Selected Exegesis

In explaining the third part of the story, namely rebuilding the wall, al-Khiḍr said that the wall belonged to two orphan boys in that city. By “city” is meant the village whose inhabitants refused to host Moses and al-Khiḍr. A treasure was hidden beneath the wall, and the father of the two orphans was a righteous man. The Merciful God willed that this treasure be preserved until the two boys reached maturity and could retrieve it and benefit from it. Therefore, al-Khiḍr, by God’s command, rebuilt the wall to protect the treasure for them. The cause of God’s will was His mercy, and what prompted divine mercy was the righteousness of the orphans’ father. From the rebuilding of the wall for these two orphans, it becomes clear that the effects of good deeds never disappear.

The rebuilding of the wall by al-Khiḍr, like his other actions, was not done of his own accord. Thus he said that everything he did was by the command of God the Exalted, and this is the explanation (taʾwīl) of that about which you could not have patience. The explanation and clarification of the secrets behind al-Khiḍr’s actions in the events of piercing the ship, killing the boy, and rebuilding the wall were answers to Moses’ questioning amazement.