His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "So they set out until when they met a boy, he killed him. He said, 'Have you killed a pure soul for other than a soul? You have certainly done a horrible thing.'" "He said, 'Did I not tell you that you would not be able to have patience with me?'" "He said, 'If I ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me as a companion. You have certainly reached from me an excuse.'" "So they set out until when they came to the people of a village, they asked its people for food, but they refused to host them. Then they found in it a wall that was about to collapse, so he repaired it. He said, 'If you had wished, you could have taken for it a wage.'" "He said, 'This is a separation between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that which you were not able to have patience with.'"

"'They set out' refers to the place of their disembarkation from the ship. They passed by boys playing, and al-Khidr went to a handsome boy and struck off his head. It is said that he crushed it with a stone, and it is said that he slaughtered him. Some people said that the boy had not yet reached puberty, and that is why Moses said, 'pure soul,' meaning he had not sinned. A group said rather that he was a young boy, and the Arabs still refer to a young man as a boy. From this is the saying of Layla al-Akhiliyya:

'A boy when he shakes the spear, he gives it to her.'

And this is in the description of the pilgrims. In the report, it is said that this boy was corrupting in the land and would tell his parents what he did, and they would protect him from those who sought him. Ibn Abbas, al-A'raj, Abu Ja'far, Nafi', and the majority read 'zakiyyatan,' while al-Hasan, Asim, al-Jahdari read 'zakiyyatan.' The meaning is the same, and some people have gone to the difference, but it is not clear. His saying, 'for other than a soul,' implies that if it were for the killing of a soul, there would be no blame in it. This indicates the boy's maturity; otherwise, if he had not yet reached puberty, his killing would not be required either by a soul or by other than a soul. The majority read 'nukran,' while Ibn Amer, Abu Bakr from Asim, Abu Ja'far, and Shaybah read 'nukran' with the kaf pronounced with a dammah. There is a disagreement regarding Nafi', and its meaning is something that is denied.

People have differed on which is more eloquent: his saying, 'imran' or his saying, 'nukran.' A group said that this is a clear killing, and there it is anticipated, and 'nukran' is more eloquent. Another group said that this is the killing of one, and that is the killing of a group, so 'imran' is more eloquent.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "In my opinion, they have two meanings: his saying, 'imran' is more horrific and terrible in that it is a great expectation, and 'nukran' is clearer in the corruption because its dislike has occurred.

"And half of the Qur'an after the letter 'n' or it ends at the noon from his saying, 'nukran.'"

And his saying, 'He said, 'Did I not tell you?'' contains a rebuke and severity that is not in his first saying, 'Did I not say that you would not be able to have patience with me?' And his saying, 'after this' means after this story, so he returned the pronoun to it even though there had not been a clear mention of it since it was within the saying.

And the majority read: "So do not accompany me," and it was narrated by Ubayy from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. And 'Isa and Ya'qub read: "So do not be my companion." And 'Isa also read: "So do not accompany me" with a damm on the ta and a kasr on the ha. And Sahl narrated from Abu Amr, and the meaning is: So do not accompany me with your knowledge. And the A'rabi read: "So do not accompany me" with a fatha on the ta and ba and a shaddah on the noon. And His saying: "You have reached from Me an excuse," means: I have excused you and you have reached the excuse from Me.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

It seems that this story is the origin for the periods in the rulings which are three days, and the days of reproach are three, so reflect on it. And Ibn Kathir, Abu Amr, Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, al-Kisai, and Hafs from 'Asim read: "From Me" with a fatha on the lam, a damm on the dal, and a shaddah on the noon. This is "Ladunni" connected with the noon of the kinayah in "Darabani" and similar, so the idgham occurred, and this is the reading of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him. And Nafi' and 'Asim read: "From Me" like the first except that the noon is softened, so it is "Ladun" connected with the ya of the speaker in "Ghulami" and the letter before the ya is kasra as it is in this. And Abu Bakr narrated from 'Asim: "From Laduni" with a fatha on the lam, a sukoon on the dal, and a softened noon, and this is the softened "Laduni" which we mentioned before this. And it was narrated from 'Asim: "From Lunduni" with a damm on the lam and a sukoon on the dal. Mujahid said: This is a mistake. Abu Ali said: This mistake seems to be from the aspect of narration, but according to the rules of Arabic, it is correct. And al-Hasan read: "From Laduni" with a fatha on the lam and a sukoon on the dal.

And the majority read: "An excuse," and Abu Amr and 'Isa read: "An excuse" with a damm on the dal. And al-Dani reported that Ubayy narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "My excuse" with a kasra on the ra and a ya after it. And al-Tabari narrated that he said: "The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, when he prayed for someone, he began with himself, and one day he said: 'May the mercy of Allah be upon us and upon Musa; if he had been patient with his companion, he would have seen wonders, but he said: "So do not accompany me; you have reached from Me an excuse."'" And in al-Bukhari from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "May Allah have mercy on Musa; we wish he had been patient until he could tell us about their affair." And it was narrated in the interpretation of this verse that Allah, glorified and exalted is He, made these examples that occurred with Musa and al-Khidr a proof against Musa and a wonder for him. This is because when he denied the matter of the ship being damaged, he was called: 'O Musa, where was your planning when you were in the basket cast into the sea?' And when he denied the matter of the boy, it was said to him: 'Where is your denial of this from your sheltering the Egyptian and your judgment against him?' And when he denied the establishment of the wall, he was called: 'Where is this from your lifting the stone of the well for the daughters of Shu'ayb without payment?'

