AL-KHIDR :

Keeping the Company

of Those Who See

by
Shaykh Ahmed Abdur Rashid
The Circle Group
Lecture by Shaykh Ahmed Abdu-r-Rashid
at the Zaawiyah of
Shaykh Nooruddeen Durkee
Charlottesville, VA
29 December 2013
26 Safar 1435

© Shaykh Ahmed Abdur Rashid 2013.

 Bismi-Llaahi-r-Rahmaani-r-Raheem

Sura al Fatiha

AL-HAMDU-LI-LLĀHI, MUQALIBA-L-QULŪBI WA-L-

ABSĀR.
ALLĀHUMMA ThABIT QULŪBANA CALA SIRĀTIKA-L-
QAWĪM,
WA-JCALNĀ LI-WAJHIKA MUTTAJIHĪN,
WA SALLI CALA-Sh-ShAFĪCI-L-HABĪB,
RAHMATIL-CĀLAMĪN,
WA MANĀRI-L-NAJIYĪN, WA MARSĀ-L-CĀRIFĪN

Praise be to Allah , the turner of the hearts and sight.

O Allah , fix our hearts on the best of Your ways,
and make us face You in our way,
and bestow blessings on the beloved intercessor,
the mercy of all the worlds,
the lighthouse of the survivors, the harbor of the knowers.

YĀ MAWJŪDAN CINDA-Sh-ShADĀĀ’IDI
YA KhAFIYYA-L-LUTFI, YĀ LATĪFA-S-SUNCI
YĀ HALĪMAN, LĀ YA’JILUQDI HĀJATĪ
BI-RAHMATIKA, YĀ ARHAMA-R-RĀHIMĪN.
SUBHĀNAKA CALĀ HILMIKA BACDA CILMIK.
SUBHANAKA CALĀ CAFWIKA BACDA QUDRATIK

O Existent One, O Thou who are Present in all difficulties.

O Thou of Hidden Kindness, of Subtle making.
O Gentle One, Who does not hasten, fulfill my need,
With Thy Mercy, O most Merciful of the Mercifuls.
Glory be to Thee, on Thy Grace, after Thy Knowledge.
Glory be to Thee, on Thy forgiveness, after Thy Power.

1
INTRODUCTION

This is a series about journeying, and it is really, truly only for a few.
If you are not so motivated, then you will hear about it, read about it,
and forget about it. This is a series that references my duruus over
forty years, because it is about the outer and the inner. Forty years, at
least in my time of teaching, is hardly enough time to begin to even
touch on the subjects.

The fount of knowledge flows from the ghayb through certain

channels, and to drink from that spring of life, you have to qualify.
To qualify, one has to choose the nawafil, to do what is not required,
what is beyond requirement. It is a place where few see, those of us
in dunya. Few of us have seen or see; and even fewer see in the baatin.
One has to be guided inwardly to it. So, we can do our best; but
surely, those who cannot be guided, cannot be guided; and only those
who can be guided by Allah will be guided by Allah . We have
to choose to be of those. We have to remember that this is a choice
to be made every moment of the day – eventually; continuously and
constantly – to remember to remember. So many of the subjects you
will hear today you have heard before, many of the admonitions, but
framed in the story of whatever we know, or don't know, or cannot
know about Al-Khidr .

Allah said in the Holy Qur’an, in Surah al-An’am:

ِ ‫و ِعْن َدهُ َم َفاتِح الْغَْي‬

‫ب ََل يَ ْعلَ ُم َها إِاَل ُه َو َويَ ْعلَ ُم َما ِِف الْبَ ِّر َوالْبَ ْح ِر‬ ُ َ
‫ض َوََل‬ ِ ‫ات ْاْل َْر‬ ِ ‫ط ِمن ورقَ ٍة إِاَل ي علَمها وََل حبا ٍة ِِف ظُلُم‬
َ َ َ َ ُ َْ َ َ ْ ُ ‫َوَما تَ ْس ُق‬
‫ي‬ٍ ِ‫اب ُمب‬ ٍ َ‫س إِاَل ِِف كِت‬ ٍ ِ‫ب َوََل يَاب‬ٍ ْ‫رط‬
َ
c
WA IÑDAHU MAFĀTIHU-L-GhAYBI LĀ
YA LAMUHĀ ILLĀ HUWA WA YAcLAMU MĀ FI-L-
c

