Sahih al-Bukhari 3401

Hadith text

Narrated Sa`id bin Jubair:I said to Ibn `Abbas, "Nauf Al-Bakali 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 (ﷺ) 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 admonished 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 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 (ﷺ) 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 fatigue 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 patient, 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 sparrow came and stood on the edge of the boat and dipped its beak once or twice into the sea. Al-Khadir 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 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 patient 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 narrator 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 inhabitants for food but they refused to entertain them as guests. Then they saw therein a wall which was just going to collapse (and Al Khadir repaired it just by touching it with his hands). (Sufyan, the sub-narrator, pointed 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 (ﷺ) 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 (ﷺ) said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on Moses! If he had remained patient, we would have been told further about their case

Sa'id bin Jubair bataate hain: Maine Ibn Abbas se kaha, "Nauf Al-Bakali ka daava hai ke Al-Khadir ke sathi Musa, Bani Israel wale Musa (Nabi) nahi the, balki koi doosre Musa the." Ibn Abbas ne kaha, "Allah ke dushman (yaani Nauf) ne jhoot bola. Ubai bin Ka'b ne humein bataya ke Nabi ne kaha, 'Ek baar Musa khade hue aur Bani Israel ko sambodhit kiya. Unse pucha gaya sab logon mein sabse zyada ilm wala kaun hai. Unhone kaha, "Main." Allah ne unhe daanta kyunke unhone sampoorna ilm ka Allah ko hi haq nahi diya. Isliye Allah ne unse kaha, "Haan, do samundaron ke sangam par mera ek banda hai jo tumse zyada ilm wala hai." Musa ne pucha, "Aye mere Rab! Main unse kaise milun?" Allah ne kaha, "Ek machhli lo aur use ek badi tokri mein rakho aur tumhe woh jagah milegi jahaan tum machhli kho doge." Musa ne machhli li, use tokri mein rakha, aur apne naujawaan khaddam, Yusha bin Noon ke saath nikle, jab tak woh chattan tak pahunche jahaan unhone apne sar rakhe (yaani let gaye). Musa so gaye, aur machhli, tokri se nikalkar, samundar mein gir gaee. Yeh samundar mein ek surang jaisa raasta banate huye chali. Allah ne machhli ke oopar paani ka bahav roka diya aur woh ek mehraab jaisa ban gaya (Nabi ne apne haathon se yeh mehraab dikhaya). Woh raat ke baaki hisse mein safar karte rahe, aur agli subah Musa ne apne khaddam se kaha, "Humara khaana lao, kyunke humne apne is safar mein bahut thakan mahsoos ki hai." Musa tab tak thake nahi jab tak unhone woh jagah paar nahi kar li jahaan Allah ne unhe jane ka hukum diya tha. Unke khaddam ne unse kaha, "Kya aapko yaad hai jab hum us chattan ke qareeb baithe the, main machhli bhool gaya, aur sirf Shaitan hi mujhe ise (aapko) batane se roka, aur woh samundar mein ajeeb tarike se apna raasta bana gaee." Isliye machhli ke liye ek raasta tha aur yeh unhe hairat mein daal diya. Musa ne kaha, "Yehi to hum dhoondh rahe the." Isliye donon apne kadmon ke nishaanon ki pairvi karte huye wapas gaye jab tak woh chattan tak pahunche. Wahaan unhone ek shaks dekha jo ek kapde mein lipeta leta hua tha. Musa ne unhe salaam kiya aur unhone jawab diya, "Tumhare desh mein log ek-doosre ko kaise salaam karte hain?" Musa ne kaha, "Main Musa