Al-Khidr (a): Difference between revisions

Al-Khidr (a) has a special place in [[Sufi]] writings. His extraordinary actions during his travel with Moses (a) are very significant and influential in the development of the Islamic [[mysticism|mystical]] literature. The mystical story of Moses (a) and al-Khidr (a) is the origin of stories that were written later with respect to mystical journeys together with a spiritual mentor. According to Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati, the narration of this story in the Holy Qur'an is an emphasis on the importance of travelling in order to gain knowledge from masters, being humble to the master, and the manners of learning from a master.

Different parts of the story contain resources for Sufi readings and literary metaphors. Inspired by the story, [[Rumi]] assimilated a Sufi's body to a ship that should be “scuttled” and then repaired by love of al-Khidr (a master). [[Ibn 'Arabi]] discovered a relationship between the three exotic actions done by al-Khidr (a) during the journey and the events in Moses's own life: scuttling the ship is relevant to Moses being rescued from the Nile river when he was a baby; killing a teenage boy with Moses killing a Copt; and not asking for a wage for reconstructing the wall with Moses drawing water from the well for [[Shu'ayb (a)|Shu'ayb's (a)]] daughters in [[Midian]].

A controversial issue among Sufis is the prophethood of al-Khidr (a) and his comparison with Moses (a) with respect to knowledge and ranking. They mostly take Khidr's knowledge to be from God, taking prophecy to be exterior knowledge. According to Ibn 'Arabi, people are ranked differently with respect to their proximity to God. People in each rank have perceptions of their own, of which people of other ranks are unaware, as al-Khidr (a) told Moses (a): God has given me knowledge of things that you are unaware of, and has given you knowledge of things that I am unaware of.

[[Abu Nasr al-Sarraj]] decisively rejected the view that the story of Moses (a) and al-Khidr (a) implies the inferiority of Moses (a) and the superiority of al-Khidr (a). He explicitly said that prophets are superior to saints of God. Among Shiite Sufis, in his ''Nass al-nusus'', [[Sayyid Haydar Amuli]] (d. after 794/1391) took al-Khidr (a) to be a prophet after [[Luqman]] and before [[Elijah]].

In an explanation of Khidr's longevity, [[Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsa'i]] (alive in 904/1498) took the rivers in the Holy Qur'an to refer to the knowledge of truths leading to a true eternal life, from which Khidr (a) drank. The spring of this water is the spring of [[wilaya]] and the source of divine succession. Whoever drinks it will live forever and will have an eternal life in the heaven.