BARRI WA-L-BAHRI WA MĀ TASQUTU MIÑW-WA

RAQATIN ILLĀ YAcLAMUHĀ WA LĀ HABBATIÑ FĪ
DhULUMĀTI-L-’ARDI WA LĀ RATåBIÑW-WALĀ
YĀBISIN ILLĀ FĪ KITĀBIM-MUBĪN.

2
 And with Him are the keys of the Unseen; no one knows
[them] but He. And He knows what is in the land and
the sea. And not a leaf falls but He knows it. And there
is neither a seed in the deep darkness of the earth nor a
thing green or withered but it is in a Clear Book. [6:59]

Therefore, we say that the knowledge of all things, the known and
the unknown, belongs to Allah . At the same time, He has
established that there are those to whom special knowledge is given:
faithful believers, messengers, saints, shuyukh.

‫ُّه َداءُ ِعْن َد‬ ِ ِ‫ا‬

َ ‫الصدِّي ُقو َن َوالش‬ َ ِ‫آمنُوا بِاللا ِه َوُر ُسل ِه أُوَٰلَئ‬
ِّ ‫ك ُه ُم‬ َ ‫ين‬ َ ‫َوالذ‬
… ‫ورُه ْم‬ ِ
ُ ُ‫َج ُرُه ْم َون‬
ْ ‫َرِِّّب ْم ََلُ ْم أ‬
WA-LLADhĪNA ĀMANŪ BI-LLĀHI WA RUSULIHI
ULĀA’IKA HUMU-S-SIDDĪQŪNA WA-SH-
c
SHUHADĀA’U IÑDA RABBIHIM LAHUM
AJåRUHUM WA NŪRUHUM…

Those who faithfully believe in Allah and His

messengers—they are the sincere truthful ones, and the
martyrs, with their Lord—for them is their reward and
their light… [57:19]

To those who faithfully believe, Allah gives some special

knowledge of the Unseen. These people exist throughout history as
messengers, as guides, seen and unseen by us, past and present, and
among us. These unseen friends and helpers of Allah are
recognized in Qur’an and Hadith, and we are guided to call out to
them for help. This is seen in the example of Musa  in Surah al-
Qasas with the word istaghaatha, “He asked for help” (not for
knowledge only) (28:15); and by Dhu-l-Qarnayn using the term
acīnūnī, “Help me” in Surah al-Kahf (18:95), which is the same root
as nastaceen, “We turn for help” in Surah al-Fatihah. Further proofs
from the Sunnah for calling out to an invisible helper in a situation of
need can be found in Hadith:

3
 Al-Bukhari narrates in his Sahih that our Hajar , when she was
running in search of water between Safwa and Marwa, heard a voice and
called out: “O You Whose voice You have made me hear! If there is a
ghawth (help/helper) with You, then help me!” And an angel appeared
at the spot of the spring of Zamzam.

In a hadith, al-Bayhaqi narrates on the authority of Ibn `Abbas that

the Prophet  said:

Allah has angels on the earth—other than the [two]

record-keepers—who keep a record [even] of the leaves
that fall on the ground. Therefore, if one of you is
crippled in a deserted land where no one is in sight, let
him cry out: “Help, O servants of Allah, may Allah have
mercy on you!” Verily he shall be helped, if Allah wills.

