فَوَجَدا عَبدًا مِن عِبادِنا آتَيناهُ رَحمَةً مِن عِندِنا وَعَلَّمناهُ مِن لَدُنّا عِلمًا

[There] they found one of Our servants whom We had granted a mercy from Ourselves, and taught him a knowledge from Our own.

EXEGESIS

Wajadā (found) is the dual of the verb wajada, which is to find, to come across something, or meet with someone or something.[1]   

ʿAbdan min ʿibādinā (one of our servants). ʿAbd means a slave or servant, who is owned by someone else. Every person is therefore an ʿabd allāh, a servant of God, because they are owned by Him and He may do with them as He sees fit.[2] The expression would literally translate as: a servant from among Our servants. The double mention of the word servant also emphasises that even though he had incredible knowledge, he was owned by God and whatever he did was by the power and will of God.

One of Our servants may also imply a special connection and total servility to God as in 25:63: The servants of the All-Beneficent (ʿibād al-raḥmān) are those who walk humbly on the earth, and when the ignorant address them, say: ‘Peace!’

Min ladunnā (from our own): ladun and ladā generally mean the same and can share in the meaning of ʿinda,[3] however it is said that ladun is more specific than ʿinda.[4] For example, it is said that ladun is only used for that which is present (ḥāḍir).[5]

Ladun shares in the meaning of ʿind in referring to something that is with someone, for example, ‘he is in possession (ladunhu) of wealth’.[6] It can be used for immaterial things as well, such as in verse 76 of this surah, when Moses (a) apologises, saying You have already got sufficient excuse on my part (min ladunnī), meaning the apology is coming from him.

The expression was also used earlier in verse 10, where God related the supplication of the People of the Cave: Our Lord! Grant us a mercy from Yourself (ladunka). It means something that is from God and no one else.

EXPOSITION

Finally, Moses (a) comes across the man that he had set out in search of. We are not told much about this man in the verses and he is surrounded by an air of mystery. In the narrations he is generally identified as Khiḍr (a),[7] and the scholars are apparently unanimous in their acceptance of these reports.

[There] they found one of Our servants: they tells us that Moses (a) and the young lad accompanying him both met Khiḍr (a). It is not clear whether the young man leaves immediately, or whether they part ways once Moses (a) and Khiḍr (a) set off together. Certainly, the usage of the dual inṭalaqā (they went on) in verse 71 tells us that there was no third person traveling with Khiḍr (a) and Moses (a).

The expression one of Our servants implies a special connection and total servility to God as in 25:63. It also creates an atmosphere of mystery around Khiḍr (a), as if he could be anyone. This is quite fitting with his depiction as an incognito traveller that anyone could come across. As we said earlier, everyone is a servant of God: There is none in the heavens and the earth but he comes to the All-Beneficent as a servant (19:93), but it is only the believers who enter willingly into that servitude. Of them it is the ones who are truly sincere whose servitude elevates them to a rank of closeness. Servitude (ʿubūdiyyah) is the highest honour and the one who achieves it will see the mercy of God bestowed upon him.[8]

Whom We had granted a mercy from Ourselves: the mercy of God can be of two types, one is predicated by physical and natural causes (like sustenance), the other is direct and is referring to spiritual blessings like prophethood, and so on. In this verse God specifically mentions that the mercy is from Ourselves, suggesting it is without any intermediary causes and is of the second type.[9]

More likely though, mercy refers to the special favour of God bestowed upon those who distinguish themselves in their willing servitude to Him. God declares regarding Abraham (a): So when he had left them and what they worshipped besides Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet. And We gave them out of Our mercy, and conferred on them a worthy and lofty repute (19:49-50), in which God mentions that a mercy was granted to these individuals after He had already made them prophets, and so it is clear that mercy there is not referring to prophethood. That mercy can mean for example an increase in things like wisdom, patience, understanding, determination, and so on. It also gives them the capacity to be able to receive more knowledge.

