Asssalaamu alaikum! Alhamdulillah, hope you are being steadfast in your belief. In these trying times, the voice of Allah provides us with something unchanging, constant and dependable that we can rely on for simply strengthening our Ruuh and to act towards a clear purpose even when hindered by chaos and noise from the disbelievers of the final civilization (Surah Al-Shuara (The poets) (A post coming up - still in draft) explains about how the last civilization harbors/has culminated all the malice and evil of preceding civilizations that were made an example of)
[Sahih Al Bukhari: 3401] — Narrated by Sa’id bin Jubair
Ubai ibn Ka’b told us that the Prophet (pbuh) said, “Once Musa stood up and addressed Bani Israel. He was asked who was the most learned amongst the people. He said ‘I.’ Allah admosnished him as he did not attribute absolute knowledge to him (Allah)
Meaning that, Musa (pbuh) should have told that “Allah Knows Best” instead of making a declarative statement from an assumption that since he is a Prophet of the Lord of all Worlds, He alone should have been the most knowledgable of them all.
We could learn two things here:
- Allah alone is the most knowledgable
- We need to be careful when sharing our assumptions with a declarative statement to others
We could very well see many commentators on TV, sharing their opinion on geopolitical, politik or financial predictions or assumption with absolute certainity. Some backed by data and some not, this leads to the spread of false information be it intentional or not and false information spreads confusion which is one of the weapons wielded by the Shaitaan to misguide the believers.
Continuing our story…
So Allah said to him, ‘Yes, at the junction of 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 large basket and proceeded along with his (servant) boy, Yusha bin Noon, 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 (pbuh) pointed out this arch with his hands).
[Surah Al Kahf (The Cave)] — This Hadith is further given authenticity and is explained in the Quran.
And [remember] when moses said to his young assistant, “I will never give up until I reach the junction of two seas, even if I travel for ages”.
But when they finally reached the point where the seas met, they forgot their [salted] fish, and it made its way into the sea, slipping away [wondrously].
When they had passed further, he said to the assistant, “Bring us our meal! We have certainly been exhausted by today’s journey”
He replied, “Do you remember when we rested by the rock? That is when I forgot the fish. None made me forget to mention this except Satan. And the fish made its way into the sea miraculously”
Moses responded, “That is exactly what we were looking for” So they returned retracing their footsteps.
Allah knows best as to why the location was exactly the junction of two seas. From a metaphorical perspective, once could derive that knowledge exists where two meet - Good & Bad, you might have heard of the phrase “Two Sides of the Same Coin”. It could be said that, one must view the world from a neutral or objective standpoint to derive true insights past their biases. Since the very concept of Good & Bad comes from allah himself, he is naturally the most knowledgable.
As for retracing their footsteps, from a metaphorical perspective it could mean to obtain knowledge through trial and error.
- There they found a servant of Ours, to whom We had granted mercy from Us and enlightened with knowledge of Our Own.
Allah, the Lord of all Worlds explains that this man, referred to as Al-Kidhar (The Green One - Because he was found on top of a lush green patch of land) in Hadith 3401 Sahih Al-Bukhari was enlightened with some of Allah’s own knowledge as a mercy from him. The Quran simply refers to him as a man/servant.
Moses said to him, “May I follow you, provided that you teach me some of the right guidance you have been taught?
He said, “You certainly cannot be patient enough with me.
And how can you be patient with what is beyond your realm of knowledge?”
Moses assured him, “You will find me patient, God Willing, and I will not disobey any of your orders”
He responded, “Then if you follow me, do not question me about anything until I [myself] clarify it for you”
The significance of the virtue of patience is brought to attention when seeking knowledge. Allah knows best.
Before delving further, let me bring to your attention the meaning of causality and derived from it, the causal chain. The next verses from 71 to 77 describe three incidents all of which revolve around atleast second-order thinking and involve irrational and altruistic actions that were carried out based on a predicted causal chain of events.
Causality
Denotes the cause-effect relationship of an action.
Cause: Man sows a seed → Effect: Tree grows
Causal Chain
A chain of potential consequences that succeed an action.
Cause: Man sows a seed → Effect: Tree grows → Effect: Tree bears fruit → Effect: Satiates Hunger of a person or animal
Second Order Thinking
A thinking that allows one to act with a specific potential causal chain upto the second link as the basis.
