Al-Khidr

Al-Khidr is a servant of God who was taught a particular knowledge, coming directly from Him. The Quran recounts his meeting with Musa, who came to learn from him: through three disconcerting acts, he teaches that divine wisdom often surpasses appearances and the immediate understanding of people.

Musa, whom God had informed that one of His servants possessed a knowledge he did not have, set out to find him and found him near a rock. He asked to accompany him to learn. The man warned him: 'You will not be able to bear my company,' for Musa would not be able to remain silent before acts whose reason he would not know. Musa nonetheless promised to be patient.

Three times, the man acted in a way Musa could not help but condemn: He pierced the hull of a boat that had taken them aboard. Musa was outraged: why endanger its passengers? He took the life of a young boy. Musa, distraught, protested more forcefully. Arriving in an inhospitable city, he straightened a wall about to collapse, without asking anything in return, when they were hungry.

Each time, Musa broke his promise of silence. The man then decided to part from him — but first, he revealed the hidden meaning of his acts: the boat, he had damaged to save it from a king who was confiscating good vessels; the child, God wanted to spare his believing parents his future straying and give them a better descendant; the wall sheltered a treasure destined for two orphans, which had to be preserved until their adulthood. And he concluded: 'At no point did I act on my own initiative.'

Al-Khidr teaches humility before knowledge: even Musa, a great prophet, had something to learn. And he reminds us that what seems unjust or absurd to us may hide a wisdom we cannot yet see. Patience sometimes consists in trusting before understanding.

فَوَجَدَا عَبْدًا مِّنْ عِبَادِنَا آتَيْنَاهُ رَحْمَةً مِّنْ عِندِنَا وَعَلَّمْنَاهُ مِن لَّدُنَّا عِلْمًا

Ils finirent par trouver près du rocher l’un de Nos serviteurs que Nous avions comblé de Nos faveurs et doté d’un immense savoir.

18:65

قَالَ هَٰذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنِكَ ۚ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَا لَمْ تَسْتَطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًا

L’homme dit : « Voici donc venu le moment de nous séparer. Mais je vais avant cela t’expliquer les actes que tu n’as pu t’empêcher de condamner.

18:78

وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَمْرِي ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ مَا لَمْ تَسْطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًا

En ce qui concerne le mur, il appartenait à deux jeunes orphelins de la ville dont le père fut un homme vertueux. Sous le mur avait été enfoui un trésor à leur intention. Ton Seigneur, dans Sa miséricorde, a voulu que les deux orphelins déterrent eux-mêmes leur trésor une fois devenus adultes. Je n’ai à aucun moment agi de ma propre initiative. Telle est l’explication des gestes que tu n’as pu t’empêcher de condamner. »

18:82