4|Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. 

 - Musa was begging for knowledge, look at the humility: "May I follow you?" (18:66)

- Whenever you are begging (asking) in life, be humble

LESSON 11: WE NEED TO BE HUMBLE

- why was he humble?

- how could he beg with pride and arrogance? He was begging to become a student of Al Khidr

Al-Kahf 18|67|He said, "Indeed, with me you will never be able to have patience.

- He asked: Are you Musa of Bani Israel; Musa affirmed so al Khidr heard of Musa

- but Musa never heard about him

Al-Kahf 18|68|And how can you have patience for what you do not encompass in knowledge?"

- He is asking, how he could have patience with something you do not understand:

- what does this ayah teach you?

LESSON 12:  IT IS VERY VERY DIFFICULT, EVEN IMPOSSIBLE, TO HAVE SABR WITH SOMETHING YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND!

- The Sahabahs were fuming (extremely angry) at the treaty of Hudabiyyah

- the Sahabahs could not understand the treaty (especially Umar)

Example:

If a Muslim woman comes home one day and she caught her husband in bed with another woman: how can she understand that: he is a good man, he does not commit adultery (or drink etc): but he can explain that he has actually got married to a second wife but not told the first.

- Imam Malik said that secret marriages are not haram

- the example is to give us an idea, how on earth someone could be patient with something we do not understand

"And how can you have patience about a thing which you know not?" (Surah Al-Kahf 18:68)

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

- this tells us that Al Khidr had deep insight

- you may have insight into people’s affairs, you tell a sister not to marry a brother

- you know the marriage was not going to work

- why? Because Allah has blessed you with deep insight and foresight.

- Al Khidr had this deep insight and foresight so he knew that Musa would not be able to understand

- the things that were about to take place and he would not be able to be patient

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

LESSON 13:  YOU CAN LAY DOWN RULES / LAWS TO A STUDENT OR WORKER

- even wife or husband

- you can make marriage conditions like do not force me to wear niqaab/ or we must not live with the in-laws

- or that you graduate at university etc

- so this ayah tells us

LESSON 14:  WE ARE ALLOWED TO FORM A RELATIONSHIP WITH A PERSON WITH CONDITIONS

- our relationship will be smooth as long as you abide by these rules

Al-Kahf 18|71|So they set out, until when they had embarked on the ship, al-Khidh or tore it open. [Moses] said, "Have you torn it open to drown its people? You have certainly done a grave thing."

Al-Kahf 18|72|[Al-Khidhr] said, "Did I not say that with me you would never be able to have patience?"

- Musa asked him why he made a hole in the ship. He saw it as a great evil

- “I told you so”

- Sometimes, you have insight about someone’s affairs, and when the thing comes true

- you say to the person "I told you so"

LESSON 15:  SOMETIMES WE NEED TO TELL SOMEONE, “I TOLD YOU SO”

- people do not like it when they are told this

- people warn people not to do things, in business or visit some place

- because they have seen many things in life ( that’s why its good to speak with old people)

 

LESSON 16:  A WORD TO THE WISE IS SUFFICIENT

- Russia can say to America "I told you so": not to go to war in Afghanistan

- these two people were totally incompatible

- the Shariah of Musa, was to punish the person for what they did in the present

- but al-Khidr's way was based on what was to come

LESSON 17:  WHEN TWO PEOPLE HAVE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT LIFE

- you must have dialogue and vet the person thoroughly in aqeedah etc

- when they went on the boat a bird dipped its beak in the water

Al-Kahf 18|73| [Moses] said, "Do not blame me for what I forgot and do not cover me in my matter with difficulty."

Al Khidr asked Musa if he saw it. Al Khidr said, that they both had combined, in comparison to the knowledge of Allah is like the bird dipping his beak and the water remaining on the beak. Al Khidr was a great teacher so he gave this practical example

Al-Kahf 18|74|So they set out, until when they met a boy, al-Khidhr killed him. [Moses] said, "Have you killed a pure soul for other than [having killed] a soul? You have certainly done a deplorable thing."

Al-Kahf 18|75|[Al-Khidhr] said, "Did I not tell you that with me you would never be able to have patience?"

