As for the ship, it belonged to poor people, working at sea. I wanted to make it defective, as there was before them a king who seizes every ship by force.
As for the boy, his parents were believers. We feared that he would be a cause of their transgression and disbelief.
So we wanted that their Lord should give them instead of him a child who is more virtuous and more dutiful than him.
As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city. There was a treasure under it belonging to them and their father was righteous.
Therefore, your Lord wanted that they should fully grow up and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of what you could not bear patiently. [Surah al-Kahf: 79-82]
Tafsir
The Story of Moses and al-Khadr (3)
The story of Moses and al-Khadr is concluded with the interpretation of the wisdom behind the three incidents.
As for the ship, it belonged to poor people, working at sea. I wanted to make it defective, as there was before them a king who seizes every ship by force. [79]
Al-Khadr told Moses about the wisdom behind making a hole in the ship. He said that the ship belonged to poor people working at sea. They were weak and could not defend themselves and the ship was their means for earning their living.
There was a tyrant king, who would forcefully seize good ships. Therefore, al-Khadr wanted to make a defect in the ship by making a hole in it, so that the tyrant king would not seize it. Thus, he intended to help the poor people, not drown the ship’s passengers.
The small defect that al-Khadr made in the ship was the very reason protecting its owners from greater harm, i.e. being seized by the tyrant king.
Then al-Khadr told Moses about the rationale for the second incident.
As for the boy, his parents were believers. We feared that he would be a cause of their transgression and disbelief. [80]
So we wanted that their Lord should give them instead of him a child who is more virtuous and more dutiful than him. [81]
The parents of the boy whom al-Khadr killed were believers. Al-Khadr knew that the boy would be a cause for his parents’ transgression and disbelief, as Allah informed him that the boy would be a disbeliever if he was to grow up. Therefore, he feared that their love for their son might lead them to disbelieve in Allah and transgress because love of offspring is instinctive. The conduct of al-Khadr was to close the door of harm. It is known that what leads to the attainment of interest is itself interest.
Qatada, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned the boy, whom al-Khadr killed, and said, ‘His parents were happy when he was born and sad when he was killed. If he remained alive, he would be the cause of their destruction. Thus, a man should be pleased with the decree of Allah, as what Allah decrees for the believer regarding what he hates is better than His decree regarding things he loves.’
By killing the boy, al-Khadr hoped that Allah would grant his parents another son who would be better than that boy in respect of righteousness and dutifulness.
Then the ayat mention the wisdom behind the third and final incident.
As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city. There was a treasure under it belonging to them and their father was righteous. Therefore, your Lord wanted that they should fully grow up and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of what you could not bear patiently. [82]
Moses disapproved of repairing the wall by al-Khadr because the villagers refused to entertain them. Apparently, the conduct of al-Khadr was illogical, as he helped people, who refused to help him.
The wall belonged to two orphan boys, living in the city. Their father was a righteous man. There was a treasure under the wall belonging to the orphans. Therefore, Allah, out of His mercy, wanted to preserve the treasure for them until they would fully grow up and extract the treasure by themselves.
(I did not do it of my own accord. That is the interpretation of what you could not bear patiently.)
Finally, al-Khadr told Moses that he had not done the things Moses disapproved of his own accord; rather, he did them because Allah had commanded him to do them.
The rationale for the things that Moses objected to and could not bear patiently became clear to him in this stage of the story. Moses could not endure them patiently because Allah, Exalted is He, did not inform him of the rationale as He informed al-Khadr.
Learned Lessons
• No matter how much knowledge a person has, he should keep on seeking knowledge.
• Traveling for seeking knowledge is one of the attributes of the wise. Moses, though he was one of the Messengers of Allah endowed with strong will, exerted a great effort to meet al-Khadr to learn from his knowledge. Commenting on this ayah, al-Qurtuby said, ‘The story of Moses’ traveling to seek knowledge is an example of the scholars’ travel to gain more knowledge, and using beneficial means to achieve such a goal such as having a servant, and companionship. It is also an example of seizing the opportunity to meet the righteous and scholars even if their homelands are far. Such an attitude was the methodology of the righteous predecessors. Therefore, the travelers to gain knowledge attain great success and their efforts were fruitful. Their knowledge became firmer and stronger, and their reputation and reward became greater. Al-Bukhari narrated that Jabir bin Abdullah, the companion of Messenger Muhammad, traveled for a month to meet Abdullah bin Unays to learn one hadith of Messenger Muhammad from him.’
• It is permissible to express natural human feelings, such as hunger, thirst, fatigue, and forgetfulness. Moses said to his servant, ‘Bring us our morning meal. Indeed, we have suffered fatigue in our journey.’
