Al-Kahf: (60) And when Moses said...

"And when Moses said,"—meaning the son of Imran, the Prophet of the Children of Israel, peace be upon him, according to the correct view. The two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and a group have reported through the chain of Sa'id ibn Jubayr: "I said to Ibn Abbas, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with both, that Nawf al-Bikali claims that Moses, the companion of al-Khidr, is not the Moses of the Children of Israel. He (Ibn Abbas) replied: 'The enemy of Allah has lied.' He then mentioned a long hadith containing information from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, which is explicit in that he is the Moses of the Children of Israel."

The People of the Scripture also inclined toward denying this, and they were followed in that by some later scholars and historians. They claimed that the Moses mentioned here is Moses ibn Misha (with the dotted 'shin'), son of Yusuf, son of Ya'qub; it is also said he is Moses ibn Afrathim ibn Yusuf, who is the first Moses. It is said that the People of the Scripture denied this because they reject the idea of a prophet learning from someone else. The response to them is that learning from a prophet is obligatory, and there is no disgrace in a prophet learning from a prophet. This was countered by the argument that even if they accepted that, and acknowledged the prophethood of al-Khidr, peace be upon him, they still would not concede that he is Moses ibn Imran, as they do not allow themselves to say that their Prophet—who is superior—could learn from one who is not his equal in virtue. Indeed, al-Khidr, peace be upon him—even accepting his prophethood, or rather his messengership—did not reach the rank of Moses, peace be upon him.

Some investigators have stated: Their denial is not merely for that reason alone, but also because they maintain that after Moses, peace be upon him, left Egypt, he and his people ended up in the Wilderness (al-Tih) and he died there, and his people did not exit it until after his death. The story necessitates his departure from the Wilderness, as it is agreed that it did not take place while he was in Egypt. It also necessitates an absence of several days; had this occurred, many of the Children of Israel who were with him would have known, and had they known, it would have been transmitted, as it contains a strange matter for which motives for transmission are abundant. Since it was not transmitted, it did not happen.

The response to this is that the claim that their souls do not allow them to say their Prophet learned from someone of lesser virtue is a matter not supported by reason; it is nothing but Jahiliyyah-like arrogance (Hamiyyah). For it is not rationally impossible for the superior person to learn something he does not possess from one who is below him in status and knowledge. Among the well-known proverbs is: "Something may be found in the small basket (isqat) that is not found in the large bag (asfat)." They say, "What is in the inferior may sometimes be found missing in the superior."

Some have said: There is no obstacle to Allah, the Exalted, having hidden the knowledge of the matters contained in this story from Moses, peace be upon him—despite his greater knowledge and virtue—for a certain wisdom, and this does not detract from him being superior to and more knowledgeable than al-Khidr, peace be upon him. This is of no weight, as is obvious. Furthermore, it will come, God willing, the assertion that the story occurred after Moses, peace be upon him, prevailed over Egypt with the Children of Israel and settled there after the destruction of the Copts, so there is no consensus that it did not happen in Egypt. True, the Jews do not claim they settled in Egypt after the destruction of the Copts, and many of us follow this. If so, it is said that the claim he did not leave the Wilderness is not accepted, nor is the necessity of an absence of several days, because it is possible it took place in a way that transcends the ordinary, such as the wandering they experienced, the raising of the mountain over them, and other miracles that occurred among them.

It may also be said: It is possible that he, peace be upon him, went out and was absent for days, but they did not know he had gone for this matter, thinking he had gone to supplicate and worship. He did not apprise them of the truth of his absence after he returned, because he knew their limited understanding and feared that his status in their eyes would be diminished—these being the same people who said: "Make for us a god as they have gods" and "Show us Allah clearly." He also commanded his young attendant to keep it hidden from them. It is also possible that he was absent and they knew the truth of it, but did not transmit it from generation to generation out of the assumption that it contained something that would diminish his noble status, peace be upon him. Thus, the transmitters dwindled until they perished during the time of Nebuchadnezzar, just as most of the bearers of the Torah perished. It is also possible that a very few remained until the time of our Prophet, peace be upon him, and they conspired to hide it and deny it to cast doubt into the hearts of the weak among the Muslims, and then those few perished and it was not transmitted from them. It is not hidden that the door of possibility is wide. In sum, one does not pay heed to their denial after it is rationally possible and after Allah the Exalted and His Messenger, peace be upon him, have reported it, for the verse is clear in this. Close to this denial is the Christians' denial of Jesus, peace be upon him, speaking in the cradle, which we have previously established is not to be paid attention to after Allah the Exalted has reported it. Therefore, hold fast to the Book of Allah the Exalted, and leave aside the whisperings.

