"So they went on till they met a young boy, and he slew him. He said, 'Didst though slay a pure soul who had slain no other soul? Thou hast certainly done a terrible thing!' He said, 'Did I not say unto thee that thou wouldst not be able to bear patiently with me?' He said, 'If I question thee concerning aught after this, then keep my company no more. Thou have attained sufficient excuse from me.'"
Quran 18:74-76
OK, we're back into surah 18, al-Kahf, "The Cave," and we're following the mysterious journey of Moses and Khidr. Moses was mystified by Khidr's action in cutting a hole in the boat (more on that later), and now he's horrified as Khidr kills a seemingly innocent young boy. Again, we'll devote some time at the end of the story to examining Khidr's rationale for his actions. At this point we can discuss a little of the story.
As Nasr tells us in the commentary:
"Journeying farther, Moses and Khidr encountered a young boy whom Khidr killed, reportedly by striking him in the head with a stone. Moses was outraged that Khidr would slay a pure soul, that is, a young, innocent boy who had slain no other soul or even committed a major sin. Such a slaying is completely contrary to the Divine Law brought by Moses; see 5:32. We prescribed by the Children of Israel that whosoeve slays a soul - unless it be for another soul or working corruption upon the earth - it is as though he slew mankind all together. Moses consider this act to be worse than what Khidr had done before. From a mystical perspective, the slain boy represents the soul that inclines toward evil and is 'slain' when one overcomes the anger and other negative passions within oneself." (p. 753)
Nasr's point about such "a slaying is completely contrary to the Divine Law brought by Moses" brings us back to the tension and conflict between the exoteric knowledge of Moses and the esoteric knowledge of Khidr, which we'll discuss again in a couple days.
Quran 18:74-76
OK, we're back into surah 18, al-Kahf, "The Cave," and we're following the mysterious journey of Moses and Khidr. Moses was mystified by Khidr's action in cutting a hole in the boat (more on that later), and now he's horrified as Khidr kills a seemingly innocent young boy. Again, we'll devote some time at the end of the story to examining Khidr's rationale for his actions. At this point we can discuss a little of the story.
As Nasr tells us in the commentary:
"Journeying farther, Moses and Khidr encountered a young boy whom Khidr killed, reportedly by striking him in the head with a stone. Moses was outraged that Khidr would slay a pure soul, that is, a young, innocent boy who had slain no other soul or even committed a major sin. Such a slaying is completely contrary to the Divine Law brought by Moses; see 5:32. We prescribed by the Children of Israel that whosoeve slays a soul - unless it be for another soul or working corruption upon the earth - it is as though he slew mankind all together. Moses consider this act to be worse than what Khidr had done before. From a mystical perspective, the slain boy represents the soul that inclines toward evil and is 'slain' when one overcomes the anger and other negative passions within oneself." (p. 753)
Nasr's point about such "a slaying is completely contrary to the Divine Law brought by Moses" brings us back to the tension and conflict between the exoteric knowledge of Moses and the esoteric knowledge of Khidr, which we'll discuss again in a couple days.
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