Bismillah arRahman arRaheem The Story of Al Khadir (The Green Spiritual Man) This is the story of Moses and Al Khidar from the Koran, in the Cave chapter: The Moses mentioned in the verses is Moses, son of Imran, the Prophet of Allah. Some say that he is another Moses, which is incorrect, as Ibn Abbas and others rejected it and also the Prophet Muhammad sayings indicate that it is Moses the Prophet. Moses’ young companion was Yusha ibn Nun and he was the son of Moses’ sister, and therefore a descendant of the Prophet Joseph. He would follow, serve, and receive knowledge from Moses. He was the son of Efratheim, the son of Joseph. Allah sent him after Moses and he killed the Jabarin Emperors. Also, a miracle happened to him, that the sun was un-reset for him, so he could catch the prayer before sunset. The basis of this story as reported by the Holy Prophet, - Allah venerate him and gave peace - in a Prophetic authentic saying is that Moses, peace be upon him, delivered a sermon to the Children of Israel which made their eyes tearful and their hearts softened. When he was asked, “Do you know someone more knowledgeable than yourself?” He replied, “No.” So Allah revealed to him that His worshipper Al-Khadir was more knowledgeable than him. Moses said, “Oh my Lord lead me to the way to meet him.” Allah then revealed to him that he should carry “hout”, a kind of fish, in a nap sack and walk by the shore until the meeting of the two seas. If he lost the fish, he would find there Al Khadir. So Moses walked with his servant until two seas met. It has been said that the two seas meet in the sea of Andalus, in Spain. Also a weak opinion has been reported that it is the meeting of the Persian sea and the Romanian sea to the east. If so, he walked a long way! The word used in the Koran is “huqubah” which can either be one year, 80 years, or an unlimited time. Anyway, Moses and his servant were sleeping on a rock and in the morning when they woke, they started their journey. Moses asked for food and his servant replied that he had lost the fish and satan had caused him to forget to mention it. Moses recognized this as being the meeting place, so they returned along the same path and found Al Khadir. Allah says they “found one of Our worshippers to whom We had given from Our Mercy.” The Mercy mentioned here, according to the first and most sound opinion, is that it means “Prophethood”. The weak opinion says that he was not a prophet, but rather a “Wali”, or guided-by-Allah spiritual person. However, his prophethood is clarified by this story because he practiced things which were impossible for him to know except by revelation. He also stated that he practiced these things by the Order of Allah and not by his own order. Furthermore, Allah described the manner of teaching Al Khadir the same way as other Prophets. Allah added, “And we taught him from Ours a Knowledge.” The scholars of Ihsan derived from this verse a type of knowledge known as “Divine Knowledge of Allah” (Ilm Ladinni). There are differences between the scholars concerning the opinion whether Al Khadir is dead or still living. Many good reliable people mention that they have seen him and that he speaks to them. Moses saw Al Khadir covered in white clothes, as is reported in the Hadith, and greeted him with “As-salamu Alaika, peace be upon you”. With this Al Khadir raised his head and said, “And where is As Salam in your land?” He then asked, “Who are you?” Moses replied, “I am Moses.” Al Khadir then confirmed, “Moses, Prophet of the children of Israel is it not?” Moses responded, “Yes, who told you that I am the Prophet of the children of Israel?” Al Khadir replied, “He Who directed you to me.” He asked Moses, “Is there nothing to keep you busy with the children of Israel, such that you left them and came here?” Moses answered, “No, but I love to meet you and to receive knowledge from you.” Al Khadir said, “I have knowledge from Allah which you do not know, and you have knowledge from Allah that I do not know.” Moses then asked, as recorded in the Holy Koran, “May I follow you so that you can teach me of what you have learned of righteousness?” This polite question reminds us of the very polite behavior of the Angel Gabriel when he came and sat before the Holy Prophet placing his knees to the knees of the Prophet and placing his palms upon the top of his knees. This type of behavior is an important condition in obtaining the knowledge which is the inheritance of the Prophet. This is the way in Islam, it is very important to examine the behavior of the student before the knowledge is transmitted. Also, Moses lost the company of his teacher, Al Khadir, when he broke the promise that he would not enquire about anything Al Khadir did not explain and the promise to be patient. This tells us that patience and obedience to the teacher is very important. In the Hadith the Holy Prophet said, “May Allah have Mercy upon Moses, son of Imran, if he had been patient he would have seen wonders.” So, when you follow spiritual person of Ihsan science, you have to possess good manner and be patient. The statement that severed Moses from his company was that he not only enquired about an event, but he offered advice of which he had no knowledge to his teacher. The suggestion Moses made was that Al Khadir took a price for what he did, although the Prophets do not take payment for what they do in the Way of Allah. When this occurred, Al Khadir informed Moses that this was the time for them to depart and go their separate ways. It is not a weakness that Moses should learn from someone else, because perfection accepts more perfection and the Holy Prophet Muhammad, although he was the most knowledgeable, was ordered by Allah to say: “O my Lord, increase me in knowledge”. So, although Allah talked directly to Moses without