al-Khidr

Al-Khidr is one of the most mysterious and debated figures in Islamic tradition. He is mentioned in the Quran (Surah al-Kahf 18:60-82) as 'a servant from among Our servants upon whom We had bestowed mercy from Us and had taught him from Us a certain knowledge.' The Quran does not name him, but Islamic scholarship has consistently identified him as al-Khidr based on hadith tradition, particularly a long hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari narrated by Ibn Abbas. Prophet Musa AS was told by Allah that there was one of Allah's servants at the junction of the two seas who had knowledge that Musa did not possess. Musa journeyed to find him, accompanied by his young assistant (Yusha ibn Nun), in a remarkable act of humility — one of the greatest prophets seeking knowledge from a servant of Allah. Al-Khidr agreed to let Musa accompany him on condition that Musa ask no questions about his actions until he himself explained them. The three famous actions of al-Khidr — scuttling a ship, killing a boy, and repairing a wall for ungrateful people — all appeared wrong or unjust on the surface. Al-Khidr then revealed the divine wisdom behind each action: the ship belonged to poor people and a king would have seized it if intact; the boy would have led his believing parents to grief and disbelief; the wall concealed an inheritance for two orphan boys whose righteous father's blessing was being preserved. Scholars differ on whether al-Khidr was a prophet, a wali (saint), or an angel. The majority view holds he was a prophet or at minimum a wali granted extraordinary divine knowledge. Some classical scholars, including Ibn Kathir, held he was still alive; others, including Ibn al-Qayyim, held this was not established. His story is the Quran's supreme parable about the limits of human knowledge and the reality of divine wisdom behind events that appear unjust.