And taught him a knowledge from Our own: this knowledge has been said to mean either knowledge of the unseen (ʿilm al-ghayb),[10] or esoteric knowledge (ʿilm al-bāṭin).[11] Although the final verses of this story (78-82) indicate that the knowledge of Khiḍr (a) relates to the taʾwīl (final manifestation) of things.[12] The expression We … taught him and its attribution to God Himself highlights the importance of this knowledge and its sanctity.[13]

As knowledge is the important main theme of the surah and the focus of this story, God here describes this specific type of knowledge. There is knowledge that is acquired by witnessing through the physical faculties, for example having someone explain something. Another type is acquired through experience that one lives through. Yet another type is granted through revelation from God. ʿIlm ladunnī (knowledge direct from God) is a different type of knowledge; it should not be considered revelation per se, but rather a type of knowledge that one acquires which he may then access in an almost innate fashion, simply knowing it. Much like Prophet Joseph (a) who understood the interpretation of dreams and events without need of recourse to revelation or without having learned it in a traditional fashion; he said to his cellmates who sought interpretation for their dreams: I will inform you of its interpretation. That is among things my Lord has taught me (12:37). Prophet Joseph (a) needed not wait for revelation on the matter, as it was something taught to him already. It is the type of knowledge which was given to the Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt.

In other words, sometimes we may hear or read about something (second-hand knowledge), sometimes we may see and experience something (first-hand knowledge), other times God may remove the veils covering our sight so that we may see the reality of something (knowledge directly from God).[14] This ties in directly to the theme of the ‘true account’. Often we may think we know or think that we have witnessed something, however the reality of that is veiled to us. God may then remove some of those veils partially, causing us to understand so much more of our experiences. A supplication reported from the Prophet states: ‘My Lord! Show me things the way they truly are.’[15] This is of course the lesson that this story will then explain.

According to Rāzī, this type of knowledge is achieved by weakening and overcoming the base desires until the soul becomes receptive to divine illumination and acquires knowledge without any effort such as study or research.[16]

All in all, the verse tells us of the three stages of merits that Khiḍr (a) had acquired. The first stage is servitude to God (ʿubūdiyyah), which was then rewarded with mercy (raḥmah). Finally, his determination in service to God culminated in him being blessed with a special type of knowledge that cannot be acquired by other more conventional means. All of this of course only increases him in his closeness to God and servitude to Him.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. According to some reports, Moses (a) came upon Khiḍr (a) who was sleeping and greeted him with salām. Khiḍr (a) got up and greeted him saying: ‘Salām to you, O prophet of the Children of Israel.’ Moses (a) asked: ‘How do you know me? And who has informed you that I am a prophet of the Children of Israel?’ He said: ‘The same One that made you aware of me and guided you to me.’[17] According to some reports Khiḍr (a) then said: ‘I have been tasked with a burden that you cannot bear, and you have been tasked with a burden that I cannot bear.’[18] In another variant it is: ‘I have been given knowledge that you do not possess, and you have been given knowledge that I do not possess.’[19]
2. From Muhammad ibn Yaḥyā, that Imam Ali (a) said: ‘I was circumambulating the House when I saw a man hanging on to the covering of the Kaaba, saying: “O You who is not occupied from one hearing by another hearing. O You who is not perplexed by different requests. O You who is not tired by the insistence of the persistent. Let me taste the delight of Your forgiveness and the sweetness of Your mercy.” I said: “O servant of God, repeat what you said.” He did and then he said: “I swear by Him in whose hand is the soul of Khiḍr,” and he was Khiḍr, “anyone who says it after an obligatory prayer will be forgiven his sins even if they were like a huge valley or numerous like the rain drops or the leaves of a tree.”’[20]
3. From Muhammad ibn ʿUmārah, that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Khiḍr (a) was a prophet and a messenger sent by God – blessed and exalted – to his people. He called them to the worship of one God and to accept His messengers, prophets, and books. His sign [of prophethood] was that he would sit on dried wood or dead grass which would spring forth green. It is because of this that he was called Khiḍr (green).[21] His actual name was Balyā ibn Malikān ibn ʿĀbir ibn Arfakhshad ibn Sām ibn Nūḥ,[22] peace be upon him. After God had spoken to Moses (a), revealed to him the Torah, written for him upon the tablets advice concerning all things and an elaboration of all things [7:145], given him the miraculous signs in his hand and rod, and the floods and locusts and lice and frogs and blood and splitting the ocean and drowning Pharaoh and his armies, human nature motivated him until he said to himself: “I do not think God – mighty and glorious – has created anyone more knowledgeable than me …”’[23]

