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Al-Khidr (a): Difference between revisions
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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,<ref>Muḥyi al-Dīn al-ʿArabī, ''al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya'', vol. 2, p. 41.</ref> 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.<ref>Mahdawī Dāmaghānī, ''Risāla darbāra-yi Khiḍr (a)'', p. 32-37; 40-42.</ref> | 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,<ref>Muḥyi al-Dīn al-ʿArabī, ''al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya'', vol. 2, p. 41.</ref> 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.<ref>Mahdawī Dāmaghānī, ''Risāla darbāra-yi Khiḍr (a)'', p. 32-37; 40-42.</ref> | ||
[[Abu Nasr al-Sarraj]]<ref>Sarrāj al-Ṭūsī, ''al-Lumaʾ fī al-taṣawwuf'', p. 422-423.</ref> 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.<ref>Sarrāj al-Ṭūsī, ''al-Lumaʾ fī al-taṣawwuf'', p. 424.</ref> 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]].<ref>Āmulī, ''Naṣṣ al-Nuṣūṣ''. vol. 1, p. 181.</ref> | [[Abu Nasr al-Sarraj]]<ref>Sarrāj al-Ṭūsī, ''al-Lumaʾ fī al-taṣawwuf'', p. 422-423.</ref> 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.<ref>Sarrāj al-Ṭūsī, ''al-Lumaʾ fī al-taṣawwuf'', p. 424.</ref> Among Shiite Sufis, in his ''Nass al-nusus'', [[Sayyid Haydar Amuli]] (d. after 794/1391-2) took al-Khidr (a) to be a prophet after [[Luqman]] and before [[Elijah]].<ref>Āmulī, ''Naṣṣ al-Nuṣūṣ''. vol. 1, p. 181.</ref> | ||
In an explanation of Khidr's longevity,<ref>Ibn Abi al-Jumhūr, ''Maslak al-ifhām'', p. 551.</ref> [[Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsa'i]] (alive in 904/1498-9) took the rivers in the Holy Qur'an<ref>Qur'an 54:54.</ref> 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. | In an explanation of Khidr's longevity,<ref>Ibn Abi al-Jumhūr, ''Maslak al-ifhām'', p. 551.</ref> [[Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsa'i]] (alive in 904/1498-9) took the rivers in the Holy Qur'an<ref>Qur'an 54:54.</ref> 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. | ||