intervention and gave him great and wonderful miracles, he still had to go learn. May Allah protect us from abstaining from an Islamic education! as many Muslims failed in this satanic trick of spoiling the Islamic path of knowledge in the west, so all mosque’s authorities need to revive the transmission of Koran, and authentic saying of the Prophet Of course, satan usually justifies the action of students’ consciences so they behave incorrectly with the teacher under the guise of correct action. For example, preoccupation with and criticism of a teacher’s behavior or way of life, or the shortcomings in his language thereby cause a student to forget the reality of delivering the inheritance of the Prophethood. They are merely falling into their own individual problems, which leads to impatience and impoliteness. This can lead to the severing of the relationship between the student and the teacher. Finally, Islamic knowledge is based on politeness and patience with the teacher, drawing blessings to the student regardless of students’ qualifications. We all know that our Holy Prophet was unable to read or write at the beginning of his Prophethood. Let us now talk about Al Khadir in greater detail. Al Khadir is a nickname and can be read as Al Khadr. As for his formal name, it is Balya or Ahmad Ibn Malakan. He is also known as Abu Al Abbas. He was a descendant of Noah and his father was from a family of kings. Some knowledgeable people say that those who know his name, his father’s name and his surname will die as a Muslim. The reason he has the name Al Khadir is that when he sat on the ground everything beneath him became green. It has also been said that when he prays, everything becomes green around him. The majorities of scholars are of the opinion that he is alive and will live until the Day of Judgment because he drank from the water of life. He meets with the special walis (awlia, the guided by Allah scholar of Ihsan) and they received knowledge, blessings, etc. Sayyadi Al Bakri, said, “With their leader in every era they meet Abi Al Abbas, who revives with the water of his relationship. He is alive by the Truth, and no one knows that he is dead except those who have not met the light of beauty he has. There is from me every time the wind blows the purist Salam which is good whilst it is sent. From an Ihsan point of view it is said that everyone has his own Khadir and has the spiritual challenge to meet him. It has also been said that Al Khadir is an expression for pleasantness because his harmonious spiritual powers are extended to the visible and invisible world. The Koranic Story “Moses said to his (assisting) youth, 'I will not give up until I reach the point where the two seas meet even though I should go on for many years.' But when they came to the point where the two met, they forgot their fish, which made its way burrowing into the sea. And when they had gone further, he said to his assisting youth; 'Bring us our breakfast; we are worn out from our journey.' He replied, 'Wouldn’t you know it! I forgot the fish when we were resting on the rock; none but satan made me forget to mention it. It made its way into the sea in a marvelous fashion.' 'This is what we have been seeking!' he said. They retraced their footsteps and found one of Our worshipers to whom We had given from Our Mercy, and to whom We had taught knowledge of Ours. Moses said to him, 'May I follow you so that you can teach me of what you have learned of righteousness?' 'You will not bear patiently with me,' he replied. 'For how can you bear patiently with that which you have never encompassed in your knowledge?' He (Moses) said, 'If Allah wills, you shall find me patient, I shall not disobey your order.' He said, 'If you follow me, you must not question me about anything till I myself speak to you concerning it.' So they departed and when they boarded a ship, he bored a hole in it. 'What! Have you made a hole in it,' he asked, 'to drown its passengers? You have done a dreadful thing!' 'Did I not I tell you that you would not bear patiently with me?’ he replied. Moses said, 'Do not blame me for what I forgot, nor press me to do something which is too difficult,' and so they moved on. Thereafter they met a boy and he killed him. He (Moses) exclaimed, 'What! Have you killed a pure soul and it was not done (in retaliation) for a soul? You have done a terrible thing!' 'Did I not tell you,' he replied, 'that you would not be able to bear patiently with me?' He (Moses) said, 'If I question you again do not let me be your companion; you already have enough of an excuse.' So they moved on and thereafter came to the inhabitants of a village. They asked its inhabitants for some food, but they declined to host them. There, they found a wall about to fall down whereupon his companion restored it. He (Moses) said, 'Had you wished, you could have taken payment for that.' He said, 'This is the parting between me and you. Now I will tell you the interpretation of that which you could not patiently bear. ‘As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working on the sea. I rendered it imperfect because behind them there was a king who was taking every ship by brutal force. ‘As for the boy, his parents are believers, and we were afraid lest he should impose on them with his insolence and disbelief. It was our wish that their Lord should grant them another in exchange, better in purity and tenderness. ‘As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city. Beneath it was (buried) a treasure belonging to them. Their fathers had been a righteous persons and your Lord willed that when they reach manhood their treasure is to be brought out as a mercy from your Lord. ‘What I did was not done by my own command. That is the interpretation of what you could not bear with patience.' [18.60-82]