Al-Kahf: (74-76) So they set out until...

Verse 74 Analysis

It is important to note that the term al-ghulām (youth/boy) can sometimes refer to an adolescent or young man who has reached puberty. This is evidenced by the saying: "An old man is better than the sight of a ghulām," where the old man is set as the opposite of the ghulām, indicating the latter is a young man. Its root, ightilām, refers to intense passion, which is characteristic of youth. The term's application to a small child is obvious.

The Quran does not specify details about how Moses encountered the youth: Was he playing with a group of boys, or was he alone? Was he a Muslim or a disbeliever? Was he secluded? Was he an adult or a child?

The term ghulām might be more fitting for a child, yet the phrase {بغير نفس} (without a soul [having killed another soul]) is more appropriate for an adult, as a child is not typically subject to execution for murder. Furthermore, the text does not specify how the youth was killed—whether his head was severed, smashed against a wall, or by some other means.

Given this ambiguity, Moses (peace be upon him) said: {أقتلت نفسا زكية بغير نفس لقد جئت شيئا نكرا} (Have you killed a pure soul for no reason other than murder? You have certainly done a deplorable thing!). This statement involves several points of discussion:

1. Nāfiʿ, Ibn Kathīr, and Abū ʿAmr recited it as {زَاكِيَةً} (with an alif).
2. The rest recited it as {زَكِيَّةً} (without an alif).
3. Al-Kisāʾī stated that zākiyah and zakiyyah are two linguistic variants, both meaning "pure."
4. Abū ʿAmr differentiated: Zākiyah is one who has not sinned, while zakiyyah is one who has sinned but then repented.

The apparent meaning of the verse suggests that Moses presumed a soul could only be killed justly as retribution for murder (an eye for an eye). This is not entirely accurate, as a person's blood may become forfeit for other reasons. The response is that the strongest and most common reason for lawful killing is indeed retaliation for murder.

1. Nukr is greater than Amran (a grave matter) in ugliness. This implies that killing the youth was more reprehensible than piercing the boat, because the latter involved the destruction of property, and drowning might not have occurred. Here, the destruction of a soul was certain, making it more nukr.
2. Alternatively, {لقد جئت شيئا إمرا} (You have certainly done a grave thing) means something astonishing (ʿajab), and nukr is greater than ʿajab.
3. It is also said that Nukr is what the intellects reject and the souls recoil from, making it a stronger term for denouncing something than Amr.
4. Some scholars argue that Amr is greater because piercing the boat could lead to the loss of many souls, whereas this killing involved only one person. Moreover, al-Amr signifies a great calamity, making it stronger than nukr.

The Almighty then recounts that the knowledgeable one (Al-Khiḍr) did not add anything beyond reminding Moses of their prior agreement: {أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَكَ إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِيَ صَبْرًا} (Did I not tell you that you would never be able to have patience with me?). This is essentially what was stated in the first instance, but here the addition of {لَكَ} (to you) intensifies the reprimand.

At this point, Moses said: {إِنْ سَأَلْتُكَ عَنْ شَيْءٍ بَعْدَهَا فَلَا تُصَاحِبْنِي} (If I should ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me as a companion), despite his intense desire to accompany him. This statement reflects the words of someone deeply regretful.

Then he said: {قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِنْ لَدُنِّي عُذْرًا} (You have certainly reached a limit from me [excuse]). This means Moses was praising Al-Khiḍr in this manner because Al-Khiḍr had tolerated him twice—first and second—despite the short duration between the incidents.

Three further points related to recitation remain in this verse:

1. Recitation of Nukran: Nāfiʿ, with the narration of Warsh and Qālūn, Ibn ʿĀmir, and Abū Bakr from ʿĀṣim, recited {نُكْرًا} (with a ḍammah on the kāf) throughout the Quran. The others recited it with a quiescent kāf ({نَكْرًا}). Both are linguistic variants.
2. Recitation of Lā Tuṣāḥibnī: Everyone recited {لَا تُصَاحِبْنِي} (with an alif), except Yaʿqūb, who recited {لَا تَصْحَبْنِي} (from ṣaḥaba), though the meaning is the same.
3. Recitation of Ladunnī: There are several recitations for {لَدُنِّي}:
   • First: The recitation of Nāfiʿ and Abū Bakr (in some narrations from ʿĀṣim): {مِنْ لَدُنِّي} (with a lightened nūn and a ḍammah on the dāl).
   • Second: Ibn Kathīr, Ibn ʿĀmir, Abū ʿAmr, Ḥamzah, Al-Kisāʾī, and Ḥafṣ from ʿĀṣim recited: {لَدُنِّي} (with a stressed nūn and a ḍammah on the dāl).
   • Third: Abū Bakr from ʿĀṣim recited it with ishmām (a slight indication of the nūn vowel) without full elongation.
   • Fourth: {مِنْ لَدُنِّي} (with a ḍammah on the lām and a quiescent dāl in some narrations from ʿĀṣim). All these recitations are valid linguistic forms for this word.

Verse 75

{فَانْطَلَقَا حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَيَا أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ اسْتَطْعَمَا أَهْلَهَا فَأَبَوْا أَنْ يُضَيِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِيهَا جِدَارًا يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَنْقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُ قَالَ لَوْ شِئْتَ لَاتَّخَذْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا}

(So they set out, until when they came to the people of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. And they found therein a wall about to collapse, so he [Al-Khiḍr] restored it. [Moses] said, "If you had wished, you could have taken for it a payment.")

Verse 76

{قَالَ هَذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنِكَ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَا لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ عَلَيْهِ صَبْرًا}

([Al-Khiḍr] said, "This is the separation between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that about which you could not have patience.")