Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Damaging the Boat Allah tells us that Musa and his companion Al-Khidr set out having come to an agreement and reached an understanding. Al-Khidr had made the condition that Musa should not ask him about anything he found distasteful until he himself initiated the discussion and offered an explanation. So they went on board the ship, as described in the Hadith quoted above -- the crew recognized Al-Khidr and let them ride on board free of charge, as an honor to Al-Khidr. When the boat took them out to sea and they were far from the shore, Al-Khidr got up and damaged the boat, pulling out one of its planks and then patching it up again. Musa, peace be upon him, could not restrain himself from denouncing him, so he said: أَخَرَقْتَهَا لِتُغْرِقَ أَهْلَهَا (Have you damaged it wherein its people will drown) The grammatical structure of the sentence in Arabic implies that this was the consequence, not the purpose, of his action. لَقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا إِمْرًا (Verily, you have committed a thing Imr.) About `Imr', Mujahid said: "An evil thing." Qatadah said, "An astounding thing." At this point, reminding him of the previously-agreed condition, Al-Khidr said: أَلَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْراً (Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me) meaning, `this thing that I did deliberately is one of the things I told you not to denounce me for, because you do not know the full story, and there is a reason and purpose for it that you do not know about.' قَالَ (He said), meaning, Musa said: لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنِى بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلاَ تُرْهِقْنِى مِنْ أَمْرِى عُسْراً (Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you).) meaning, `do not be harsh with me.' Hence it says in the Hadith quoted above from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: «كَانَتِ الْأُولَى مِنْ مُوسَى نِسْيَانًا» (In the first instance, Musa asked Al-Khidr because he had forgotten his promise.)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Damaging the Boat Allah tells us that Musa and his companion Al-Khidr set out having come to an agreement and reached an understanding. Al-Khidr had made the condition that Musa should not ask him about anything he found distasteful until he himself initiated the discussion and offered an explanation. So they went on board the ship, as described in the Hadith quoted above -- the crew recognized Al-Khidr and let them ride on board free of charge, as an honor to Al-Khidr. When the boat took them out to sea and they were far from the shore, Al-Khidr got up and damaged the boat, pulling out one of its planks and then patching it up again. Musa, peace be upon him, could not restrain himself from denouncing him, so he said: أَخَرَقْتَهَا لِتُغْرِقَ أَهْلَهَا (Have you damaged it wherein its people will drown) The grammatical structure of the sentence in Arabic implies that this was the consequence, not the purpose, of his action. لَقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا إِمْرًا (Verily, you have committed a thing Imr.) About `Imr', Mujahid said: "An evil thing." Qatadah said, "An astounding thing." At this point, reminding him of the previously-agreed condition, Al-Khidr said: أَلَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْراً (Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me) meaning, `this thing that I did deliberately is one of the things I told you not to denounce me for, because you do not know the full story, and there is a reason and purpose for it that you do not know about.' قَالَ (He said), meaning, Musa said: لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنِى بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلاَ تُرْهِقْنِى مِنْ أَمْرِى عُسْراً (Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you).) meaning, `do not be harsh with me.' Hence it says in the Hadith quoted above from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: «كَانَتِ الْأُولَى مِنْ مُوسَى نِسْيَانًا» (In the first instance, Musa asked Al-Khidr because he had forgotten his promise.)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Damaging the Boat Allah tells us that Musa and his companion Al-Khidr set out having come to an agreement and reached an understanding. Al-Khidr had made the condition that Musa should not ask him about anything he found distasteful until he himself initiated the discussion and offered an explanation. So they went on board the ship, as described in the Hadith quoted above -- the crew recognized Al-Khidr and let them ride on board free of charge, as an honor to Al-Khidr. When the boat took them out to sea and they were far from the shore, Al-Khidr got up and damaged the boat, pulling out one of its planks and then patching it up again. Musa, peace be upon him, could not restrain himself from denouncing him, so he said: أَخَرَقْتَهَا لِتُغْرِقَ أَهْلَهَا (Have you damaged it wherein its people will drown) The grammatical structure of the sentence in Arabic implies that this was the consequence, not the purpose, of his action. لَقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا إِمْرًا (Verily, you have committed a thing Imr.) About `Imr', Mujahid said: "An evil thing." Qatadah said, "An astounding thing." At this point, reminding him of the previously-agreed condition, Al-Khidr