And His saying: "So they set out," means: al-Khidr and Musa set out walking to seek from al-Khidr a matter in which he would implement what he had from the knowledge of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. And they passed by a village and asked the people of it to feed them, but they refused. And in the hadith, it is mentioned that they were walking among the gatherings of those people, seeking food from them.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a clear statement regarding the insignificance of the world in the sight of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. The people differed regarding the village. Muhammad ibn Sirin said: It is al-Ubullah, which is the most miserly village and the farthest from the sky. A group said: It is Antioch. Another group said: It is Burqa. Yet another group said: It is in the island of Andalusia. This was narrated from Abu Huraira and others, and it is mentioned that it is the green island. Another group said: It is Abu Huran, which is in the region of Azerbaijan. (p-642) The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of this is according to the disagreement regarding which part of the earth the story of Moses, peace be upon him, took place. And Allah knows best the reality of that. The majority read: "Yudhayifuhuma" with a فتح on the ضاد and a شَدّ on the ياء, while Abu Rajaa read: "Yudifuhuma" with a كسر on the ضاد and a سكون on the ياء. This is the reading of Ibn Muhaisin, al-Zubair, and Abu Razin. "Al-Dhayf" is derived from: ضافَ إلى المَكانِ if it leans towards it, and from it is الإضافة, which is the leaning of something towards something else. Al-A'mash read: "Fa Abaw an Yut'imuuhuma." And His saying, the Exalted, regarding the wall: ﴿Yureedu an Yanqadha﴾ is a metaphor. All actions that are proper to be attributed to a living, speaking being, when ascribed to an inanimate object or an animal, are merely metaphors. That is, if there were a human in place of the inanimate object, he would be complying with that action. From this is the saying of al-A'sha: Do you cease? And those of high status do not cease, like the thrust that the oil and the threads go into. Thus, he ascribed the prohibition to the thrust. And from this is the saying of the poet: The spear desires the chest of Abu Barraa and turns away from the blood of Banu 'Uqayl. (p-643) And from this is the saying of Antarah: And he complained to me with a tear and a sigh. And he explained this meaning by saying: If he knew what conversation was, he would have complained... the verse. And from this is the saying of the people: "My house looks towards the house of so-and-so," and from this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "The fires of both of them do not see each other." This is very common. The majority read: "Yanqaddu," meaning: it falls. And the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, according to what has been narrated from him, read: "An Yunqadha" with a ضم on the ميم and a تَخْفِيف of the ضاد. This is the reading of Ubayy. Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and Ikrimah read: "An Yanqusa" with a صاد that is not marked, meaning: it splits lengthwise. It is said: The wall has split and the well has folded, and the tooth has split if it has split lengthwise. It is said: If it cracks, how (p-644) was it? And from this is the saying of Abu Dhuhayyib: Separation is like the splitting of the tooth, so be patient, for indeed every people has a stumble and a recovery. It is narrated: A tear and a joy; with باء and حاء. Ibn Mas'ud and al-A'mash read: "Yureedu li Yanqadha." The interpreters differed regarding His saying: "Fa aqamahu" - a group said: He demolished it and sat down to rebuild it. This is found in the mushaf of Ibn Mas'ud. This interpretation is supported by the saying of Moses, peace be upon him: ﴿If you had wished, you could have taken a wage for it﴾; because it is an action that deserves a reward. And Said ibn Jubair said: Rather, he wiped it with his hand and it stood up.

And it has been narrated in this a hadith, and it is the most similar to the actions of the prophets, peace be upon them.

Moses said to Al-Khidr: "If you had wished, you could have taken a wage for it," meaning: food that we would eat. The majority read: "You could have taken," while Ibn Kathir and Abu Amr read: "You would have taken," which is the reading of Ibn Mas'ud, Al-Hasan, and Qatadah. Some of the reciters merged the dhāl into the tā', while others did not merge it. From their saying: "You would take" is the saying of the poet:

And my foot has taken to the side of its stake Like the swift flight of the quail that is being hunted.

And in the reading of Ubayy: "If I had wished, you would have been given a wage for it."

Then Al-Khidr said to Moses according to their condition: "This is a separation between me and you." Al-Khidr stipulated, and Moses gave him that no question would occur about anything. Questioning is the least of the forms of objections; denial and correction are greater than it. His saying: "If you had wished, you could have taken a wage for it" - and although it was not a question - within it is the denial of his action and the statement of the correctness of taking a wage, and in that is a correction of leaving the wage. As for his separation and his repetition of "between me and you" and his deviation from "between us," it is for the meaning of emphasis. The sīn in his saying: "I will inform you" distinguishes between the two conversations and the two companionships, and indicates that the first has been cut off.