'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, the Exalted and Majestic: "Moses said to him, 'May I follow you on the condition that you teach me from what you have been taught of guidance?'" "He said, 'Indeed, you will not be able to have patience with me.'" "And how can you have patience over what you do not encompass in knowledge?" "He said, 'You will find me, if Allah wills, patient, and I will not disobey you in any matter.'" "He said, 'Then if you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I mention it to you.'" "So they both set out, until when they boarded the ship, he [al-Khidr] damaged it. He said, 'Did you damage it to drown its people? You have certainly done a grave thing.'" "He said, 'Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?'" "He said, 'Do not blame me for what I forgot, and do not impose upon me in my matter difficulty.'" This is a conversation of the one who is greatly endowed with good manners. The meaning is: Is it possible for you to agree and for it to be hidden from you? This is as in the hadith: 'Can you show me how the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, performed ablution?' And according to some interpretations, his saying, the Exalted, also comes: "Can your Lord send down to us a table spread from the heaven?" [Al-Ma'idah: 112] Ibn Kathir, Nafi', and Asim read: "guidance" with a softened 'shīn', which is the reading of Hamzah and al-Kisai. Ibn 'Amir read: "guidance" with a 'dāl', and Abu 'Amr read: "guidance" with a fatha on the 'rā' and 'shīn'. It is understood in two ways: one is that it is a second object of "teach me", and the other is that it is an adverb from the pronoun in his saying: "I will follow you." Then al-Khidr said: "Indeed, you will not be able to have patience with me," meaning: O Moses, you cannot endure what you will see of my actions; because the apparent matters that you have been taught do not give you the understanding of it. And how can you have patience over what you see as a mistake while you have not been informed of the wisdom behind it nor the right way? So Moses assured him by his promise that he would find him patient, then he made an exception when he judged himself regarding a matter. Al-Khidr strengthened his admonition and commanded him to refrain from questioning and to conceal what he sees until al-Khidr begins to explain what must be explained. Nafi' read: "So do not ask me" with a fatha on the 'lām' and a shadda on the 'nūn' and the affirmation of the 'yā'. Ibn 'Amir read similarly except that he omitted the 'bā' and said: "So do not ask me." Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, Asim, Hamzah, and al-Kisai read: "So do not ask me" with a sukoon on the 'lām' and the affirmation of the 'yā'. The majority read: "knowledge" with a sukoon on the 'bā', and al-A'raj read: "knowledge" with a dammah.

And His saying, exalted is He: "So they set out," it has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that they set out walking on the edge of the sea until a ship passed by them. Al-Khidr was recognized, and they were carried without payment to the destination of the people of Al-Khidr. The ship was defined with the definite article to indicate the type, not for the specific one. When they boarded, Al-Khidr took a peg and began to strike the side of the ship until he reached, as it has been narrated, two planks from its planks. That is the meaning of "he damaged it." When Musa, peace be upon him, saw that, the apparent nature of the matter overwhelmed him, and he spoke when he saw an action that would lead to the drowning of all those in the ship. He stopped him by saying: "Did you damage it?" Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Abu Amr, Ibn Amir, and Asim read: "to drown its people" with a ت, while Abu Rija' read: "to drown its people" with a doubled ر and an opened غ. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "to drown its people" with the subject raised and the action attributed to them.

And "the matter" refers to something shameful among matters, like a calamity or disaster, and similar to it. From it is "the matter of the son of Abu Kabshah," and from it: "the people became numerous" when they increased.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "And 'the matter' is more specific than 'the forbidden.'"

So Al-Khidr replied to Musa: "Did I not say that you would not be able to be patient with me?" Musa became aware of what he had brought with him and excused himself by saying it was forgetfulness. This is because he forgot the covenant that was between them. This is the saying of the majority. In the book of Tafsir from Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "The first was forgetfulness." And in it, from Mujahid, it is said: "The first was forgetfulness, the second was a condition, and the third was intentional."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "And the meaning of this saying is correct, and Al-Tabari did not clarify it. Its aspect, in my opinion, is that Musa, peace be upon him, only saw the covenant in that he should ask, and he did not see the denial of this shameful act as a question. Rather, he saw it as obligatory. When Al-Khidr saw that he had taken the covenant in its broadest sense, he included in it the question, opposition, denial, and all objections—since questioning is lighter than all of these—he took with him in the category of objections that are free from lying. He said to him: "Do not hold me accountable for what I forgot," and he did not say to him: "Indeed, I forgot the covenant," but rather he said a phrase that gives to the interpreter that he forgot the covenant, and his interpretation and request are also valid, even though he did not forget the covenant. This is because His saying, exalted is He: "Do not hold me accountable for what I forgot" is a good statement that he requested, and there is no mention of the covenant in it, whether he forgot it or not. And in it, there is an implication that he forgot the covenant. Thus, he combined in this phrase between the excuse and the truth, and what undermines this saying is only that which was said by Ubayy, who narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "The first was forgetfulness."

And "you burden me" means you make me responsible and narrow upon me.

And among what has been narrated of their affair is that when they boarded the ship and it sailed, a bird landed on the side of the ship. It dipped into the water once. Then al-Khidr said to Musa: What do you see this bird has taken away from the water of the sea? Musa said: A little. He said: O Musa, my knowledge and your knowledge in relation to the knowledge of Allah is nothing but what this bird has taken away from the water of the sea.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is said: The meaning of this saying is to place knowledge in the position of the known. Otherwise, the knowledge of Allah, glorified and exalted is He, cannot be compared to anything finite, as it is not finite. If birds were assumed to be on the number of drops in the sea, it would come to an end. And I think that the objection may be that he means: from the knowledge of Allah that He has given to the scholars before them and after them until the Day of Resurrection. Thus, the ratio of His knowledge to the knowledge of humans is like that point to the sea.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this is a good statement, except that in some narrations of the hadith it is said: 'My knowledge and your knowledge and the knowledge of the creatures in the knowledge of Allah is nothing but like the dip of this bird.' So, with this, there remains nothing but that the comparison is metaphorical, as there is nothing in tangible things that is weaker in quantity than a drop in relation to the sea. It is as if it is nothing; for there is no known ratio of it to the sea.