Selected Exegesis

The Qur’an narrates the story of Khiḍr and Moses in its own unique storytelling style. It appears that Joshua’s mission in accompanying Moses had come to an end. After a brief dialogue and Moses’s commitment to Khiḍr, they both set out and boarded a ship. When the ship began moving, Khiḍr made a hole in it, and Moses, based on his religious zeal, objected to this action which outwardly appeared contrary to religious law, saying: “Are you making a hole in their ship to drown its people? You have certainly done a strange and questionable thing!”

In response to Moses, Khiḍr said, “Did I not tell you that you would not be able to bear my actions?” Moses apologized to Khiḍr and said, “Do not hold me accountable for my forgetfulness and do not be harsh with me, but be lenient with me in accompanying you.”

The forgetfulness (nisyān) attributed to Moses in these verses is a praiseworthy and commendable forgetfulness. Moses was zealous in protecting divine religion and law, and his religious zeal caused him to forget his commitment. Such forgetfulness is not only not a deficiency but is actually commendable.

From the entirety of the Moses and Khiḍr story, it appears that Moses’s questions were inquisitive and aimed at understanding the secrets and mysteries of Khiḍr’s actions, focusing on the wisdom of the acts rather than objecting to the doer, as he knew that Khiḍr possessed divine mercy (raḥmat ʿind Allāhī) and divine knowledge (ʿilm ladunī), and companionship with him was for learning the science of the inner meaning of rulings (taʾwīl).