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Tafsir of Al-Kahf 18:60-65

Surah Al-Kahf 18:60

ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ

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."

Tafsir

Al-Kashshaf

Verse range: 18:60-65

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{لِفَتَاهُ} It means his servant. In the Hadith: "Let one of you say 'my *fata* (young man/servant)' and 'my *fatat* (young woman/servant)', and let him not say 'my slave (*abdi*)' and 'my slave-girl (*amati*).'" It is said that he was Joshua son of Nun. He is called his *fata* because he served him and followed him. It is also said that he was taking knowledge from him.

{لَا أَبْرَحُ} If it is in the sense of "I will not depart" (*la azulu*) from a place, it indicates staying, not traveling. If it is in the sense of "I will not cease" (*la azalu*), it requires a predicate. I say: It is in the sense of "I will not cease," and the predicate is omitted because the context and the speech together indicate it. As for the context, it was a state of travel. As for the speech, his saying {until I reach the junction of the two seas} is a set limit that demands what it is a limit for. Thus, the meaning must be: "I will not cease traveling until I reach the junction of the two seas."

Another perspective: The meaning is "My journey will not cease until I reach..." where "until I reach" is the predicate. When the genitive (mudaf) was omitted, the genitive-possessor (mudaf ilayh)—which is the first-person pronoun—took its place, so the verb shifted from the third-person form to the first-person form. This is a subtle point. It is also possible the meaning is "I will not cease from what I am upon," meaning: I will persist in the journey and the quest and will not leave or abandon it until I reach [the destination], just as you say, "I will not leave the place."

{مجمع البحرين} The place where Moses was promised to meet al-Khidr (peace be upon them both). It is the meeting point of the Persian and Roman seas toward the East. It is also said: Tangier. It is also said: Africa. Among the eccentric interpretations is that the two seas are Moses and al-Khidr, because they were two seas of knowledge.

{أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا} Or I will travel for a long time. A *huqub* is eighty years.

The Narrative of the Meeting It is narrated that when Moses prevailed over Egypt with the Children of Israel and they settled there after the destruction of the Copts, God commanded him to remind his people of His favor. He stood among them as a preacher, mentioning God's favor, and said: "He has chosen your Prophet and spoken to him." They said: "We know this, but who is the most learned of people?" He said: "I am." God reproached him for not attributing knowledge to God, and revealed to him: "Rather, there is a servant of Mine at the junction of the two seas who is more learned than you; he is al-Khidr."

Al-Khidr lived in the days of Afridun before Moses, and he was at the vanguard of Dhu al-Qarnayn the Elder, remaining until the days of Moses. It is said that Moses asked his Lord: "Which of Your servants is most beloved to You?" He said: "The one who remembers Me and does not forget Me." He asked: "Which of Your servants is the best judge?" He said: "The one who judges with truth and does not follow desire." He asked: "Which of Your servants is most learned?" He said: "The one who seeks the knowledge of people to add to his own, perhaps he will hit upon a word that guides him to guidance or turns him away from ruin." He said: "If there is among Your servants one who is more learned than me, then guide me to him." He said: "Al-Khidr is more learned than you." He asked: "Where do I seek him?" He said: "On the coast by the rock." He asked: "How can I find him?" He said: "Take a fish in a basket; wherever you lose it, he is there."

He said to his servant: "If you lose the fish, inform me." They went walking, then Moses slept. The fish stirred and fell into the sea. When lunchtime came, Moses asked for the fish, and his servant informed him of its falling into the sea. They came to the rock, and there was a man covered in his garment. Moses greeted him, and he said: "And how is there peace in our land?" Moses introduced himself, and he said: "O Moses, I am upon knowledge God taught me that you do not know, and you are upon knowledge God taught you that I do not know." When they boarded the ship, a bird came and landed on its edge and pecked at the water. Al-Khidr said: "My knowledge and your knowledge do not diminish God's knowledge except by the amount this bird took from the sea."

{نَسِيَا حُوتَهُمَا} Meaning they forgot to check on its condition and what became of it, which was the sign for finding the object of their quest. It is said Joshua forgot to present it, and Moses forgot to command him regarding it. It is said the fish was a salted fish. It is said that when the water of the spring called "The Spring of Life" touched the fish, it came to life.

{سَرَبًا} God held the flow of water over the fish, so it became like an arch, and it passed through it as if in a tunnel—a miracle for Moses or al-Khidr.

{فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَا} The appointed place, which was the rock, due to Moses forgetting to check on the fish and Joshua forgetting to mention what he saw of its life and falling into the sea. It is said they traveled after passing the rock for the night and the next day until noon. Moses was struck by fatigue and hunger only after passing the meeting place; he had not felt them before that. Then he remembered the fish and asked for it.

{أَرَأَيْتَ} Meaning: "Tell me." If you ask: How does this speech cohere, given that {Ar'ayta}, {id awayna}, and {fa-inni nasitu al-hut} have no clear connection? I say: When Moses asked for the fish, Joshua remembered what he saw of it and his forgetting until that point. He was startled and began to ask Moses about the reason for that, as if he said: "Did you see what befell me when we took shelter at the rock? For I forgot the fish." This is omitted.

{عَجَبًا} The second object of *ittakhadha* (took), like *saraban*. Meaning: "And it took its path in a wondrous way," which is its being like a tunnel. Or he said "a wonder" at the end of his speech, expressing amazement at his state in seeing that miracle and forgetting it, or at the two miracles he saw.

{فَارْتَدَّا} They returned on their tracks.

{قَصَصًا} Following their tracks.

{رَحْمَةً مِّنْ عِندِنَا} It is revelation and prophethood.

{مِن لَّدُنَّا} From what is specific to Us of knowledge, which is the reporting of the unseen.