Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 547

Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: My brother Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) supplicated: "O my Lord! Show me the person whom You showed me in the boat." Allah Almighty revealed to him: "O Musa! You will soon see him." After only a short while Sayyiduna Khidr (peace be upon him) came to him; his fragrance was fine and he wore beautiful white clothing. He said: "Peace be upon you, O Musa bin Imran! Your Lord sends you His greeting of peace and the mercy of Allah." Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) said: "He is the One who grants peace, from Him peace comes and to Him peace returns, and all praise belongs to Allah Almighty, the Lord of all the worlds, Whose blessings I cannot count and Whom I cannot thank except with His help." Then Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) said: "I would like you to give me some advice through which Allah Almighty will benefit me after you." Sayyiduna Khidr (peace be upon him) said: "O seeker of knowledge! The speaker grows weary less than the listener, so when you talk with people, do not weary those who sit with you. Know that your heart is like a vessel, so consider what you are filling your vessel with. Keep away from the world and cast it behind you, for it is not your abode, nor is it a place for you to stay permanently. The world has been made a temporary provision for the servants so that they may take from it provision for the journey to the Hereafter. O Musa! Accustom yourself to patience and you will attain forbearance; make your heart conscious of God-fearing and you will reach knowledge; train yourself in patience and you will be free of sin. O Musa! Devote yourself wholly to knowledge if you wish to attain it, for knowledge is only for the one who devotes himself to it. Do not be one who talks a great deal and speaks idly, for much talking disgraces the scholars and exposes the foolishness of the foolish. Make it binding on yourself to keep to moderation, for that is part of divine help and being on the right course. Turn away from the ignorant and be forbearing with the foolish, for that is the excellence of the wise and the adornment of the people of knowledge. If an ignorant person reviles you, remain silent towards him in peace and keep away from him with prudence, for what remains of his ignorance against you and his reviling of you will be greater and more. O son of Imran! Do not open a door when you do not know how to close it, and do not close a door when you do not know how to open it. O son of Imran! How can one be a worshipper whose craving for the world does not end and whose desire for it does not cease? How can a person who belittles his own condition and accuses Allah Almighty concerning what He has decreed for him be detached from the world? Can one whose desires have overpowered him refrain from following his lusts, and can seeking knowledge benefit one whom ignorance has engulfed? That is because his journey is towards the Hereafter while he is turned towards the world. O Musa! Acquire knowledge in order to act upon it; do not acquire it in order to speak of it before people, otherwise its burden will be upon you and its light will go to others instead of you. O son of Imran! Make detachment from the world and God-fearing your garment, and make knowledge and remembrance (dhikr) your speech. Do many good deeds, for you will also fall into misdeeds. Keep your heart shaken with fear, for this will please your Lord. And do good, for you will inevitably also do other than it. You have been admonished, if you preserve it (then it is for your own good)." Then Sayyiduna Khidr (peace be upon him) departed, and Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) was left sad and distressed.
Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, and its chain contains a narrator, Zakariyya bin Yahya al-Waqqar; Ibn Adi says: he used to fabricate hadith.