Mukhtasar Bukhari

Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Musa (peace be upon him) once stood to deliver a sermon among the Children of Israel. He was asked, ‘Who is the most knowledgeable among the people?’ He replied, ‘I am the most knowledgeable.’ So Allah reproached him for not attributing knowledge to Allah. Then Allah revealed to him that among My servants there is a servant at the junction of the two seas who is more knowledgeable than you. Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘O my Lord! How can I meet him?’ He was told, ‘Put a fish in a basket (and set out towards the junction of the two seas). When you lose the fish (at a certain place), know that the servant is there.’ So Musa (peace be upon him) set out, taking with him his servant Yusha’ bin Nun, and they placed a fish in a basket. When they reached a rock (a stone), they both rested their heads (on the ground) and slept. (At that place) the fish slipped out of the basket and made its way into the sea. Musa (peace be upon him) and his servant were amazed at the fish coming to life. Then they both continued walking for the rest of the night and a day. When morning came, Musa (peace be upon him) said to his servant, ‘Bring us our breakfast (the meal with the fish), for we have suffered much fatigue from this journey.’ Musa (peace be upon him) did not feel any fatigue until he had passed the place he was commanded to stop at. (When his servant looked, the fish was gone.) He said, ‘Did you see (do you remember) when we rested by the rock? I forgot to mention the fish (completely).’ Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘That is the place we were seeking.’ So they both retraced their steps, following their footprints, until they reached the rock. (What did they see?) A man was sitting, wrapped in a cloth (or he said, he had wrapped a cloth around himself). Musa (peace be upon him) greeted him with salam. Khidr (peace be upon him) said, ‘Where is salam in your land from?’ He replied, ‘I am not from here, I am Musa (peace be upon him).’ Khidr (peace be upon him) said, ‘Musa of the Children of Israel?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘May I follow you so that you may teach me some of the guidance you have been taught?’ He said, ‘You will not be able to have patience with me. O Musa! I have knowledge from Allah which He has especially given to me, which you do not know, and you have knowledge which Allah has taught you, which I do not know.’ Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you in any matter.’ (So Khidr (peace be upon him) agreed.) Then they both walked along the riverbank, and they had no boat. A boat passed by them, and they asked its people to take them on board. Khidr (peace be upon him) was recognized, and the boat people took them on board without fare. Then a bird came and sat on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak once or twice into the river. Khidr (peace be upon him) said, ‘O Musa! My knowledge and your knowledge, compared to Allah’s knowledge, is only as much as this bird’s beak took from the sea.’ Then Khidr (peace be upon him) went to one of the planks of the boat and pulled it out. Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘These people took us on board without fare, and you have damaged their boat so that its passengers may drown!’ Khidr (peace be upon him) said, ‘Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘I forgot, so do not hold me accountable, and do not be hard on me in my matter.’ The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the first time, Musa (peace be upon him) made this objection out of forgetfulness. Then they both (disembarked from the boat and) walked on until they met a boy who was playing with other boys. Khidr (peace be upon him) seized his head from above and killed him with his hand. Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘You have killed an innocent soul without reason!’ Khidr (peace be upon him) said, ‘Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ Ibn ‘Uyaynah (the narrator of the hadith) said that this time the rebuke was more emphatic than the previous one. Then they both walked on until they came to a town and asked its people for food, but they refused to host them. There they found a wall about to collapse, so Khidr (peace be upon him) supported it with his hand and repaired it. (Then) Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘If you wished, you could have taken a wage for it.’ Khidr (peace be upon him) said, ‘(Now) this is the parting between me and you.’ The Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) said (after narrating this much): ‘May Allah have mercy on Musa (peace be upon him). We wished that Musa (peace be upon him) had been patient, so that more of their story would have been related to us.’