Evidence for the Prophethood or Divine Authority (wilāya) of Khiḍr

From three expressions in the Qur’an: “We had bestowed upon him mercy from Us,” “We had taught him knowledge from Our presence,” and “May I follow you so that you teach me from what you have been taught of right guidance”(90), it becomes clear that “a servant from among Our servants” does not refer to an ordinary person, but rather must be one of God’s prophets or one of His divine authorities (walī), just as the expression “Indeed, you will never be able to have patience with me”(91), which decisively foretells the future, indicates the elevated status of Khiḍr.

Explanation: The expression “from Us” (min ʿindinā) in the phrase “We had bestowed upon him mercy from Us” indicates a special divine mercy, not mercy in general. Although such an expression does not necessarily prove his prophethood, it can indicate Khiḍr’s elevated status.

Although divine mercy is primarily divided into two types, through internal analysis, divine mercy can be understood in three ways:

1. Absolute mercy that extends to everything: “My mercy encompasses all things”.(92)

2. Special mercy that is exclusive to the God-fearing: “I shall decree it for those who are God-fearing”.(93)

3. Most special mercy, which is the specific mercy of prophethood, messengership, leadership (imāma), and divine authority (wilāya).

Thus, when the polytheists said that if this Qur’an was revelation and its recipient a prophet, he should have been from among the wealthy of Mecca or Medina: “Why was this Qur’an not sent down upon a great man from the two cities?”(94), God the Exalted responded by asking if they distribute the mercy of your Lord: “Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord?”.(95) The intended meaning of the Lord’s mercy here is the blessing of prophethood, which is a most special mercy, and its bestowal is not in anyone’s hands but God’s. Therefore, since sometimes the perfect manifestation of mercy is revelation and prophethood itself, the “mercy” in the phrase “We had bestowed upon him mercy from Us” could also indicate the blessing of divine authority (wilāya).

Higher than special mercy is the divine knowledge (ʿilm ladunnī) that God the Glorious bestowed upon Khiḍr: “We had taught him knowledge from Our presence.” The evidence for the superiority of this knowledge over that special mercy is the expression “presence” (ladun), which conveys greater proximity and presence compared to the word “with” (ʿind). In the second verse under discussion, mercy is described as being “from with God” (min ʿind Allāh) while knowledge is “from the presence of God” (min ladun Allāh), indicating that divine knowledge must hold a very elevated status.

The third evidence for the prophethood or divine authority of Khiḍr is that Moses the Interlocutor asked his permission to accompany him in order to benefit from his knowledge: “May I follow you so that you teach me”.(96) Therefore, that special servant must have had an elevated divine status; otherwise, Moses the Interlocutor would not have welcomed being his student.