Musa and Khidr
موسى والخضر
Journey · Event
Musa seeks out a servant of Allah given special knowledge, follows him on three puzzling episodes, and learns the limits of his patience.
Overview
Musa set out for the junction of the two seas (18:60) and found "a servant from among Our servants" to whom Allah had given mercy and taught knowledge from Himself (18:65). Musa asked to follow him and learn; the servant warned that Musa would not be able to have patience with him (18:66–67). Three times the servant did something that seemed wrong — damaging a boat, killing a boy, rebuilding a wall for people who refused them hospitality — and three times Musa objected. At the third, they parted, and the servant explained the hidden reason for each act (18:71–82).
The Quran leaves the servant unnamed; hadith identifies him as al-Khidr. The episode is the Quran's clearest lesson on sabr in the pursuit of knowledge and on the limits of human judgment of events.
Graph
Key connections
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- Direct textual — Direct textual. The source states this outright.
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- Musa and Khidrموسى والخضر
Sources
Quran references
Al-Kahf 18:60
AboutDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِفَتَىٰهُ لَآ أَبْرَحُ حَتَّىٰٓ أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِىَ حُقُبًۭا
And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."
Al-Kahf 18:65
AboutDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًۭا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَآ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُ رَحْمَةًۭ مِّنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًۭا
And they found a servant from among Our servants to whom we had given mercy from us and had taught him from Us a [certain] knowledge.
Al-Kahf 18:66
AboutDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.قَالَ لَهُۥ مُوسَىٰ هَلْ أَتَّبِعُكَ عَلَىٰٓ أَن تُعَلِّمَنِ مِمَّا عُلِّمْتَ رُشْدًۭا
Moses said to him, "May I follow you on [the condition] that you teach me from what you have been taught of sound judgement?"
Al-Kahf 18:67
AboutDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.قَالَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْرًۭا
He said, "Indeed, with me you will never be able to have patience.
Al-Kahf 18:78
AboutDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.قَالَ هَٰذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنِكَ ۚ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَا لَمْ تَسْتَطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًا
[Al-Khidh r] said, "This is parting between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience.
Al-Kahf 18:82
AboutDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.وَأَمَّا ٱلْجِدَارُ فَكَانَ لِغُلَٰمَيْنِ يَتِيمَيْنِ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ وَكَانَ تَحْتَهُۥ كَنزٌۭ لَّهُمَا وَكَانَ أَبُوهُمَا صَٰلِحًۭا فَأَرَادَ رَبُّكَ أَن يَبْلُغَآ أَشُدَّهُمَا وَيَسْتَخْرِجَا كَنزَهُمَا رَحْمَةًۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُۥ عَنْ أَمْرِى ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًۭا
And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and there was beneath it a treasure for them, and their father had been righteous. So your Lord intended that they reach maturity and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. And I did it not of my own accord. That is the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience."
Related
People
Related
Concepts
Sabr
الصبرabout
Patience and steadfastness — endurance under trial and constancy in obedience, which the Quran pairs with prayer and with taqwa.
Provenance
Relationships
What do these labels mean?
Every connection on this page says what it rests on. The label tells you how directly the source supports it.
- Direct textual — Direct textual. The source states this outright.
- The source states this outright.
Every edge in the graph, with the evidence behind it.
Musa and KhidrinvolvedMusaDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.1 src
Evidence
- Quran Al-Kahf 18:60Direct — Direct textual. The source states this outright.
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِفَتَىٰهُ لَآ أَبْرَحُ حَتَّىٰٓ أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِىَ حُقُبًۭا
“And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period."”
"I will not cease until I reach the junction of the two seas."
Open ayah 18:60 →
Musa and KhidrinvolvedKhidrDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.2 src
The Quran identifies him only as "a servant from among Our servants"; the name Khidr comes from hadith.
Evidence
- Quran Al-Kahf 18:65Direct — Direct textual. The source states this outright.
فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًۭا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَآ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُ رَحْمَةًۭ مِّنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًۭا
“And they found a servant from among Our servants to whom we had given mercy from us and had taught him from Us a [certain] knowledge.”
"A servant from among Our servants to whom We had given mercy."
Open ayah 18:65 → - Sahih al-Bukhari 122Historical — Historical source. Established by historical or biographical works.
The narration of Ubayy ibn Ka'b names the servant as al-Khidr. Not yet ingested as a full hadith record.
Musa and KhidraboutSabrDirect — Direct textual. The source states this outright.2 src
The whole episode is framed by the servant's warning about patience and Musa's repeated failure to keep it.
Evidence
- Quran Al-Kahf 18:67Direct — Direct textual. The source states this outright.
قَالَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْرًۭا
“He said, "Indeed, with me you will never be able to have patience.”
Open ayah 18:67 → - Quran Al-Kahf 18:68Direct — Direct textual. The source states this outright.
وَكَيْفَ تَصْبِرُ عَلَىٰ مَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِۦ خُبْرًۭا
“And how can you have patience for what you do not encompass in knowledge?"”
"How can you have patience for what you do not encompass in knowledge?"
Open ayah 18:68 →
Further reading
Recommended resources
Curated external material. These are recommendations, not evidence for anything in the graph.
- Article
Sunnah.com — Hadith on the story of Musa and al-Khidr
Sunnah.com
The narration of Ubayy ibn Ka'b in Sahih al-Bukhari that names the servant of Allah in Surah Al-Kahf as al-Khidr.
- Website
Corpus Quran — Word-by-word grammar of Surah Al-Kahf
Quranic Arabic Corpus (University of Leeds)
Morphological and syntactic analysis of every word of Al-Kahf, including the passage on Musa and the servant of Allah.