• The statement that Moses’ servant said, ‘and none has made me forget that but Satan.’ Indicates politeness as he attributed forgetfulness to Satan even it was decreed by Allah, Exalted is He.
• (They found one of Our slaves whom We gave mercy from Us, and taught knowledge from Us.). There are two kinds of knowledge: Acquired knowledge that a man attains by diligent effort, after the help of Allah, Exalted is He, and knowledge that Allah grants to whomever He wants of His slaves, e.g. knowledge Allah gave to al-Khadr.
• (Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you provided that you teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?’). The student should be humble with his teacher to learn from him comfortably.
• (He said, ‘Indeed, you will never be able to bear with me patiently.) There is no problem if the scholar politely refuses to teach someone, who asked him to teach him if the scholar believes that the student cannot endure patiently to learn for some reasons; for example, the student cannot bear patiently things the scholar may do that the student believes are wrong.
• (How can you have patience with what you do not know about?). Knowledge of the causes of certain behaviors helps to endure them patiently. Al-Khadr mentioned to Moses the cause for impatience, i.e., Moses would not know the causes of the apparently questionable conducts of al-Khadr.
• (He said, ‘God willing, you will find me patient and I will not disobey any of your orders.’). One of the signs of righteousness and fear of Allah, Exalted is He, is mentioning that things will not happen except by the will of Allah when intending to do them.
• (He said, ‘If you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I clarify it for you.’). The scholar may stipulate a condition(s) before teaching a student.
• The three things that al-Khadr did were choosing the lesser harm to prevent greater harm. They appear to be harmful, and logically Moses was right to disapprove of them. However, they are in reality good things that al-Khadr did since Allah, the Omniscient, told him the wisdom behind them.
• (As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working at sea…). It is permissible to do small harm to prevent greater harm. Making a hole in the ship is harm, but it is lesser harm than seizing it by the tyrant king. Killing the boy is evil, but it is lesser harm than the evil that would happen if he lived (leading his parents to disbelieve).
• (As for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys…). It is permissible that one does things in the property of other people without taking their permission on condition that it benefits them. For example, if one sees a fire in the property of some people, he may extinguish it without the owner’s permission.
• (…and their father was righteous.). Righteousness of the parents benefits their offspring. The ayah indicates that the righteous man preserved his offspring, and the blessing of his worship helped them in the worldly life as well as it will help them in the Hereafter when they would be raised to a greater rank to be with their father so that he would be delight by their presence.
• Refusing to accommodate the guests is abominable behavior by custom, reason, and religion. Offering accommodation may become obligatory if the guests are subject to danger. Maybe Moses and al-Khadr were very hungry, which was the cause of Moses’ anger.
• It is permissible for a hungry person to ask for food if he cannot find something to eat. Therefore, the villagers deserved blame because they refused to entertain hungry people.
• The harm caused by repairing the wall, i.e. fatigue, is less than the harm may be caused by its destruction, which would cause the loss of the orphans’ treasure.
• (Al-Khadr said to Moses, ‘This is the time of parting between you and me. I will inform you about the interpretation of what you could not bear patiently.’). A friend should not desert his friend without telling him/her the reasons for separation. Al-Khadr told Moses the reasons for leaving him. On the other hand, harmony and agreement, not regarding things involve disobedience to Allah, are the most helpful causes for strong and continuous companionship. Likewise, disagreement and incompatibility lead to separation.
• Miracles that happen to some righteous people are confirmed by the ayat of the Quran and authentic prophetic narrations. Allah has informed in surah al-Imran that Mary, may Allah have mercy on her, used to receive food in her place of worship though she was not a prophet. Moreover, according to the opinion of those who believe that al-Khadr was a righteous man, and not a prophet, the things he did were miracles since he did them because he had special knowledge that Allah, Exalted is He, bestowed on him.
• It is learned from the story of Moses and al-Khadr that discussion and dialogue to reach the truth and attain more knowledge, as long as they are done politely and in good faith, do not negatively affect friendship; rather, they strengthen it.
Problems Addressed in the Story of Moses and al-Khadr
• Social Oppression: This problem has been addressed in the story of the tyrant king and the poor owners of the ship. The tyrant king represents a usurper, who illegally takes the property of the poor, without being blamed by anyone.
• Familial Problem: This problem has been addressed in the story of killing the to-be-corrupt boy, whom al-Khadr killed because Allah informed him that if he grew up, he would lead his parents to disbelieve in Allah, Exalted is He.
• Ethical Problem: This problem has been addressed in the story of the inhabitants of the village, who refused to accommodate two hungry strangers, seeking their entertainment. Their behavior indicates corrupt ethics, as custom, reason, and faith encouragingly require people to help each other, especially, in times of need.
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