Note: The narration is very long and is problematic in that it, for example, attributes hubris to Moses (a) (see the discussion on verse 60). There are many long and often contradictory narrations about Khiḍr (a) and Moses (a). Majlisī has collected fifty-five of them in his work.[24] We have mentioned some of these, such as the claim that Khiḍr (a) was not a prophet, or that he was the grandson of Adam (a), or that he drank from the spring of life, or accompanied Alexander of Macedon, or he meets regularly with Elijah (a). Tabatabai rejects these narrations as being isolated reports contradictory to the apparent meaning of the verses, and with no way of being authenticated through reason or other means.[25]

4. It is narrated in a long report through various chains from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘When the Prophet (s) passed away people came to pay their respects and there was one amongst them whose voice they could hear, but they could not make out who was speaking. He said: “Greetings of peace to you and the mercy of God and His blessings, Every soul shall taste death, and you will indeed be paid your full rewards on the Day of Resurrection [3:185]. In God is found consolation at every tribulation, and a replacement for everyone passed away, and a redress for what is lost. So place your trust in God and direct your hope towards Him. The truly inflicted is the one who is denied the reward [of the hereafter]. So greetings of peace to you and the mercy of God and His blessings.” Imam Ali (a) then asked the people: “Do you know who this is? This is Khiḍr (a).”’[26]
5. In another report, it is mentioned that when Moses (a) met Khiḍr (a) a bird stopped by and took some water in its beak. Khiḍr (a) then turned to Moses (a) and asked: ‘Do you know what this bird just said? It said: “Your knowledge and the knowledge of Moses (a) compared to the knowledge of God is like what my beak holds of water compared to all the oceans.”’[27]

There are many other reports and legends about who Khiḍr (a) was, which are too many to even enumerate here.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some have said this mercy was a long lifespan,[28] or sustenance.[29] Others have said it is prophethood,[30] like in the verse, Is it they who dispense the mercy of your Lord? (43:32), and, You did not expect that the book would be delivered to you; but it was a mercy from your Lord (28:86). Although of course this does not mean that mercy always means prophethood.[31] For example, mercy can very well mean guidance.

Jubbāʾī has asserted that according to reports, Khiḍr (a) was a prophet that came after Moses (a). If this is the case then the man who Moses (a) met could not have been Khiḍr (a).[32] Some have said he is al-Yasaʿ (a), others that he is Ilyās (a),[33] but these are highly unlikely if not completely implausible.

The scholars have suggested different views about the nature of the man that Moses (a) was supposed to meet. Many stories and opinions are mentioned regarding him, yet one must exercise caution with these as many are baseless.[34] Although we may refer to various opinions in this and following verses, one should not assume these are necessarily all true and correct, some are simply mentioned for the sake of academic rigour.

It is said that he was called Khiḍr (lit. green) because when he prayed, plants would sprout their greeneries.[35] According to a report, he would sit on a whitened patch of dry grass and greeneries would sprout underneath it.[36]

Many have said that his name actually was Balyā ibn Malikān.[37] In other reports it is said to be Ḥilaqiyā (likely Ezekiel),[38] or Irmiyā (likely Jeremiah).[39] Others have said his name was Khiḍrūn ibn Qābīl ibn Ādam, and that he was the grandson of Prophet Adam (a).[40] An alternative claim says his father was Persian and his mother Roman.[41]

There is some disagreement regarding whether or not Khiḍr (a) was a prophet. According to some reports he was not a prophet,[42] and Moses (a) was more learned than him,[43] and some have clarified he was simply a saint (walī).[44] Others have considered him to be a prophet.[45] Some have even claimed that he was an angel.[46]

There are several points that weigh in favour of him being a prophet:

1. I did not do that out of my own accord (verse 82) indicates that he should have been a prophet and was acting on divine guidance. Although it may be said that this was inspiration (ilhām) rather than prophetic revelation.
2. God says We … taught him a knowledge from Our own. The expression from Our own shows that this knowledge was not taught to Khiḍr (a) in the conventional sense by some earthly teacher. Anyone who is taught in such a supernatural way should be a prophet. Rāzī concedes that this argument is weak as all knowledge initially comes from God.
3. Moses said to him: ‘May I follow you for the purpose that you teach me some of the probity you have been taught?’ (verse 66). A prophet should not learn from someone who is not a prophet.[47] Again, Rāzī says this is weak, because a prophet may learn things not related to his revelation from non-prophets.[48]
4. Jubbāʾī and others have reasoned that he should have been a prophet because it would not be seemly for a prophet of God – like Moses (a) – to seek out knowledge from someone who is not a prophet.[49]

Even if we consider him not to be a prophet, he certainly was divinely inspired in his actions, as the knowledge of the things he knew and acted upon is beyond mundane means, and also it is stated rather explicitly in his statement, I did not do that out of my own accord (verse 82). Furthermore, if we consider him to be a prophet, he is almost definitely not to be considered a messenger, since he did not declare a message to any nation or group.

