Volume 4, Book 55, Number 613:
Narrated Said bin Jubair:
I said to Ibn Abbas, “Nauf Al-Bukah claims that Moses, the companion of Al-Khadir was not Moses
(the prophet) of the children of Israel, but some other Moses.” Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Allah’s enemy (i.e.
Nauf) has told a lie. Ubai bin Ka’b told us that the Prophet said, ‘Once Moses stood up and addressed
Bani Israel. He was asked who was the most learned man amongst the people. He said, ‘I.’ Allah ad –
monished him as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to Him (Allah). So, Allah said to him, ‘Yes,
at the junction of the two seas there is a Slave of Mine who is more learned than you.’ Moses said, ‘O
my Lord! How can I meet him?’ Allah said, ‘Take a fish and put it in a large basket and you will find
him at the place where you will lose the fish.’ Moses took a fish and put it in a basket and proceeded
along with his (servant) boy, Yusha ‘bin Nun, till they reached the rock where they laid their heads
(i.e. lay down). Moses slept, and the fish, moving out of the basket, fell into the sea. It took its way
into the sea (straight) as in a tunnel. Allah stopped the flow of water over the fish and it became like
an arch (the Prophet pointed out this arch with his hands). They travelled the rest of the night, and
the next day Moses said to his boy (servant), ‘Give us our food, for indeed, we have suffered much fa –
tigue in this journey of ours.’ Moses did not feel tired till he crossed that place which Allah had
ordered him to seek after. His boy (servant) said to him, ‘Do you know that when we were sitting
near that rock, I forgot the fish, and none but Satan caused me to forget to tell (you) about it, and it
took its course into the sea in an amazing way?.’ So there was a path for the fish and that astonished
them. Moses said, ‘That was what we were seeking after.’ So, both of them retraced their footsteps till
they reached the rock. There they saw a man Lying covered with a garment. Moses greeted him and
he replied saying, ‘How do people greet each other in your land?’ Moses said, ‘I am Moses.’ The man
asked, ‘Moses of Bani Israel?’ Moses said, ‘Yes, I have come to you so that you may teach me from
those things which Allah has taught you.’ He said, ‘O Moses! I have some of the Knowledge of Allah
which Allah has taught me, and which you do not know, while you have some of the Knowledge of
Allah which Allah has taught you and which I do not know.’ Moses asked, ‘May I follow you?’ He
said, ‘But you will not be able to remain patient with me for how can you be patient about things
which you will not be able to understand?’ (Moses said, ‘You will find me, if Allah so will, truly pa –
tient, and I will not disobey you in aught.’) So, both of them set out walking along the sea-shore, a
boat passed by them and they asked the crew of the boat to take them on board. The crew recognized
Al-Khadir and so they took them on board without fare. When they were on board the boat, a spar –
row came and stood on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak once or twice into the sea. Al-Khadir
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SAHIH BUKHARI VOLUME 4 > BOOK 55: PROPHETS
said to Moses, ‘O Moses! My knowledge and your knowledge have not decreased Allah’s Knowledge
except as much as this sparrow has decreased the water of the sea with its beak.’ Then suddenly Al-
Khadir took an adze and plucked a plank, and Moses did not notice it till he had plucked a plank
with the adze. Moses said to him, ‘What have you done? They took us on board charging us nothing;
yet you I have intentionally made a hole in their boat so as to drown its passengers. Verily, you have
done a dreadful thing.’ Al-Khadir replied, ‘Did I not tell you that you would not be able to remain pa –
tient with me?’ Moses replied, ‘Do not blame me for what I have forgotten, and do not be hard upon
me for my fault.’ So the first excuse of Moses was that he had forgotten. When they had left the sea,
they passed by a boy playing with other boys.
Al-Khadir took hold of the boys head and plucked it with his hand like this. (Sufyan, the sub nar –
rator pointed with his fingertips as if he was plucking some fruit.) Moses said to him, “Have you
killed an innocent person who has not killed any person? You have really done a horrible thing.” Al-
Khadir said, “Did I not tell you that you could not remain patient with me?’ Moses said “If I ask you
about anything after this, don’t accompany me. You have received an excuse from me.’ Then both of
them went on till they came to some people of a village, and they asked its inhabitant for wood but
they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they saw therein a wall which was just going to col –
lapse (and Al Khadir repaired it just by touching it with his hands). (Sufyan, the sub-narrator, poin –
ted with his hands, illustrating how Al-Khadir passed his hands over the wall upwards.) Moses said,
“These are the people whom we have called on, but they neither gave us food, nor entertained us as
guests, yet you have repaired their wall. If you had wished, you could have taken wages for it.” Al-
Khadir said, “This is the parting between you and me, and I shall tell you the explanation of those
things on which you could not remain patient.” The Prophet added, “We wished that Moses could
have remained patient by virtue of which Allah might have told us more about their story. (Sufyan
the sub-narrator said that the Prophet said, “May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses! If he had re –
mained patient, we would have been told further about their case.”)