Saeed bin Jubair (may Allah have mercy on him) says: We were sitting with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), when some people informed us that Nauf Shami Bukali says that the Musa who went to Sayyiduna Khidr (peace be upon him) to seek knowledge was not the Musa (peace be upon him) of Bani Israel. Upon hearing this, Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) sat up straight and said: O Saeed! Does he really say this? I said: Yes, I myself have heard this from him. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: He is wrong. Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka’b (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: May Allah have mercy on us and on Salih (peace be upon him), and may Allah have mercy on us and on my Prophet brother Hud (peace be upon him) of the people of ‘Ad. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Musa (peace be upon him) once addressed his people and said to them: There is no one on the face of the earth more knowledgeable than me. Allah revealed to him that there is a man in such-and-such land who has more knowledge than you, and the sign of meeting him is that you should take a salted fish; wherever it slips away from your hand, he will be there. So Musa (peace be upon him) took a salted fish and set out with his young student Yusha bin Nun. When they reached the place they were commanded to go, there was a rock. When they reached it, Musa (peace be upon him) went to look for something, and his student placed the fish on the rock. It moved and made its way into the sea. The student thought that when Sayyiduna Musa comes, he would inform him, but Satan made him forget, and they continued on. When they felt tired like travelers, and this fatigue was felt after passing the required place, Musa (peace be upon him) said to his student: Give us our food; this journey has made us tired. The student said: O Prophet of Allah! Do you know that when we stopped by the rock, the fish moved there, but I forgot to inform you; it was Satan who made me forget, so the fish made its way into the sea. Musa (peace be upon him) said: That is the place we were seeking. So they retraced their steps, following their footprints back. When they reached the same rock, they looked around, and suddenly they saw Khidr (peace be upon him) present with a cloth. Musa (peace be upon him) greeted him with salam. He raised his head and said: Who are you? He said: I am Musa (peace be upon him). He asked: Which Musa? He said: The Musa of Bani Israel. Then Musa (peace be upon him) said: You have knowledge; I wish to stay in your company to acquire that knowledge. He said: You do not have the strength to acquire it. He said: You will find me patient, I will not disobey you. Khidr (peace be upon him) said: You will not be able to be patient over that which you have no knowledge of. Musa (peace be upon him) said: Since I have been commanded, I will be patient. Khidr (peace be upon him) said: If you accompany me, then do not speak about anything I do until I myself explain it to you. So both set out, boarded a boat, and when it stopped and the passengers disembarked, they stayed behind and he made a hole in it. Musa (peace be upon him) spoke up: You have made a hole in it; do you want to drown its passengers? This is not a good deed. Khidr (peace be upon him) said: Did I not tell you that you would not be able to be patient with me on this journey? Musa (peace be upon him) said: I forgot, do not hold me accountable for this and do not be hard on me. Then they set out and reached the seashore, where children were playing. Among them was a child who was the cleanest. Khidr (peace be upon him) caught him and killed him. This time again Musa (peace be upon him) spoke up and said: You have killed a soul who had committed no crime; this is a very evil thing. Musa (peace be upon him) began to feel a bit embarrassed due to the repetition with Khidr (peace be upon him). Musa (peace be upon him) said: If I ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me with you; you will have a valid excuse. So they both set out and came to a town and asked its people for food, while Musa (peace be upon him) was extremely tired and exhausted from hunger. They refused to host them. Then Khidr (peace be upon him) saw a wall that was about to collapse, so he repaired it. This time Musa (peace be upon him) said: We are in such hardship; if you wished, you could have taken payment for it. Khidr (peace be upon him) said: This is the time for separation between me and you. Sayyiduna Musa (peace be upon him) held onto his garment and said: Please explain the background of what you have done. Khidr (peace be upon him) said: {اَمَّا السَّفِیْنَۃُ فَکَانَتْ لِمَسٰکِیْنَ یَعْمَلُوْنَ فِی الْبَحْرِ فَاَرَدْتُّ اَنْ اَعِیْبَہَا وَکَانَ وَرَاء َہُمْ مَّلِکٌ یَّاْخُذُ کُلَّ سَفِیْنَۃٍ غَصْبًا۔} (As for the boat, it belonged to some poor people working in the sea. I intended to damage it because ahead was a king who seized every boat by force.) Now, when it passes by the king and he sees it damaged, he will leave it, and (this defect is not so great) its owner will repair it by putting a piece of wood, and then these people will continue to benefit from it. As for the matter of killing the boy, the seal of disbelief had been set upon him, while his parents loved him. If they had followed him in this matter, he would have led them into disbelief and rebellion. So, {فَأَ رَدْنَا أَ نْ یُبْدِلَہُمَا رَبُّہُمَا خَیْرًا مِنْہُ زَکَاۃً وَأَ قْرَبَ رُحْمًا} (So we intended that their Lord should substitute for them one better than him in purity and nearer to mercy.) When the husband had intercourse with his wife, she became pregnant and gave birth to a child who was the best in purity and very merciful. {وَأَ مَّا الْجِدَارُ فَکَانَ لِغُلَامَیْنِ یَتِیمَیْنِ فِی الْمَدِینَۃِ، وَکَانَ تَحْتَہُ کَنْزٌ لَہُمَا، وَکَانَ أَ بُوہُمَا صَالِحًا، فَأَ رَادَ رَبُّکَ أَ نْ یَبْلُغَا أَ شُدَّہُمَا، وَیَسْتَخْرِجَا کَنْزَہُمَا، رَحْمَۃً مِنْ رَبِّکَ، وَمَا فَعَلْتُہُ عَنْ أَ مْرِی، ذٰلِکَ تَأْوِیلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِعْ عَلَیْہِ صَبْرًا} And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city. Underneath the wall was a treasure for them, and their father was a righteous man. So your Lord intended that they should reach maturity and extract their treasure. This was done by the mercy of your Lord; I did not do it of my own accord. This is the reality of those matters over which you could not be patient.