Sayyid Murtaḍā’s Response to the Objection Regarding Fear

Sayyid Murtaḍā, in response to the objection that attributing fear (khashya) to God is impossible, has said that from the apparent meaning of the phrase “so we feared,” it appears that the fear was only from Khiḍr’s side, not from God. He then presents several interpretations of the meaning of fear, some of which are appropriate when attributed to Khiḍr and others when attributed to God:

Knowledge (ʿilm): Khiḍr said that through divine notification, he knew that if this youth remained alive, he would lead his parents to disbelief, and if he were killed, they would remain firm in their faith.

Uncertainty-based fear: This meaning aligns with the response of those who said the youth was a disbeliever deserving death, and if he were not killed, there was fear he would lead his parents to disbelief.

Aversion (karāha): Like the saying “I separated between the two men fearing they would fight,” meaning “out of aversion to that.”(406) Based on this meaning, the fear in the verse “so we feared that he would overwhelm them with transgression and disbelief” is similar to the verse “all of that was detestable in the sight of your Lord.”(407) This means that God has aversion to certain matters, just as He has satisfaction with others: “God is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him.”(408) The fear in the verse under discussion also means that God has aversion to the youth growing up and leading his believing parents to disbelief and transgression.

In response to this objection, it must be said that the meaning of “fear” (khashya) is not a specific emotional state(409), but rather avoidance of an undesirable event. The Sublime God did not want believing parents to fall into misguidance and error due to their youth or adolescent’s deviation, becoming wretched and ill-fated. The attribution of fear to God relates to His station of action, thus while maintaining an appropriate meaning, it is literal. In any case, the word “we feared” (khashīnā) is either God’s statement or Khiḍr’s statement, and in either case, if fear is attributed to God, firstly, it must relate to the station of necessary action, and secondly, the meaning appropriate to this station (avoidance of an undesirable event) is intended.