Al-Kahf 18|76|[Moses] said, "If I should ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me as a companion. You have obtained from me an excuse."

- first it was "Imr" (a Munkar - evil, bad, dreadful thing). : making the hole in the boat but know it was a "Nukr"

- a great Munkar – (prohibited, evil, dreadful thing)!" ::   chopping the head of the boy

LESSON 18:  GIVE PEOPLE CHANCES IN LIFE

- Al-Khidr did not dump Musa; he gave him two chances

Al-Kahf 18|77|So they set out, until when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. And they found therein a wall about to collapse, so al-Khidh r restored it. [Moses] said, "If you wished, you could have taken for it a payment."

Al-Khidr said: “This is the parting between you and me, and I shall tell you the explanation of those things on which you could not remain patient.” [Sahih Bukhari]

Al-Kahf 18|78|[Al-Khidhr] said, "This is parting between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience.

Al-Kahf 18|79|As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working at sea. So I intended to cause defect in it as there was after them a king who seized every [good] ship by force.

Al-Kahf 18|80|And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.

- this tells us that children can destroy their parents

LESSON 19:  CHILDREN CAN DESTROY THEIR PARENTS

- a woman killed her son by strangling him; her son was on crack cocaine; he stole from her and sold everything in her home; she had had enough

- because evil kids can destroy parents, Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) told you to make a dua: Al Furqan 25:74

Al Furqan 25|74|And those who say, "Our Lord, grant us from among our wives and offspring comfort to our eyes and make us an example for the righteous."

- do not take it for granted that your children will grow up to be good

"......slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master" [Muslim, Book 1, No. 1]

The Mardi Gras march in New Orleans (US):

- there are homosexuals who march by the thousands.

- there are many of these gays and lesbians who come from Muslim families

- and were brought up as Muslims

O you who believe! Verily, among your wives and your children are your enemies (who may stop you from the obedience of Allâh), therefore beware of them! But if you pardon (them) and overlook, and forgive (their faults), then verily, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (SURAH TAGHABUN 64:14)

-Noah had a kaafir son: In Surah Taghabun 64:14 we learn about this

Al-Kahf 18|80|And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief.

- in other words: I killed the boy, but his parents can get a better offspring than this one.

- he would go to paradise as he was under puberty

- and he saved the parents from kufr

- the worst thing is to see their children become a kaafir

- when your child dies before puberty the child intercedes for the parents

- these people were cold; they did not offer any hospitality

- or food no water for them to rob the orphan would have been easy for them

Al-Kahf 18|82|And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure for them, and their father had been righteous. So, your Lord intended that they reach maturity and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience."

- these people were cold; they did not offer any hospitality

- no food no water for them to rob the orphan would have been easy for them

- when shaikh was imprisoned, in Belmarsh: he wasn’t happy of course, as it broke him away from his family

- but when he was in prison the July 7 bombings happened, and the kuffar tried to link him with that

- many times, Allah (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) turns a seemingly bad situation into a good one. We do not know the future

LESSON 20:  THE PROPHETS DO NOT KNOW THE GHAIB (THE UNSEEN)

Al-An’am 6|49|But those who deny Our verses - the punishment will touch them for their defiant disobedience.

- the Shiites say their imams have knowledge of the unseen

- that they have perfect knowledge: you claim that Hasan was your imam

- why then did he eat food containing poison? It would mean he committed suicide!

LESSON 21:  WHEN YOU ARE IN THE COMPANY OF SCHOLARS YOU SHOW RESPECT

LESSON 22:  YOU NEED TO HAVE SABR WITH KNOWLEDGE

LESSON 23: SABR with the QADR OF ALLAH (سبحانه وتعالىٰ)

LESSON 24:  ALLAH (سبحانه وتعالىٰ) CAN ALWAYS MAKE THE BEST OF A BAD SITUATION

LESSON 25: DON’T BE PROUD AND ARROGANT

A STUDENT OF TALIB UL ILM CAN NOT HAVE THESE QUALITIES:

1) PROUD

2) SHYNESS

3) IMPATIENCE

4) LAZY