Prophet Mūsā: Part 6 — His Last Days and al-Khaḍir
Section 13 of 21 · Lives of the Prophets
A Town That Would Not Feed Them
فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَآ أَتَيَآ أَهْلَ قَرْيَةٍ ٱسْتَطْعَمَآ أَهْلَهَا فَأَبَوْا۟ أَن يُضَيِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِيهَا جِدَارًا يُرِيدُ أَن يَنقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُۥ ۖ قَالَ لَوْ شِئْتَ لَتَّخَذْتَ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا
“Then, they moved ahead until they came to the people of a town; they asked its people for food, and they refused to host them. Then, they found there a wall tending to fall down. So he (KhaDir) set it right. He (Mūsā) said, “If you wished, you could have charged a fee for this.”” (18:77)
Mūsā and al-Khaḍir walked into a town, and they asked the people of that town to feed them. It was in their law, in their religion — and in our religion too — that the guest has a right upon you. You are not doing the guest a favour by providing for the guest for three days; it is an obligation on you to help the guest and take care of that guest for three days. After three days, you can hold back if you want, or you can continue; it is up to you. But for the first three days, it is an obligation on the Muslim community to take care of the guest.
So Mūsā and al-Khaḍir walked into that town and asked them to feed them, and they provided them with nothing. They were very stingy people; they refused to help; they did not extend any helping hand to them. And while al-Khaḍir and Mūsā were walking down a street in that town, al-Khaḍir saw a wall that was about to fall down — a cracked wall, very weak, about to tumble and fall. And al-Khaḍir started erecting the wall again. Al-Khaḍir stopped and was rebuilding that wall — without taking permission from anyone, without being asked to do so by anyone, and doing it for free. He was building that wall for free.
Mūsā saw a contradiction in this. The people of the ship, the sailors who were doing you a favour for free — you destroyed their ship. The child who was innocent — you killed him. And these people who refused to help us — you are doing them a favour for free. The people who help you, you do what seems to harm them; and the people who do you no good, you help them. So Mūsā had a suggestion to offer. He said: law shiʾta la-ttakhadhta ʿalayhi ajrā — why do you not charge them for building the wall? Why do you not charge them?
قَالَ هَـٰذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنِكَ ۚ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَا لَمْ تَسْتَطِع عَّلَيْهِ صَبْرًا
“He said, “Here is the point of parting ways between me and you. I shall now explain to you the reality of things about which you could not remain patient.” (18:78)
Al-Khaḍir said: hādhā firāqu baynī wa baynik — this is the end of our agreement. You have breached the agreement; you have to go your way, and I go my way. It is done. But al-Khaḍir said: before you leave — sa-unabbiʾuka bi-taʾwīli mā lam tastaṭiʿ ʿalayhi ṣabrā — I will tell you the interpretation of the things over which you had no patience. I will interpret for you what was happening.