said: أَلَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْراً (Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to have patience with me) meaning, `this thing that I did deliberately is one of the things I told you not to denounce me for, because you do not know the full story, and there is a reason and purpose for it that you do not know about.' قَالَ (He said), meaning, Musa said: لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنِى بِمَا نَسِيتُ وَلاَ تُرْهِقْنِى مِنْ أَمْرِى عُسْراً (Call me not to account for what I forgot, and be not hard upon me for my affair (with you).) meaning, `do not be harsh with me.' Hence it says in the Hadith quoted above from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: «كَانَتِ الْأُولَى مِنْ مُوسَى نِسْيَانًا» (In the first instance, Musa asked Al-Khidr because he had forgotten his promise.)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Story of killing the Boy فَانطَلَقَا (Then they both proceeded,) means, after the first incident, حَتَّى إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلاَمًا فَقَتَلَهُ (till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him.) It has been stated previously that this boy was playing with other boys in one of the towns, and that Al-Khidr deliberately singled him out. He was the finest and most handsome of them all, and Al-Khidr killed him. When Musa, peace be upon him, saw that he denounced him even more fervently than in the first case, and said hastily: أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً (Have you killed an innocent person) meaning, a young person who had not yet committed any sin or done anything wrong, yet you killed him بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ (without Nafs) with no reason for killing him. لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئاً نُّكْراً (Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr!) meaning, something that is clearly evil. قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَّكَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْراً (He said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me") Once again, Al-Khidr reiterates the condition set in the first place, so Musa says to him: إِن سَأَلْتُكَ عَن شَىْءٍ بَعْدَهَا (If I ask you anything after this,) meaning, `if I object to anything else you do after this,' فَلاَ تُصَاحِبْنِى قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِن لَّدُنِّى عُذْراً (keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.) `you have accepted my apology twice.' Ibn Jarir narrated from Ibn `Abbas that Ubayy bin Ka`b said: "Whenever the Prophet mentioned anyone, he would pray for himself first. One day he said: «رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى مُوسَى لَوْ لَبِثَ مَعَ صَاحِبِهِ لَأَبْصَرَ الْعَجَبَ، وَلَكِنَّهُ قَالَ: إِن سَأَلْتُكَ عَن شَىْءٍ بَعْدَهَا فَلاَ تُصَاحِبْنِى قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِن لَّدُنِّى عُذْراً» (May the mercy of Allah be upon us and upon Musa. If he had stayed with his companion he would have seen wonders, but he said, (`If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.'))"

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Story of killing the Boy فَانطَلَقَا (Then they both proceeded,) means, after the first incident, حَتَّى إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلاَمًا فَقَتَلَهُ (till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him.) It has been stated previously that this boy was playing with other boys in one of the towns, and that Al-Khidr deliberately singled him out. He was the finest and most handsome of them all, and Al-Khidr killed him. When Musa, peace be upon him, saw that he denounced him even more fervently than in the first case, and said hastily: أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً (Have you killed an innocent person) meaning, a young person who had not yet committed any sin or done anything wrong, yet you killed him بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ (without Nafs) with no reason for killing him. لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئاً نُّكْراً (Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr!) meaning, something that is clearly evil. قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُلْ لَّكَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِىَ صَبْراً (He said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me") Once again, Al-Khidr reiterates the condition set in the first place, so Musa says to him: إِن سَأَلْتُكَ عَن شَىْءٍ بَعْدَهَا (If I ask you anything after this,) meaning, `if I object to anything else you do after this,' فَلاَ تُصَاحِبْنِى قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِن لَّدُنِّى عُذْراً (keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.) `you have accepted my apology twice.' Ibn Jarir narrated from Ibn `Abbas that Ubayy bin Ka`b said: "Whenever the Prophet mentioned anyone, he would pray for himself first. One day he said: «رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى مُوسَى لَوْ لَبِثَ مَعَ صَاحِبِهِ لَأَبْصَرَ الْعَجَبَ، وَلَكِنَّهُ قَالَ: إِن سَأَلْتُكَ عَن شَىْءٍ بَعْدَهَا فَلاَ تُصَاحِبْنِى قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِن لَّدُنِّى عُذْراً» (May the mercy of Allah be upon us and upon Musa. If he had stayed with his companion he would have seen wonders, but he said, (`If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.'))"