Another questioned raised by the exegetes is whether it is possible for Khiḍr (a) to have been more knowledgeable than Moses (a). Ṭabrisī answers this by saying that each was taught specific knowledge by God and that overall, Moses (a) had been given more knowledge.[50] This is also the apparent meaning of the narration quoted earlier: ‘I have been given knowledge that you do not possess, and you have been given knowledge that I do not possess.’

Rāzī answers this by saying there is no problem with saying that someone who is very knowledgeable in some things may still have other things that he must learn. Subḥānī further asserts that Khiḍr (a) was given esoteric (bāṭinī) knowledge, whereas Moses (a) was only given exoteric (ẓāhirī) knowledge of the shariah, because for delivering the message and guiding people to it he did not need anything else. In this way he says both men had attained completion (kamāl), but had different merits.[51] However, this seems more like a mechanical analysis about the knowledge given to saints and prophets. Obviously, these discussions are not called for if we assume that this event occurred before Moses (a) was given his prophetic mission, as a preparation for it.

Furthermore, comparison of station is in and of itself a very contentious and difficult topic, which may sometimes boil down to comparing apples to oranges. Prophet David (a) was a grand prophet of God, he was tested by God so that he may be a just judge (38:21-26); Prophet Abraham (a) was a prophet and had been tested with the most arduous tests, and God made him a leader and imām (2:124); these positions represent different levels of responsibility, which are difficult to compare. And David and Solomon when they gave judgement concerning the tillage when the sheep of some people strayed into it by night, and We were witness to their judgement. We gave its understanding to Solomon, and to each We gave judgement and knowledge. And We disposed the mountains and the birds to glorify [Us] with David, and We have been the doer [of such things] (21:78-79).

The fact that Khiḍr (a) had some knowledge that Moses (a) did not possess should not automatically be taken as an indication that he is superior. Learning something from someone does not mean they are superior in knowledge. For example, if Ṭūsī went to learn hadiths from some other scholar(s), does that mean that they are superior to him in their knowledge? It simply means they are in possession of some bits of knowledge that he is not in possession of.

It is generally viewed that Khiḍr (a) was given an unnaturally long lifespan and is still alive today,[52] however others say that he died.[53] As for the reports, some state that Khiḍr (a) is still alive,[54] and that he met members of the Ahl al-Bayt in their time.[55] 38:79-80 can also be considered proof that God may grant an unnaturally long lifespan to some.

Some of the arguments presented for him not being alive are as follows:

1. If he was alive he should have come to Prophet Muhammad (s) and believed in him.[56] This argument is very superficial, because if that was the case then he should have travelled to Moses (a), and not vice versa.[57] Moreover, he may have gone to him without us knowing it.
2. On the day of Badr, the Prophet said: ‘If this group is killed, there will be no one on the earth left to worship [Allah],’ and since Khiḍr (a) was not one of the warriors at Badr, it means he was not alive.[58] The weakness of such an argument is obvious, as no one claims that all of the Muslims were gathered at Badr, as there were certainly many Muslims, especially women, children, and elderly left in Medina.[59]
3. According to a report which some have attributed to Prophet Muhammad (s), he said: ‘There is no soul [amongst you today] who is alive and breathing that will live to see a hundred years.’[60] This too has been used as evidence that Khiḍr (a) is not alive anymore.[61] Again, there is no reason to think this should apply to anyone except those present at the time it was spoken.[62]
4. He should have been alive for thousands of years, which is unnatural. If someone lived such a long time God should have informed of such a miracle in the Quran.[63] The weakness of this assertion is obvious.
5. Why should Khiḍr (a) have departed from Moses (a) in the end (verse 78)? Should he not have preferred to stay with Moses (a) and the believers rather than go off to the company of the disbelievers?[64] This is quite a silly argument. Working incognito amongst the people seems to be the duty that God had tasked Khiḍr (a) with. The task of shepherding the Children of Israel was given to Moses (a), Aaron (a), Joshua (a), and others.
6. As for the verse, We did not give immortality to any human before you. If you are fated to die, will they live on forever? (21:34),[65] it could be pointed out that the word khuld (immortality) means to never die, and Khiḍr (a) will certainly die before the final hour. In fact, some reports claim that the reason God gave Khiḍr (a) a long life was so that people would know that He has similarly given Imam al-Mahdī (a) a long life.[66]
7. Since he was a prophet, a prophet should be known to the people.[67] This is not a solid argument though, since a prophet may have tasks other than just delivering a message. Noteworthily, a prophet (nabī) differs from a messenger (rasūl).
8. There should be no prophet after Prophet Muhammad (s). While this is true, it may be understood as ‘no new prophet will come’, whereas we may say that Khiḍr (a) became a prophet before the time of Prophet Muhammad (s).[68]

