It is his boy, his servant. And in the hadith: Let one of you say, 'My boy' and 'my servant,' and do not say, 'my slave.' [Agreed upon from the hadith of Abu Huraira, may Allah be pleased with him, and it is more complete than this.] And my female servant.

It is said that he is Joshua ibn Nun. It is called 'his boy' because he served him and followed him. It is said that he took knowledge from him. If you say: 'I do not cease' if it means 'I do not depart' - from leaving the place - it indicates staying, not traveling. And if it means 'I do not stop,' then there must be a statement. I say: It means 'I do not stop,' and the statement has been omitted, because the situation and the words both indicate it. As for the situation, it was a state of travel. And as for the words, because his saying 'until I reach the junction of the two seas' is a specified limit that requires what it is a limit for, it must mean: 'I do not cease to walk until I reach the junction of the two seas.' Another interpretation is that the meaning is: 'I do not cease my journey until I reach,' on the condition that 'until I reach' is the statement, so when the added part was omitted, the added to it took its place, which is the pronoun of the speaker, thus the verb changed from the third person to the first person, which is a subtle point. And it may be that the meaning is: 'I do not cease from what I am upon,' meaning: I adhere to the journey and the pursuit and do not abandon it or part from it until I reach, as you say: 'I do not depart from the place.' And the junction of the two seas is the place where Moses was promised to meet Al-Khidr, peace be upon them, and it is the meeting point of the seas of Persia and Rome that lie towards the east. It is said to be Tangier. It is said to be Africa. Among the strange interpretations is that the two seas are Moses and Al-Khidr, because they were two seas in knowledge. And 'junction' is read with a broken 'm' (مَجْمَعَ), and it is in the rare form of 'he does,' like 'the east' and 'the rising' from 'he does.' Or 'I proceed for ages' or 'I walk for a long time.'

And a 'hubb' is eighty years. It has been narrated that when Moses appeared in Egypt with the Children of Israel and they settled there after the destruction of the Copts, Allah commanded him to remind his people of the blessing, so he stood among them as a speaker and mentioned Allah's blessing and said: 'Indeed, He has chosen your Prophet and spoke to him.' They said to him: 'We already know this, so who is the most knowledgeable of people?' He said: 'I am.' So Allah reproached him when he did not attribute knowledge to Allah, and He revealed to him: 'Rather, there is a servant of Mine at the junction of the two seas who is more knowledgeable than you, and Al-Khidr was in the days of Afridun before Moses, peace be upon him, and he was at the forefront of Dhul-Qarnayn the Greater, and he remained until the days of Moses. And it is said that Moses asked his Lord: 'Which of Your servants is most beloved to You?' He said: 'The one who remembers Me and does not forget Me.' He said: 'Which of Your servants is the most just?' He said: 'The one who judges with truth and does not follow desires.' He said: 'Which of Your servants is the most knowledgeable?' He said: 'The one who seeks knowledge from people to his own knowledge, perhaps he may find a word that guides him or turns him away from misguidance.' He said: 'If there is among Your servants one who is more knowledgeable than me, guide me to him.' He said: 'The one who is more knowledgeable than you is Al-Khidr.' He said: 'Where do I seek him?' He said: 'On the shore by the rock.' He said: 'O Lord, how will I find him?' He said: 'You will take a fish in a basket, and where you lose it, he is there.' So he said to his boy: 'If you lose the fish, inform me.' So they both walked, and Moses fell asleep, and the fish stirred and fell into the sea. When the time for lunch came, Moses asked for the fish, and his boy informed him that it had fallen into the sea. They went to the rock, and there was a man covered with his garment. Moses greeted him, and he said: 'And how is it with our land, peace?' He introduced himself, and he said: 'O Moses, I have knowledge that Allah has taught me that you do not know, and you have knowledge that Allah has taught you that I do not know.' When they boarded the ship, a bird came and landed on the edge of it and dipped into the water, and Al-Khidr said: 'My knowledge and your knowledge compared to the knowledge of Allah is like what this bird has taken from the sea.' They forgot their fish, meaning they forgot to check on it and what would indicate their success in the pursuit. It is said that Joshua forgot to present it, and Moses forgot to command him about it. It is said that the fish was a salted fish. And it is said:

Indeed, Joshua carried the fish and the bread in the basket. They descended one night by the shore of a spring called the Spring of Life, and Moses slept. When the fish touched the cold water, it revived. It is narrated that they ate from it. It was said that Joshua performed ablution from that spring, and the water splashed onto the fish, causing it to come to life. It fell into the water like a stream, and Allah held back the flow of water on the fish, so it became like an arch, and it formed in a manner similar to a stream. This was a miracle for Moses or for Al-Khidr. When they passed the appointed place, which was the rock, due to Moses forgetting, he checked on the fish and what had happened with it. Joshua forgot to mention to Moses what he saw of its life and its falling into the sea. It was said that they traveled after passing the rock that night and the next day until noon. Moses felt tired and hungry when they passed the appointed time, and he had not felt tired or hungry before that. He remembered the fish and sought it. His saying 'from our journey' refers to their journey beyond the rock. If you say: How did Joshua forget that, while such a thing is not forgotten? It was said: Ahmad mentioned in the hadith that Moses, peace be upon him, did not feel tired nor said, 'We have encountered fatigue from our journey,' except after passing the place that Allah had set for him. Perhaps the wisdom in Allah making Joshua forget was to awaken Moses, peace be upon him, to the favor of Allah upon the traveler in obedience and the pursuit of knowledge, by easing his burdens and carrying them for him. This is Allah's established practice regarding those whose intention in worship is sincere: that He eases it for them and bears its burdens as long as they remain in that state. The point of awakening is that he found a difference between his state of travel to the appointed place and his state after passing it. And Allah knows best. Even if Moses, peace be upon him, was aware of this, the goal is to awaken others from his nation, even from the nation of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, when he narrates the story. Allah did not narrate the stories of His prophets merely for people to entertain themselves, but to encourage creation to reflect upon them and to draw from their lights and benefits, both in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows best. This was a sign for them regarding the quest they undertook for which they were striving, and it was two miracles: the life of the fish that was salted and eaten from - it was said that it was only a piece of fish - and the water's rising and its standing like an arch and its flowing in a manner similar to a stream. Then how did forgetfulness continue with them until they missed the appointed time and traveled a night’s journey until noon the next day, and until Moses, peace be upon him, sought the fish? I say: The devil occupied him with his whispers, leading his thoughts in every direction, until forgetfulness overcame him. Additionally, he was overwhelmed by witnessing similar wonders with Moses, peace be upon him, and he became accustomed to his companions, which aided familiarity in reducing his concern. 'Did you not see?' means 'inform me.' If you say: What is the connection of this speech? For each of 'Did you not see?' and 'When we took shelter' and 'Indeed, I forgot the fish' has no relation to it? I say: When Moses, peace be upon him, sought the fish, Joshua mentioned what he saw from it and what befell him from forgetfulness to that extent. He was astonished and began to ask Moses, peace be upon him, about the reason for that, as if he said: 'Did you see what happened to me when we took shelter at the rock? For I forgot the fish.' He omitted that. It was said:

It is the rock that is by the river of oil. And 'An asanīhū' is a substitute for the 'h' in 'An sāniyahu', meaning: And nothing made me forget it except the devil. And in the reading of Abdullah: 'An adhkurahu'. 'A'jaban is the second object of 'ittakhadha', like 'saraban', meaning: And he took his path as an astonishing path, and it is like the path of a herd. Or it is said: 'A'jaban' at the end of his words, expressing astonishment at his state in seeing that wonder and forgetting it, or from what he saw of the two miracles. And His saying: 'And nothing made me forget it except the devil' is an interruption between the connected and the connector. It is said that 'A'jaban' is a narration of the astonishment of Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, and it is not that; that is a reference to his taking a path, meaning: that which we were seeking, for it is a sign of success in the quest of meeting Al-Khidr, blessings and peace be upon him. And it is read 'Nabghi' without the 'ya' in connection, and affirming it is better, and it is the reading of Abu Amr. As for the stopping, most of them drop the 'ya' following the script of the Mus'haf. 'Fartaddā' means they returned in their tracks. 'Qasasā' means they followed their traces closely. Or they returned, pursuing. 'Rahmatan min 'indina' is the revelation and prophethood from Us, which is specific to Us from knowledge, and it is the news of the unseen.