"And when..."—it is in the accusative case as the object of a verb implied by 'remember.' The intended meaning is: Tell them when Moses said "to his young attendant"—Joshua (Yusha') ibn Nun ibn Afrathim ibn Yusuf, peace be upon him. For he used to serve him and learn from him, and that is why he is attributed to him (as his attendant). The Arabs call a servant a 'fata' (young man) because servants are most often at the age of youth. It is said he was the son of the sister of Moses, peace be upon him. It is also said he was the brother of Joshua, peace be upon him, though the Jews denied that he had a brother. It is also said he was his slave; thus the attribution is one of ownership, and 'fata' is applied to the slave because of the authentic hadith: "Let one of you say 'my fata' (my young man/servant) and 'my fatah' (my young woman), and do not say 'my slave' (abdi) and 'my slave-woman' (amati)." This is from the etiquettes of the Shari'ah. Such usage is not disliked, contrary to some who claim it is, or rather it is merely 'contrary to the better' (khilaf al-awla). This saying is contrary to the well-known view, and al-Nawawi ruled it as a false statement. There is discussion regarding the legal ownership of oneself among the Children of Israel, and the second statement (that he was a slave) is similarly false because it contradicts all the authentic reports.

"I will not cease"—from 'bariha', the incomplete verb (similar to 'zala yazalu'), meaning: I will not cease traveling. The predicate is omitted relying on the context of the situation, for this was at the time of setting out for travel, and relying on what follows it: "until I reach," since a goal must have something that is sought, and what is appropriate here is traveling, and what follows also indicates this. The omission of the predicate here is rare, as al-Radi mentioned, and an example is the statement of al-Farazdaq: 'They did not cease until their women arrived...'

Abu Hayyan said: Our scholars stipulated that the omission of the predicate of 'kana' and its sisters is not permissible, even if there is evidence indicating its omission, except for what came in poetry... meaning: when there is no one in the world. Al-Zamakhshari and Abu al-Baqa' permitted that the original was 'my traveling will not cease until I reach,' so the predicate is linked to 'until' along with its genitive; the genitive was omitted, which is 'traveling,' so the pronoun shifted from manifestation and genitive to being hidden and nominative, and the verb shifted from the third person to the first person. It is said that the verb occurring in the predicate, which is 'I reach,' is also similarly treated, as if its original was 'it reaches' to achieve connection, and the attribution is figurative; otherwise, the predicate would be void of a link, unless one posits 'until I reach it' (bihi) or says that the hidden pronoun in 'being' is sufficient for the link, or that the presence of the link after the change of form is sufficient, even if the implied is in the strength of the mentioned. In my view, there is no elegance in this way, even if al-Zamakhshari found it elegant.

He also permitted that 'abrah' (I cease) could be from the complete verb 'bariha' (similar to 'zala yazulu'), so it does not need a predicate. Yes, it is said that an object must be implied to complete the meaning, i.e., "I will not depart from what I am intent upon until I reach the junction of the two seas." Abu Hayyan countered this in 'al-Bahr' by stating that it requires a sound transmission, and that the 'Majma'' is the 'Multaqa' (meeting place), and it is a place-name. It is also said it is an infinitive, but that is not strong. The "two seas" are the Sea of Persia and the Sea of Byzantium (Rome), as narrated from Mujahid, Qatadah, and others, and their meeting place is what is near the East. Perhaps the meaning is a place where their meeting approaches, otherwise they do not meet except in the Ocean, and they are two branches of it.

Abu Hayyan mentioned that the junction of the two seas, according to what the words of Ibn 'Atiyyah imply, is near the coast of the Levant. A group of them, including Muhammad ibn Ka'b al-Qurazi, said it is at Tangier, where the Ocean and the sea branching from it meet, from the west to the east. From Ubayy, it is in Africa. It is also said the two seas are the Kur and the Aras in Armenia, and this is narrated from al-Suddi. It is also said: the Sea of Qulzum and the Blue Sea. It is also said: they are a salt sea and a fresh sea, and their meeting place is at the Green Island in the direction of the West. It is also said: they are a metaphor for Moses and al-Khidr, peace be upon them, because they were two seas of knowledge, and the intent by their meeting is the place where their gathering occurred; this is a Sufi interpretation, and the context rejects it, as well as the statement of the Exalted, "until I reach," for the outward meaning is that it would be said, "until the two seas meet," for instance.

Al-Dahhak and Abdullah ibn Muslim ibn Yasar read it "Majmi'" with the kasra on the second mim. Al-Nadr from Ibn Muslim read it "Mijmi'" with the kasra on both letters, and this is irregular (shadh) according to both readings, because the rule for the place and time noun from a verb 'yaf'alu' (with fatha on the 'ayn) is the fatha (in the derivative), as in the reading of the majority.