So we see that there are those servants of Allah , certain people

and angels who are there to help and guide us, those who are given
the sight, and the hearing, and the ability to assist others. Shah
Waliyullah of Delhi  wrote, “Good and virtuous spirits get mixed up
with groups of Angels, and help with the human being in their needs.” Who are
these people? They are the people who Allah describes in the
hadith qudsi:

My servant draws near to Me with anything more loved

by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon
him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with
supererogatory works so that I shall love him.

When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears,

his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he
strikes, and his foot with which he walks.

Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it

to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely
grant him it… (Narrated by Abu Huraira in Bukhari, vol 8,
hadith 509).

4
Those who are brought near to Allah are hearing what others do
not hear, and seeing what others do not see. The friends of Allah
are those people who understand what it means when Allah gives
the power to hear, and the vision to see. We are gathered here today
to speak about one of the greatest of these great servants of Allah ,
someone known by many names, a hand of guidance that can be
found in the pages of many spiritual traditions: Al-Khidr , the
Green One.

WHO IS THE GREEN ONE?

Who is Al-Khidr ? We really don’t know. Qur’anic commentators

have related several opinions with regard to the status of Khidr .
Some say he is one of the prophets; others refer to him simply as an
angel who functions as a guide to those who seek. There are yet
others who argue that he is a wali or saint, one whom Allah has
taken as a friend, who has this nearness/nisbah, a very cordial
relationship. Literally, Al-Khidr  means, “green one,” which
represents what is fresh and new and eternal, the source of life. There
are many stories about how he acquired that appellation. It also might
be related to Al-Khidr  disappearing in the green landscape, after
departing from Musa  in the story – he just merged into the green
landscape. Some people say that Khidr  symbolically represents
the faqeer in the wilderness, travelling where he is most needed,
meeting the people who were also wanderers, sojourners; people who
were lost (not just geographically lost); people who were troubled,
and those who call out for help. In fact, some would say that when
you call out “al gawth!” that is the way to summon him.

Of course, Khidr appears in Qur’an, and those commentators

who have thought of Khidr as a prophet have mainly argued this
on the basis of the Qur’anic reference to him as rahma in Surah al-
Kahf:

FA-WAJADĀ cABåDAM-MIN cIBĀDINĀ ĀTAYNĀHU

RAHMATAM-MIN cIÑDINĀ WA cALLAMNĀHU
MIL-LADUNNĀ cILMĀ.

5
 They found one of Our worshippers to whom We had
given Mercy from Our Self, and We had taught him
Knowledge directly from Our Presence. [18:65]

We can only try to guess what that means. This ayat characterizes Al-
Khidr  with language usually applied to the prophets.
Additionally, this ayat tell us the Khidr was taught knowledge of
the Unseen directly by Allah . The source of his knowledge is
therefore beyond question. He has Divine knowledge, and that
knowledge comes to very few. Khidr is one of the four
prophets whom the Islamic tradition recognizes as being “alive” or
“immortal;” the other three being Idris (Enoch), Ilyas (Elias), and cIsa
(Jesus)—peace be on all of them. Khidr  is immortal because he
drank from the water of life. There are some who have asserted that
this Khidr  is the same person as Elijah. He is also identified with
St. George of the Christian tradition. And there is a link here
between Khidr  and the classical Jewish legend of the “Wandering
Jew.” But who he is, is less important than what he does, and what he
does for us.

Large amounts of detail can be found pertaining to his name,

genealogy, appearance, origin, and status in the compilations of
Muslim commentators and historians since the beginning of Islamic
scholarship. Most of this literature exists either in connection with
the commentary of Surah Al-Kahf, or it is linked with the tales of the
prophets (Qisas al-Anbiyā’). One writer offers the following summary
of the significance of Al-Khidr  in the Sufi tradition:

Khidr  is associated with the water of life. Since he drank the

water of immortality, he is described as the one who has found the
source of life. He is the mysterious guide and immortal saint.
Sometimes the mystics would meet him on their journeys. He would
inspire them, answer their questions, rescue them from danger, and,
in special cases, invest them with the khirqa, which was accepted as
valid in the tradition of Sufi initiation.

