مَجْمَعَ ٱلْبَحْرَيْنِ ( Where the two Oceans meet ) Part 1

We’re planning to talk next about the linguistics of the incident where Hazrat Musa AS meets Hazrat Khidr AS, mentioned in Surah Kahf . Before we do this, we thought we’d share a brief overview of the Surah and the events that have unfolded prior to this incident.

The Surah, as you may already know, was primarily based on answering a number of questions the Jews of the 7th Century AD asked the Prophet SAW the answer to. The questions begged insight on matters such as “ the men whose incident was completely unique ( The People of the Cave ) “ and “ the man who travelled from east to west ( Zulqarnain AS)“ and the “ Spirit “. Allah SWT responded to them one by one and the way he responded in itself is nothing short of a linguistic miracle. The wisdom of this Surah extends not only to Muslims and Jews, but to mankind as a whole.

If we were to look at the Surah holistically, we’d find that Allah SWT talks about four major fitna(s) that mankind could fall into. These are the fitna of aqeedah, the fitna of money, the fitna of knowledge and the fitna of authority respectively.

From the incident of “ The People of the Cave “ we see how important it is to have a strong aqeedah. Allah SWT says, “ Have you O Prophet thought that the people of the cave and the plaque were ˹the only wonders of Our signs? “ ( S18V09 ) This Ayat is a reminder to us that if we were to traverse in the way of Allah SWT with the kind of intention The People of the Cave had stranger things than what happened to The People of the Cave would happen to us. The message we can take home from this Ayah is that we should learn to stay true to the religion more than anything else because if we are sincerely following the Religion, no matter how difficult our situation might be, Allah SWT will find a way out for us. He says that The People of the Cave said to one another, “ These people of ours have taken gods besides Him. Why do they not produce a clear proof of them? Who then does more wrong than those who fabricate lies against Allah? “ ( S18V15 ) The People of the Cave had a genuine concern for their belief in Allah SWT ( Imaan ) and adherence to His will. This is what brought Allah’s SWT special mercy their way and put them to sleep for over three hundred years, waking them up at a time where the people were so fascinated by them and their story, they decided to build a Masjid over their resting place.

The second incident is where we witness the fitna of money. Allah SWT says about the man with the two gardens, “ And he entered his property, while wronging his soul, saying, “I do not think this will ever perish, nor do I think the Hour will ever come. And if in fact I am returned to my Lord, I will definitely get a far better outcome than all this.” “ ( S18V35-36 ). Now it’s easy for you to think that this man was just way in over his head and he was completely misguided but the matter of fact is even now, there are people who reject the afterlife and they believe that if there was such a thing they would be provided with something better than they have already been provided with. This is because they are satisfied with the materialistic things Allah SWT has to offer in this world. It’s a difficult headspace to get out of and that’s why the reward for spending in the way of Allah SWT is so great. He says, “ The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of God is like a seed [of grain] which grows seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. And God multiplies [His reward] for whom He wills. “ (S2V261 ) This incident teaches us that it’s important to constantly remind yourself that that which you think is yours actually belongs to someone else and that it’s important to lend a listening ear to the one it really belongs to.

The third fitna which is the fitna of knowledge is shown to us with the example of a Prophet, Hazrat Musa AS. It is said that there were people during Hazrat Musa’s AS time that questioned who the most knowledgeable person in this world is and to that Hazrat Musa AS had responded that it was none but him. This is what caused Allah SWT to send Hazrat Musa AS on a journey to meet Hazrat Khidr AS in the first place. Now the question we may ask ourselves is, what exactly is the fitna of knowledge? Does it mean knowledge can make you arrogant and blindsighted to those that are more knowledgeable than you or does it mean the lack of knowledge on Religious matters is itself a fitna because without knowledge of Islam, we can not practice the religion properly. For the case of this article, we’ll settle for the latter. Hazrat Musa AS kept knowledge in high regard and despite his status, he was keen on meeting Hazrat Khidr AS who would only teach him more. The Prophet SAW said, “The world, with all that it contains, is accursed except for the remembrance of Allah that which pleases Allah; and the religious schools and seekers of knowledge.” One thing I would like to add here is that in the incident of Hazrat Musa AS and Hazrat Khidr AS, the concept of sabr is highlighted and the lack of sabr may not be a fitna but it is against the teachings of Islam. Allah SWT says, “ And be patient over what befalls you. “ (S31V17 )