hoon." Us shaks ne pucha, "Bani Israel wale Musa?" Musa ne kaha, "Haan, main tumhare paas isliye aaya hoon taake tum mujhe woh sikhaao jo Allah ne tumhe sikhaya hai." Usne kaha, "Aye Musa! Mere paas Allah ka kuch aisa ilm hai jo Allah ne mujhe sikhaya hai aur jo tumhe nahi pata, jabke tumhare paas Allah ka kuch aisa ilm hai jo Allah ne tumhe sikhaya hai aur jo mujhe nahi pata." Musa ne pucha, "Kya main aapki pairvi kar sakta hoon?" Usne kaha, "Magar tum mere saath sabr nahi rakh paoge, kyunke tum aisi cheezon ke baare mein kaise sabr rakh paoge jinhe tum samajh nahi paoge?" (Musa ne kaha, "Aap mujhe, Insha Allah, sacha sabr rakhte paenge, aur main aapki kisi baat mein na-farmani nahi karunga.") Isliye donon samundar ke kinare-kinare chal pade, ek naav unke paas se guzri aur unhone naav walon se unhe savaar karane ki guzarish ki. Naav walon ne Al-Khadir ko pahchaan liya aur unhe bina kiraye ke savaar kar liya. Jab woh naav par the, ek chidiya aee aur naav ke kinare par baithi aur apni chonch ek ya do baar samundar mein daali. Al-Khadir ne Musa se kaha, "Aye Musa! Mera ilm aur tumhara ilm Allah ke ilm mein utni bhi kami nahi laaya jitni is chidiya ne apni chonch se samundar ke paani mein kami laee hai." Phir achanak Al-Khadir ne ek auzaar liya aur naav ka ek takhta nikal diya, aur Musa ko iska pata bhi tab chala jab woh takhta nikal chuka tha. Musa ne unse kaha, "Aapne yeh kya kiya? Unhone humein bina kiraye savaar kiya, phir bhi aapne jaanboojhkar unki naav mein chhed kar diya taake uske sawaron ko dubaya ja sake. Beshak, aapne ek bahut bura kaam kiya hai." Al-Khadir ne kaha, "Kya maine tumse nahi kaha tha ke tum mere saath sabr nahi rakh paoge?" Musa ne kaha, "Mujhe iske liye jawabdeh mat karo ke main bhool gaya, aur mujhpar sakhti mat karo." Isliye Musa ka pahla uzr bhoolna tha. Jab woh samundar chhod chuke the, woh ek ladke ke paas se guzre jo doosre ladkon ke saath khel raha tha. Al-Khadir ne ladke ka sar pakada aur ise apne haath se aise nikal diya." (Sufyan, doosre raawi ne apni ungliyon ke konon se ishara kiya, mano woh koi phal tod rahe hon.) Musa ne unse kaha, "Kya aapne ek maasoom jaan ko qatl kiya jisne kisi ko qatl nahi kiya? Aapne sach mein ek bahut bura kaam kiya hai." Al-Khadir ne kaha, "Kya maine tumse nahi kaha tha ke tum mere saath sabr nahi rakh paoge?" Musa ne kaha, "Agar iske baad main aapse kisi cheez ke baare mein poochun, mujhe apne saath mat rakhna. Aapko mujhse uzr mil chuka hai." Phir donon chalte rahe jab tak woh ek gaanv ke logon ke paas pahunche, aur unhone wahaan ke logon se khaana maanga magar unhone unhe mehmaan banane se inkaar kiya. Phir unhone wahaan ek deewaar dekhi jo girne hi wali thi (aur Al-Khadir ne use sirf apne haathon se chhookar seedha kar diya). (Sufyan, doosre raawi ne apne haathon se dikhaya kaise Al-Khadir ne apna haath deewaar par oopar ki taraf phera.) Musa ne kaha, "Yeh woh log hain jinse humne madad maangi, magar unhone na humein khaana diya na mehmaan banaya, phir bhi aapne unki deewaar seedha kar di. Agar aap chahte, aap iske liye mazdoori le sakte the." Al-Khadir ne kaha, "Yahaan se hum alag hote hain, aur main tumhe un cheezon ki vyaakhya batataa hoon jinme tum sabr nahi rakh paye." Nabi ne aage kaha, "Humni chahti thi ke kaash Musa sabr rakh pate taake Allah unke baare mein humein aur bataata.'" Sufyan, doosre raawi ne kaha ke Nabi ne kaha, "Allah Musa par apni rehmat naazil kare! Agar woh sabr rakh pate, humein unke maamle ke baare mein aur bataya jata."

Sahih al-Bukhari 3401 · Book 60, Hadith 74