In Sufic tradition, Khidr has come to be known as one of the

afrād, those “who receive illumination direct from God without human
mediation.” He is the hidden initiator of those who walk the

6
mystical path, like some of those from the Uwaisi Tareeqah.
Uwaisis are those who “enter the mystical path without being initiated by
a living master.” Instead, they begin their mystical journey either by
following the guiding light of the teachings of the earlier masters,
or by being “initiated by the mysterious prophet-saint, Khidr .”
Through this way come several Sufi Orders, which claim
initiation through Khidr  and consider him their master. It has
become yet another possible way of initiation through "a source
other than a human master." Besides the Uwaisi, history records that
Ibn ‘Arabi , the great mystical giant from Islamic Spain,
claimed to have received the khirqa from Khidr  (such a khirqa
is usually blue-green). Khidr  had thus come to symbolize “the
third path” to the knowledge of God, purely and constantly
supernatural, giving access to the Divine mystery (ghayb) itself. In
the writings of cAbd al-Kartm al-Jili, Khidr rules over “the Men
of the Unseen” (rijaal al-ghayb)—the exalted saints and angels.

Khidr is also claimed by and included among what in the

classical Sufism are called the abdāl (those who take turns), or the
“saints” (awliyaa’) of Islam. In a Divinely instituted hierarchy of
such saints, Khidr  holds the rank of their spiritual head. They
are called abdāl due to their role of becoming a “substitute” for
Khidr  and taking turns in “helping in his mission of assisting and
saving good men and women in danger and distress.” 1 But let’s look at it
in a slightly different way. Khidr is looked upon as an
individual who can transcend time and space, and can give you
the answers and the direction not only that you need in the
moment but for the future. However, there is a caveat: first you
must find him; you must identify him. In addition to the
particular story of Musa and Khidr in Surah al-Kahf, which
I will return to and speak about in more depth, there are many
other stories and accounts of Al-Khidr .

Khidr  is sometimes called “the teacher of prophets.” It is said

that the only prophet who Khidr  did not teach is Prophet

1
Irfan Omar “Khidr in the Islamic Tradition.” Duncan Black MacDonald
Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford
Seminary, Hartford, Connecticut http://www.khidr.org/khidr.htm

7
Muhammad , but that the Prophet Muhammad  and Khidr 
met a few times. According to Imam Ali , Al-Khidr came to
visit the Prophet  who described him with these words: “He could be
heard, but could not be seen in person.” He used the word “hatif.” Al
Khidr  is also said to have appeared at the Prophet’s  funeral, as
related by Ibn al-Jazar as follows, “A powerful-looking handsome man with
a white beard came leaping over the back of the people till he reached where the
sacred body  lay. Weeping bitterly, he turned toward the Companions and paid
his condolences. Abu Bakr  and ‘Ali  said that he was Khidr.” It is
significant that the ones to identify him were these two, as they are
the only two Sahaabah who are ascribed to baatini knowledge
(knowledge of the Unseen). And all Sufi silsila derive from them. This
hidden knowledge is not learned; it is transmitted to others, as it was
transmitted by Allah to the very few. Imam Ali  also said, “Every
year on the day of Arafat, Jibreel Mikhail, Israfil, and Al-Khidr  meet on
Arafat and praise Allah. Then they separate and do not meet again until the
next such day.”

IN SEARCH OF THE TEACHER

In Surah al-Kahf, we find the story of Musa  and Khidr . There

is so much symbolism in this story that we cannot fully cover it, but
know that such a story, pregnant with meaning, is a hint at the
meaning that can be found in every occurrence in our day-to-day life.
There is mention of the fish, which is the symbol of knowledge;
water, which is the symbol of life; the sea, which is the symbol of
limitlessness and immensity and vastness; the relationship between
murshid and mureed, or trust and submission; the journey, which
represents the inner journey of the seeker for truth. This is just to
mention a few of the possible inner meanings. Because the Arabic
language is so rich, every level of the words being used can be
endlessly explored on our journey. The story shows that knowledge
comes alive only after someone accomplishes or fulfills the guidance
they were given. Knowledge doesn't come free; we have to pay for it
by attentiveness, change, and sustaining our purpose – hardly an easy
task. Just think about a change you just made, or one you are
contemplating: a job, a relationship, a place, an attitude, an idea.
Think about how difficult it is. What do you put yourself through?
How many opinions did you get?