The last fitna that is evident in this Surah is hinted at in the travels of Zulqarnain AS. He had been given a kind of authority where with Allah’s SWT will he could do as he pleased and his test was to not misuse that authority. Allah says, “ O Zul-Qarnain! Either punish them or treat them kindly.” to which he responded, “Whoever does wrong will be punished by us, then will be returned to their Lord, Who will punish them with a horrible torment. “ (S18V87-88) We learn from this that just because Allah SWT puts you in a position of authority, that does not mean one can do as they please, but it means they must follow Allah’s SWT will and the teachings of the Prophet SAW as well. Allah SWT says, “ Indeed We sent Our Messengers with Clear Signs, and sent down with them the Book and the Balance that people may uphold justice. “ (S57V25) Justice is an important theme of the Quran and some would even go as far to say justice stands at the core of Islam.

Now that we have talked about the prevailing fitnas the Surah has subtly mentioned, we will briefly explore why this particular incident ( Hazrat Musa AS meeting Hazrat Khidr AS ) came in this particular Surah.

Allah SWt says “ All praise is for Allah Who has revealed the Book to His servant, allowing no crookedness in it, making it perfectly upright, to warn the disbelievers of a severe torment from Him; to give good news to the believers—who do good—that they will have a fine reward, in which they will remain forever; and to warn those who claim, “Allah has offspring.” “ (S18V2-4) These are the first few verses of the Surah where Allah SWT mentions why He sent the Book of guidance in the first place and by doing so He instantly linked the Book to His Messenger SAW calling him His “ Servant “. He sends a clear cut warning to the Christians that their belief in Allah SWT having a child is baseless and that they do not have proper knowledge of their own scriptures which is why they are saying such a thing in the first place. Allah SWT also says “ And who does more wrong than those who, when reminded of their Lord’s revelations, turn away from them and forget what their own hands have done? We have certainly cast veils over their hearts—leaving them unable to comprehend this Quran—and deafness in their ears. And if you O Prophet invite them to true guidance, they will never be rightly guided. Your Lord is All-Forgiving, Full of Mercy. If He were to seize them immediately for what they commit, He would have certainly hastened their punishment. But they have an appointed time, from which they will find no refuge.Those are the societies We destroyed when they persisted in wrong and We had set a time for their destruction. “ (S18V67-69) He mentions the book again and instantly links the book to His Messenger and this could mean He wanted to create a strong connection between the two. These verses are just prior to the mention of Hazrat Musa AS and when He begins the incident of Hazrat Musa AS He uses the word “ and.. “ meaning the incident is a continuation to what He was saying previously. If we were to analyse this “ and.. “ as more than just a coincidence we could assume that there is a hard and fast time that is fixed for anything and everything. The fact that Hazrat Musa AS responded to the question in such a manner that Allah SWT sent him on this journey was predestined and there was a fixed time for it. It also could mean that this incident, because it involves a messenger, is itself guidance for us and that there is more to it than what meets the eye. There has to be a deeper significance to his travels, perhaps subtle lesson(s) for the believers. Interestingly enough, in the beginning of the Surah, when Allah SWT warns the people of a punishment, He is speaking directly to the Christians but now, just before mentioning this incident, He is speaking to all the disbelievers. The fact that this incident encompassed Hazrat Musa AS and Hazrat Musa AS had come to the Jews initially is a subtle hint that Allah SWT is speaking directly to the Jews here in a language that they would understand even though this incident was not one of the questions that was asked of the Prophet SAW by the Jews.

This is only a short introduction to the incident in itself, and we will discuss the linguistic significance of the incident in our next post. JazakAllah Khayr.