"Or I will pass on for a long period (huqba)"—conjunctive to "I reach," and 'or' is for one of two things. The meaning is: until either my reaching the junction occurs, or my traveling for a long time occurs. It is permitted that 'or' means 'unless', and the verb is in the accusative case after it with an implied 'an', and the exception is 'disconnected' (mufarragh) from the most general circumstances, meaning: I will not cease traveling in any case until I reach, unless I pass a time during which I am certain of missing the junction. Abu Hayyan mentioned the permissibility that it means 'to' (ila), but it is nothing, because it necessitates his certainty of reaching the junction after his traveling for a long time, and that is not intended. 'Al-Huqb' (with two dammahs), and it is said with a damma and then a sukun—and with that al-Dahhak read it—is a singular noun, and its plural is as in the Qamus 'ahqub' and 'ahqab'. In al-Sihah, 'al-huqb' (with damma) is pluralized as 'hiqab' like 'quff' and 'qifaf'. It is, according to what is narrated from Ibn Abbas and a group of linguists, an 'age' (dahr). It is narrated from Ibn Umar and Abu Hurayrah that it is eighty years; from al-Hasan that it is seventy. Al-Farra' said it is a year in the dialect of Quraysh. Abu Hayyan said 'al-huqb' is years, the singular of which is 'hiqbah'. The poet said: 'If you are away from her for an age (hiqbah), you will not meet her...' What he mentioned that 'al-huqb' means years is mentioned by more than one linguist, but his saying that its singular is 'hiqbah' is subject to examination, because the outward appearance of their speech is that it is a singular noun, and al-Khafaji explicitly stated this, and because 'hiqbah' is a plural of 'hiqb' (with kasra and fatha). He (the author of the Qamus) said: 'al-hiqbah' (with kasra) is a period of time with no fixed limit, or a year. The origin of Moses' determination, peace be upon him, for what was mentioned is what the two Shaykhs and others reported from the hadith of Ibn Abbas from Ubayy ibn Ka'b that he heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, say: "Moses, peace be upon him, stood up to preach to the Children of Israel and was asked: 'Who is the most knowledgeable of people?' He said: 'I am.' Allah, the Exalted, blamed him for not referring knowledge to Him, the Exalted. So Allah revealed to him: 'I have a servant at the junction of the two seas who is more knowledgeable than you.'" In another report from him, also from Ubayy, from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him: "The Moses of the Children of Israel asked his Lord: 'O my Lord, if there is anyone among Your servants who is more knowledgeable than me, show me to him.' He said: 'Yes, among My servants is one who is more knowledgeable than you.' Then He described his location to him and granted him permission to meet him."

Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Khatib, and Ibn Asakir reported through the chain of Harun, from his father, from Ibn Abbas: "Moses, peace be upon him, asked his Lord, the Exalted, saying: 'O my Lord, which of Your servants is most beloved to You?' He said: 'The one who remembers Me and does not forget Me.' He said: 'Which of Your servants is most just?' He said: 'The one who judges with truth and does not follow desire.' He said: 'Which of Your servants is most knowledgeable?' He said: 'The one who seeks the knowledge of people to add to his own, perhaps he will find a word that guides him to guidance or turns him away from destruction.' It was said that Moses had whispered to himself that there was no one more knowledgeable than him. When it was said to him, 'the one who seeks the knowledge of people to add to his own,' he said: 'O Lord, is there anyone on earth more knowledgeable than me?' He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'Where is he?' It was said to him: 'By the rock where the spring is.' So Moses set out seeking him until what Allah the Exalted mentioned took place."

Furthermore, these reports provide no indication that the story occurred in Egypt or elsewhere. True, in some narrations it is explicitly stated that it was in Egypt. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim reported through the chain of al-'Awfi from Ibn Abbas: "When Moses, peace be upon him, and his people prevailed over Egypt, he settled his people in Egypt. When they had settled in the land, Allah, the Exalted, descended mentioning the days of Allah. He gave a sermon to his people, mentioning the good and the blessings Allah had bestowed upon them, and reminded them of when Allah saved them from the family of Pharaoh, and reminded them of the destruction of their enemy, and how Allah, the Exalted, had made them successors in the land. He said: 'Allah, the Exalted, spoke to your Prophet directly, and chose me for Himself, and sent down upon me His love, and gave you from everything you asked for. Your Prophet is the most superior person on earth, and you read the Torah.' He left no blessing that Allah had bestowed upon them without reminding them of it. Then a man from the Children of Israel said to him: 'Is there anyone on earth more knowledgeable than you, O Prophet of Allah?' He said: 'No.' Then Allah, the Exalted, sent Gabriel, peace be upon him, to Moses, peace be upon him, and he said: 'Allah, the Exalted, says: What makes you know where I place My knowledge? Nay, on the seashore there is a man more knowledgeable than you.' Then what Allah, the Exalted, related took place." Ibn 'Atiyyah denied this and said: "It is never observed that Moses, peace be upon him, settled his people in Egypt except in this speech, and I do not see it as correct. Rather, the frequent reports are that Moses, peace be upon him, died in the land of the Wilderness before the conquest of the lands of the tyrants." What he mentioned regarding Moses, peace be upon him, not settling his people in Egypt is closer to acceptance in my view, even if al-Khafaji countered his speech after quoting it by saying: "There is reflection in it." Moreover, the aforementioned reports are clear that the servant to whom Moses, peace be upon him, was guided was more knowledgeable than him, and the discussion on this will come, God willing.