The Action: A government wants to reduce the number of venomous cobras, so they offer a cash bounty for every dead cobra brought in.
- First-Order Link (Immediate Effect): People hunt cobras, turn them in, and get paid. The cobra population initially dips.
- Second-Order Link (The Causal Pivot): People realize they can make easy money by breeding cobras in their basements to collect more bounties.
- Third-Order Link (The Backfire): The government realizes what’s happening and cancels the bounty. The breeders, now stuck with worthless snakes, release them into the wild.
The following incidents that Musa (pbuh) experiences with Al-Khidhar — the man who was enlightened by Allah — allows us to form a baseline understanding that those with wisdom act with a specific causal chain in mind. Their actions may seem irrational at first but bears fruit given time after an ‘n’ number of causal links.
The Ship Incident
So they set out, but after they had boarded a ship, the man made a hole in it. Moses protested, “Have you done this to drown its people? You have certainly done a terrible thing!”
He replied, “Did I not say that you cannot have patience with me?”
Moses pleaded, “Excuse me for forgetting, and donot be hard on me”
The Hadith explains that the owners of the boat recognized Khadir and granted them free passage on the boat, but the man with knowledge engages in a seemingly unpredictable and irrational behaviour initially mistaken for malice. Patience is re-enforced here, and the simple act of observation is encouraged in order to gain wisdom. Observation is how you get an initial sense of the cause-effect relationship of your actions or the actions of others.
The Boy Incident
So they proceeded until they came across a boy, and the man killed him. Moses protested, “Have you killed an innocent soul, who killed no one? You have certainly done a horrible thing.”
He answered, “Did I not tell you that you cannot have patience with me?”
Moses replied, “If I ever question you about anything after this, then do not keep me in your company, for by then I would have given you enough of an excuse”
This incident is especially polarizing and touches upon a moral and ethical quandry. Musa (pbuh) subtly provides an excuse to get away from him and rightfully so. He or anyone for that matter, could not have comprehended the intent behind the actions of this man, which, on surface is again mistaken for unwarranted malice.
The Wall Incident
So they moved on until they came to the people of a town. They asked them for food, but the people refused to give them hospitality. There they found a wall ready to collapse, so the man set it right. Moses protested, “If you wanted, you could have demanded a fee for this”
He replied, “This is the parting of our ways. I will explain to you what you could not bear patiently.
And thus begins the explanation for his actions.
The Explanations
- As for the ship, it belonged to some poor people, working at the sea. So I intended to damage it, for there was a tyrant king ahead of them who seizes every good ship by force.
Here, the act of malice was a disguised act of altruism. Since he was enlightened with knowledge from Allah, he had acted upon the knowledge with absolute certainity believing that no matter what he does, the boat will come under the radar of the tyrant king.
Lets analyze his actions a bit. He could have told the boat people to not go that way, but:
- They might go there anyway since they might have some business to take place there
- They cannot just do a U-turn and return on the sea midway just because Kidr told them to, attributing to food and resources that are stocked on the boat.
Taking this into account, instead of changing their action, he worked within his sphere of influence in order to bring about an outcome that is satisfactory to him. This also touches upon the fact that he chose to act upon the knowledge given to him by Allah. As he is a servant of Allah and a believer, we could assume that he is naturally inclined to do Good and Altruistic in nature. He could have chose to not act upon that knowledge and just let things take its course — for someone who solely guages doing things for his sole benefit this would have been their choice; but he chose otherwise reinforcing the level of autonomy that a man has in making decisions. This also answers the question, that Man has a level of autonomy to change his fate or the fate of others; as there would be no point otherwise. This also reinforces the following Hadith:
[Sahih Al-Muslim 49 || The Book of Faith 20] — Narrated on the authority of Tariq b. Shihab:
It was Marwan who initiated (the practice) of delivering khutbah (address) before the prayer on the ‘Id day. A man stood up and said: Prayer should precede khutbah. He (Marwan) remarked, This (practice) has been done away with. Upon this Abu Sa’id remarked: This man has performed (his duty) laid on him. I heard the Messenger of Allah as saying: He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.
Since Kidhar had the ability to do good and prevent evil by his hands, he did not need to move down to the next step which was to stop it with his tongue or to just hate it by his heart and willfully ignore it.