Ṣādiqī Tehrānī reasons that if we consider Khiḍr (a) to have been a prophet and that he is still alive, then we should at the very least say that he has since been cut off from revelation as there can be no revelation and prophethood after the death of Prophet Muhammad (s).[69]

Ṭūsī says that even if we assume Khiḍr (a) to have brought some kind of shariah, it would have been abrogated by the shariah brought by Prophet Muhammad (s).[70]

Faḍl-Allāh posits that there is no conclusive evidence that Khiḍr (a) is alive today, but he says there is no rational evidence to deny its possibility either.[71]

Yet another claim is that Khiḍr (a) is a title and there is a Khiḍr (a) in every time, one being a student of the former.[72]

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

There is striking similarity between the descriptions of Khiḍr (a) in hadith literature and the portrayal of Prophet Elijah (a)[73] in Jewish texts.[74] In one story, a wife returned home late from listening to a lecture by a rabbi. Her strict husband was angered and said she should not return home until she spat in the rabbi’s face. Elijah (a) informed the rabbi of what had happened, and the rabbi came up with a ruse to help her. He announced that he was afflicted by a spell which could only be undone by getting spat in the eye. The woman was then fetched to do this and thus conjugal happiness was restored.[75] In another story, Elijah (a) took the form of an Arab and came across a poor yet very pious man. He gave him two shekels which brought the man great blessings and wealth. Busied with his wealth the man no longer had time for his religious devotions. Elijah (a) then came to him and asked for his two shekels back and soon the man was as poor as before. Elijah (a) then came to him a third time and promised to give him the blessed two shekels again with the condition that the man not forgo his piety, to which he agreed and was given the two shekels.[76]

Elijah (a) is often portrayed as teaching good people what to do in order to hold off the Angel of Death. As Khiḍr (a) is important for Sufis, so is Elijah (a) to the esoteric teachings of the Kabbalah, to the extent that it is said that ‘what Moses was to the Torah, Elijah was to the Kabbalah’.[77]

Based on their similarities, some might wish to identify the Elijah (a) of Jewish legends as being the Quranic Khiḍr (a), however such a conclusion is unwarranted. While it is true that the character of Khiḍr (a) has a clear equivalence with Elijah (a) in Jewish legends, it is likely that Islamic accounts seeped into Jewish legends. This is similar to the case of the Alexander Romance discussed in verse 61, where the influence of the Quranic account caused later stories about an individual to adopt motifs familiar to the Islamic narrative. So just as it can be observed that stories of Alexander of Macedon took on elements from Khiḍr (a) and Dhū al-Qarnayn, so too the stories of Elijah (a) took on elements from Khiḍr (a). With that in mind, it is also possible that these legends then in turn inspired Islamic equivalents in the hadith literature, and that many of the stories regarding Khiḍr (a) may have had their origins in Isrāʾīliyyāt, or hadith literature may have inspired Jewish legends. Indeed, there exist some reports that explicitly claim Ilyās (Elijah) was Khiḍr (a),[78] while some others claim they are two different individuals but with similar roles, and that both are alive and even regularly meet one another.[79]

1. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.[80]
2. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways![81]
3. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him.[82]
4. These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.[83]
5. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.[84]
6. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.[85]

