Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 60

60. And (remember) when Musa said [58] to his servant: "I will not stop until I reach the junction of the two seas [59], or I will continue for a long period."

[58]
Sayyiduna Musa Declaring Himself the Most Knowledgeable:

From here begins the story of Musa (علیہ السلام) and Khidr, which was the second question of the Quraysh of Makkah. For its explanation, consider the following two hadiths from Sahih Bukhari.
1.
Allah’s Command to Seek Benefit from His Servant (Khidr):

Sayyiduna Sa‘id bin Jubayr (رضی اللہ عنہ) says that I said to Ibn ‘Abbas (رضی اللہ عنہ): Nauf Bakali (the son of Ka‘b Ahbar) says that the Musa (علیہ السلام) who went to meet Khidr was not the Musa (علیہ السلام) of Bani Israel (rather, he was Musa bin Ephraim bin Yusuf). So Ibn ‘Abbas (رضی اللہ عنہ) said: That enemy of Allah is lying. I myself heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): He (ﷺ) said that once Musa (علیہ السلام) stood and delivered a sermon. (Among the listeners) someone asked, “Who is the most knowledgeable among the people at this time?” Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “I am.” Allah Almighty reproached him because he should have referred this matter to Allah. So Allah revealed to him that at the junction of the two seas is My servant (Khidr) who is more knowledgeable than you. Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “How can I meet him?” Allah said, “Take a fish with you in your basket; wherever that fish is lost, there you will find that servant.” So Musa (علیہ السلام) placed a fish in his basket, and he himself and his servant Yusha‘ bin Nun set out on the journey until they reached a rock (on the way). There, they rested their heads on the rock and slept. At that time, the fish wriggled out of the basket and fell into the river, leaving a tunnel-like path behind, and Allah Almighty stopped the flow of water from that path, and that path remained in the river like an arch. When Musa (علیہ السلام) woke up, his servant (who had witnessed this) forgot to inform him of the incident, and they continued their journey. They traveled for the rest of the day and the night as well.

The Story of Musa (علیہ السلام) and Khidr (علیہ السلام): The Condition of Companionship:

The next morning, Musa (علیہ السلام) said to his servant, “Bring the food; we have become very tired from this journey.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Musa (علیہ السلام) began to feel tired from the moment he passed the place to which Allah had commanded him to go.” Yusha‘ replied to Musa (علیہ السلام): “Look, yesterday when we rested by the rock, the fish made a strange path and went into the river, and Satan made me forget to mention this incident to you.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “The tunnel-like path made by the fish was a great wonder for both of them.” Musa (علیہ السلام) said to his servant: “That was the place we were seeking.” So both of them, following their footprints, returned to the same rock. There, they saw a man covered with a cloth. Musa (علیہ السلام) greeted him with salam. Sayyiduna Khidr said, “Where has salam come from in your land?” Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “I am Musa.” Sayyiduna Khidr said, “Musa of Bani Israel?” Musa (علیہ السلام) replied, “Yes, I have come to you because Allah has taught you some good things; teach me some of them.” Sayyiduna Khidr replied, “Musa, look! Allah Almighty has taught me a knowledge from His knowledge which you do not know, and He has taught you a knowledge which I do not know. Therefore, you will not be able to remain patient with me.” Musa (علیہ السلام) replied, “If Allah wills, I will be patient and will not oppose you in any matter.” Sayyiduna Khidr said, “If you are to accompany me, then do not ask me about anything until I myself explain its reality to you.”

Sayyiduna Khidr Damaging the Plank of the Boat and Sayyiduna Musa’s Objection:

(After this agreement was made) they walked along the bank of the river, and they passed by a boat. They said to the boatmen, “Let us board as well.” The boatmen recognized Sayyiduna Khidr and let them board without any fare. As soon as they boarded the boat, Sayyiduna Khidr took an adze and broke a plank of the boat, making it defective. Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “These people let us board the boat without any fare, and you broke their boat so that all the boatmen would drown? What a strange thing you have done!” Sayyiduna Khidr replied, “Did I not say that you would not be able to remain patient with me?” Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “I forgot; please forgive me, and do not make my task difficult for me.”

The Vastness of Allah’s Knowledge Compared to the Knowledge of Musa (علیہ السلام) and Khidr:

And the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said that, without doubt, the first objection Musa (علیہ السلام) made was out of forgetfulness. Also, he (ﷺ) said: Meanwhile, a bird came and sat on the edge of the boat and took some water from the river in its beak. Seeing this, Sayyiduna Khidr said to Musa (علیہ السلام): “In comparison to Allah’s knowledge, my knowledge and your knowledge together are only as much as the water this bird has taken from the river in its beak.”

Khidr Killing a Young Boy and Musa’s Second Objection:

Then both of them disembarked from the boat and walked along the shore. On the way, Sayyiduna Khidr saw a boy playing with other boys. Sayyiduna Khidr took the boy by the head and twisted it, killing him. Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “O brother, you have killed a pure soul without right; you have done a terrible thing.” Sayyiduna Khidr said, “Did I not say that you would not be able to remain patient with me?” The narrator commented, “And this act was even more severe than the previous one.” Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “If I object to you again after this, then do not keep me with you, for you will have a valid excuse against me.”

Khidr Repairing a Wall and Musa’s Third Objection:

Then both of them set out until they reached a town and asked its people for food, but they gave them nothing to eat. By chance, they saw a wall there that was about to collapse. Sayyiduna Khidr repaired the wall. Musa (علیہ السلام) said, “These people neither gave us food nor hospitality; if you wished, you could have taken wages from them for repairing the wall (with which we could have bought food).” Sayyiduna Khidr said, “Now the time of separation has come. Now I will inform you of the reality of those events over which you could not remain patient.” The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “We wished that Musa (علیہ السلام) had remained patient so that Allah would have told us even more about their circumstances.” [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير سوره الكهف]

The Interpretation of the Three Mentioned Incidents:

In the next hadith, the interpretation of these incidents is mentioned as follows: Sayyiduna Khidr said to Musa (علیہ السلام): My purpose in damaging the boat was that when this boat would pass by the tyrant king, he would consider it defective and leave it, and the boatmen would repair it and benefit from it. The interpretation of the second incident is that the boy’s parents were believers, and it was decreed for the boy to be a disbeliever, so we feared that he might lead his parents into disbelief and rebellion, meaning that out of love for the boy, the parents might also fall into disbelief. So we wished that Allah Almighty would grant them a better and purer child, and his parents would be even more merciful to him than to this boy. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير۔ ترمذي، ابواب التفسير]
[59]
At Which Junction of the Two Seas Did Sayyiduna Musa Arrive?

At what stage of Sayyiduna Musa’s (علیہ السلام) life did this incident occur, and which were the two rivers? The Book and Sunnah are silent regarding the answers to these questions. After Sayyiduna Musa (علیہ السلام) led Bani Israel out of Egypt, the possibility of such a journey and incident seems unlikely. Therefore, it is most probable that this incident occurred in Egypt itself, and in Egypt, there is only one junction of rivers, which is the present city of Khartoum, where the two branches of the Nile—the White Nile and the Blue Nile—meet. Since this junction area was not a specific spot but spread over miles, Sayyiduna Musa (علیہ السلام) was instructed by revelation to fry a fish and keep it in his provision bag; the place where this fish would come to life and jump into the river would be the very place where he would meet Our servant, Sayyiduna Khidr.