This incident and the following incidents also reinforce the fact that Niyyah matters a lot when performing any action. As per the Quran, from what we can infer, Khidhar was simply given knowledge by Allah and was not ordered to carry out specific actions, Allah Knows best. All of his actions are on his own and since Allah indicates this as an example, we could say that Niyyah matters a lot provided you can justify your actions even if they seem to be irrational or filled with mischief at first.
“And as for the boy, his parents were [true] believers, and we feared that he would pressure them into defiance and disbelief.
So we hoped that their Lord would give them another, more virtuous and caring in his place.
Lets analyze his actions again. The “we” used here is a royal “We” (Arabic: نَحْنُ / Nahnu) denoting Kidhar himself rather than the literal plural — used to signify dignity, power, or high status.
You might be familiar with the popular riddle that gauges one’s moral values: the Trolley Problem, first introduced by philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967.
You are standing next to a track switch. A runaway trolley is speeding toward five people tied to the tracks. You can pull a lever to divert it to a side track, saving the five but killing the one person tied there.
There is a lot to cover, but first lets point out the important aspects:
- The Trolley Problem (Moral Quandry)
- The autonomy to influence fate
- Niyyah (Intention)
- The royal “We”
The Trolley Problem
Depending on your answer, the riddle categorizes your moral values into two schools of thought:
1. The Utilitarian Approach (Consequentialism)
Choice: Pull the lever.
“The greatest good for the greatest number of people.” Five lives outweigh one. The moral value of an action is judged entirely by its outcome.
Debunked: Would you let the single person die if that person is your wife, your child, your mother? Human beings are emotional and social in nature. Five lives are worth more than one is false — it depends entirely on who is pulling the lever.
2. The Deontological Approach (Duty-Based Ethics)
Choice: Do not pull the lever.
Certain actions are inherently right or wrong regardless of consequences. By pulling the lever, you actively choose to kill an innocent person who was otherwise safe.
Debunked: Not making a choice is a choice in and of itself and does not absolve you of killing five people. Both morally and mathematically this is the worst option.
In Islam, human value is attributed to their closeness with Allah guaged by their outward character in a society. The Trolley Problem is also heavily influenced by the concept of the afterlife and belief in Allah.
Kidar, with his knowledge, made the best decision available at that time. Given his knowledge, he “feared” that the son would grow up and pressure his parents to disbelief and defiance — meaning there is a very good chance that all three of them would be fed to the hellfire in the hereafter. But Allah knows best.
So rather than losing all three of them to the eternal hellfire, what does Kidr do? He saves all three. Yes, all three.
This was only possible because the knowledge was from Allah himself, and thus he can act with certainity. By killing the boy, he made sure that he does not grow up and lead the parents to defiance, while also preserving the boy’s deeds and possibly giving him the best chance for Jannah. His Niyyah (Intention) carries his actions — with good intent and for the sake of Allah and that of fellow believers.
While he does that he “hopes” that the parents will be granted a more virtuous and caring child in his place — he is not certain whether they will be given a replacement or not. This is an incredibly bold and risky move primarily relying on his sense of moral values and justice.
This again poses something to think about: an example of standing up for your fellow believer. This argument falls apart if one does not believe in Allah or the hereafter. This also inherently strengthens Islam as a community, encouraging to care for each other and prioritizing fellow Muslims first.
A very sensitive topic, but this provides us a very clear method of action instead of pushing us towards confusion.
Further ahead in Surah Al-Kahf, Allah says:
Say [O Prophet], “Shall we inform you of whom will be the biggest losers of deeds?
[They are] those whose efforts are in vain in this worldly life, while they think they are doing good!”
It is they who reject the signs of their Lord and their meeting with Him, rendering their deeds void, so We will not give their deeds any weight on Judgement Day
That is their reward: Hell for their disbelief and mockery of My signs and Messengers
- Say, [O Prophet], “I am only a man like you, [but] it has been revealed to me that your God is only one God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with their Lord, let them do good deeds and associate none in the worship of their Lord”
And finally:
- “And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and under the wall was a treasure that belonged to them, and their father had been a righteous man. So your Lord willed that these children should come of age and retrieve their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. I did not do it [all] on my own. This is the explanation of what you could not bear patiently”