[1] Hans Wehr, w-j-d.
[2] Tibyan, 7/69.
[3] Lisan, 13/383, l-d-n.
[4] Raghib, p. 739.
[5] Tahqiq, 10/201, l-d-n.
[6] Raghib, p. 739.
[7] Alternatively, it is sometimes vocalised as Khaḍir. Some have claimed he was not Khiḍr (a) but simply an unknown righteous servant of God (Qurtubi, 11/16).
[8] Nemuneh, 12/486.
[9] Mizan, 13/341-342. Tabatabai further argues that wilāyah is directly from God (he uses 42:9 as evidence of this) whereas in prophethood the angels are involved as intermediaries. He says that since the verse in question uses the majestic plural Ourselves, it includes the angels and should intend prophethood.
[10] Tabrisi, 6/746; Zamakhshari, 2/733; Alusi, 8/311.
[11] Baghawi, 3/205; Qurtubi, 11/16; Alusi, 8/312.
[12] Mizan, 13/342.
[13] Alusi, 8/311.
[14] See also Tibyan, 7/69.
[15] Bihar, 14/10.
[16] Razi, 21/482-483. See also Alusi, 8/311; Mizan, 13/342.
[17] Thalabi, 6/183. Another variant mixes the elements from both narrations (Qurtubi, 11/15).
[18] Ayyashi, 2/329-330; Qummi, 2/38; Nur, 3/271-275.
[19] Bukhari, 1/39; Suyuti, 4/229.
[20] Manaqib, 2/84; Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, al-Hawātif (Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Kutub al-Thiqāfiyyah, 1993), p. 52; Baghdadi, 4/341; Ibn Asakir, 16/425; Bihar, 39/132, with slight variation.
[21] This same reason for his moniker is found in Ahmad, 2/312; Bukhari, 4/129; Tirmidhi, 4/374, h. 5159.
[22] Almost the same name is given in Tarikh, 1/256.
[23] Ilal, 1/59-62.
[24] See Bihar, 13/278-322.
[25] Mizan, 13/352-353.
[26] Amali.S, pp. 348-349. Interestingly, although this hadith is quite long, it is reported almost verbatim from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) through another different chain of narration in Ibn Sad, 2/258-260.
[27] Mustadrak.S, 2/369; Ayyashi, 2/332; Bihar, 13/306.







 

[32] Razi, 21/482.
[33] Muhit, 7/204; Alusi, 8/301. Al-Yasaʿ is likely Elisha (a), and Ilyās is almost certainly Elijah (a). See the commentary on verse 38:48.
[34] Mizan, 13/339.
[35] Tabrisi, 6/745; Thalabi, 6/182.
[36] Tabrisi, 6/745; Thalabi, 6/182. Ṭabrisī classifies the report as marfūʿ (broken chain).
[37] Tabrisi, 6/745; Thalabi, 6/182; al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Muslim (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1987), 15/136.
[38] Khisal, p. 322; Uyun, 1/222.
[39] Ilal, 2/596.
[40] Muhit, 7/204.
[41] Muhit, 7/204; Suyuti, 4/234.
[42] Basair, p. 386; Kafi, 1/268-269; Ayyashi, 2/330; Nur, 3/273. This is the opinion adopted in Baghawi, 3/205; Munyah, 17/62. Ṭabrisī traces this opinion to Ibn al-Ikhshīd, but rejects it himself (Tabrisi, 6/746). Baghawī claims most of the scholars agree Khiḍr (a) was not a prophet. In some of these reports the Imam compares the knowledge of Khiḍr (a) and Dhū al-Qarnayn to the knowledge of the Imams, in others he is said to be muḥaddath (one spoken to by the angels, without seeing them) like the Imams. See also al-Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Muslim (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1987), 15/136.
[43] Ayyashi, 2/330; Nur, 3/273.
[44] Alusi, 8/302.
[45] This is the opinion adopted for example in Tabrisi, 6/746; Zamakhshari, 2/733; Qurtubi, 11/16; Alusi, 8/302; Mizan, 13/339, 352.
[46] Related in Tabrisi, 6/746.
[47] Qurtubi, 11/16.
[48] Razi, 21/481-482.
[49] Tabrisi, 6/746.
[50] Tabrisi, 6/746. Tibyan, 7/70-71 has something quite similar. This is also mentioned in a narration attributed to Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) (Ayyashi, 2/330).
[51] Munyah, 17/61. See also Furqan, 18/135-137.
[52] Tibyan, 7/82; Qurtubi, 11/41; Alusi, 8/303-307; Furqan, 18/147; Mizan, 13/352; Mufīd, al-Fuṣūl al-ʿAsharah (Beirut: Dār al-Mufīd, 1993), p. 83; Ṭūsī, al-Ghaybah (Qum: Muʾassasat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyyah, 1411 AH), pp. 109-110.
[53] Muhit, 7/204. Abū Ḥayyān asserts that the majority of scholars agree that he has died. Abū ʿAmr ibn al-Ṣalāḥ claims the opposite, saying only a small group of muḥaddithīn (traditionists) believe he is dead (Ibn Asakir, 2/252). According to Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah none of the reports about Khiḍr’s (a) life are correct. Ālūsī rejects this, saying it is contrary to the consensus of the great scholars (Alusi, 8/307).
[54] Kafi, 1/526. See also Suyuti, 4/234, where he reports that Khiḍr (a) was an actual child of Adam (a) (not progeny) and has been given a lifespan that will extend until he belies the Dajjāl. In another report Khiḍr (a) was the one who buried the body of Adam (a) and he had made a supplication that anyone who buries him should have a long lifespan.
[55] Amali.S, pp. 347-349, 423-424; Amali.M, pp. 91-92; Tawhid, p. 307; Wasail, 12/85, h. 15705; Ibn Sad, 2/259-260; Qurtubi, 11/43.
[56] Muhit, 7/204; Alusi, 8/302. Abū Ḥayyān quotes this argument from Sharaf al-Dīn al-Mursī. Ālūsī quotes it from Ibn Taymiyyah.
[57] Since all of the proponents of this argument believed that Moses (a) met Khiḍr (a) after the Exodus.
[58] Muslim, 5/156; Tirmidhi, 4/333; Tarikh, 2/134; Alusi, 8/302.
[59] Alusi, 8/306.
[60] Ahmad, 3/314; Muslim, 7/187; Tirmidhi, 3/354, h. 2351. The addition ‘amongst you today’ (mā minkum min nafs al-yawm) is found in some variants such as Ahmad, 3/305-306, 322, 326; Muslim, 7/187.
[61] Alusi, 8/302.
[62] Qurṭubī adds that there are clear exceptions to this, such as Prophet Jesus (a) (Qurtubi, 11/42-43).
[63] Alusi, 8/303.
[64] Alusi, 8/303.
[65] Alusi, 8/303.
[66] Kamal, p. 354, 357.
[67] Tibyan, 7/82. This argument is quoted from Jubbāʾī.
[68] Tabrisi, 6/755.
[69] Furqan, 18/147. He says that Prophet Jesus (a) is of course also alive, but is part of Prophet Muhammad’s (s) ummah (nation), and his prophethood ceased because his people turned away from him.
[70] Tibyan, 7/82.
[71] Fadlallah, 14/363.

 
[73] Who is in all likelihood Ilyās (a).
[74] See the commentary on verse 60 for more on Elijah (a).
[75] Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 4:7:35. Accessed at: https://www.sefaria.org/Legends_of_the_Jews.4.7.35?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en.
[76] Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 4:7:32. Accessed at: https://www.sefaria.org/Legends_of_the_Jews.4.7.32?lang=bi&with=About&lang2=en. This is almost the exact story that has been related from Imam al-Bāqir (a) about Prophet Muhammad (s) and how he gave Saʿd two dirhams. The only difference is that in the Islamic account Saʿd is not given the two dirhams again and simply ends up poor once more (Kafi, 5/313; Wasail, 17/401-402, h. 22845). The stories are too similar for it to be a coincidence. Whilst it is not certain who has borrowed this from whom – the Jews from the Muslims or the Muslims from the Jews – but it is especially interesting that Elijah (a) is specifically said to have taken the form of an Arab here, which might indicate that the Jews have borrowed this from a story in circulation amongst the Arabs.
[77] Louis Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews 4:7:77. Accessed at: https://www.sefaria.org/Legends_of_the_Jews.4.7.76?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en.
[78] Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah (Qum: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1416 AH), 4/3114; Kanz, 12/71; Ibn Asakir, 1/261.
[79] For example, according to a report Ilyās (a) is on dry land and Khiḍr (a) is in the ocean and they meet regularly (Bidayah, 1/394). Another report says there are two prophets alive in the heavens, Jesus (a) and Idrīs (a), and two on the earth, Ilyās (a) and Khiḍr (a) (Ibn Asakir, 2/251-252). According to another claim Ilyās (a) and Khiḍr (a) were brothers, the two sons of a king (Ibn Asakir, 16/419).
[80] Proverbs 2:6.
[81] Romans 11:33.
[82] Ephesians 1:17.
[83] 1 Corinthians 2:10.
[84] Proverbs 1:7.
[85] Deuteronomy 29:29.