8
The story of Musa  and Al-Khidr  begins with Musa 
traveling in search of Khidr . But what inspired that search for
knowledge? The Prophet Musa  was already the leader of his
people; yet he becomes a student, a seeker of greater knowledge on a
journey that humbles and challenges him. There is another story that
may offer other insight into the cause of his search.

Musa got up one day to deliver a speech before the Children of Israel and
he was asked,

“Who is the most learned person among the people?”

Musa replied, “I am.” Allah rebuked him because he did not refer the
knowledge to Allah. So Allah revealed to him:

“At the junction of the two seas there is a servant of Ours who is more
learned than you.”

Musa asked, “O my Lord, how can I meet him?” Allah said, “Take a
fish, and put it in a vessel, and then set out; and where you lose the fish,
you will find him.”

And so Musa begins his search for his teacher.

ِ ‫ال موس َٰى لَِفتَاه ََل أَب رح ح ا ََّٰت أَب لُ َغ ََْممع الْبحري ِن أَو أَم‬
‫ض َي‬ ِ
ْ ْ َْ ْ َ َ َ ْ َ ُ َ ْ ُ َ ُ َ َ‫َوإ ْذ ق‬
‫ُح ُقبًا‬
WA’IDh QĀLA MŪSĀ LIFATĀHU LĀ ABåRAHU
HATTĀ ABåLUGhA MAJåMAcA-L-BAHRAYNI AW
AMDIYA HUQUBĀ

And [remember] when [in the course of his travels]

Musa said to his servant boy, “I won’t stop traveling
until I reach the place where the two seas meet, even if I
have to go on for ages.” [18:60]

9
Musa is willing to travel as long and as far as it takes 2 to find the
one whose wisdom is greater than his. Some say the phrase “go on
for ages” meant “a year” in the dialect of the place. Abdullah ibn
Amr said it meant 80 years, and Mujahid said 70 years. Ibn Abbas
said it meant lifetimes. “I am seeking the meeting place of the two
seas,” is symbolic of the place where perfect knowledge exists, the
place where esoteric knowledge and exoteric knowledge meet. Musa
 represents the exoteric knowledge, and Khidr  the esoteric
knowledge. So the meeting of the two oceans was both literal and
symbolic.

In order to find this place, Musa took a fish, put it in a vessel and
set out, along with his boy-servant Yusha bin Nun . Yusha
himself is considered a prophet, known as Joshua in the Torah. He
was the great grandson of the Prophet Yusuf . He traveled with
Musa  for 40 years in the desert and, when Musa  died, it was
Yusha  who led the Bani Israel over the River Jordan and into
Jericho. Musa  and his companion Yusha  traveled until they
reached the junction of the two seas, where there was a spring called
c
Ayn al Hayat (Spring of Life). They paused to sleep there. The fish
felt the drops of that water or mist, and it came back to life. It was in
a vessel carried by Yusha . As it jumped out of that vessel
towards the sea, Yusha  woke up and saw that it swam through
the water, leaving a channel behind it. It went as if through a tunnel
in the water just like a tunnel on land. Ibn Abbas said that “it left a
trace as if it were a rock.” The majaaz (tunnel) that is created (a
metaphor for moving from fanaa’ to baqaa’) by the meeting of two
worlds represents the simultaneity in the universe beyond time and
space. It is not just a tunnel that goes from here to there; you are here
and there at the same time. It’s very quantum physics. This is a place
beyond time and space. Again, in Surah al-Kahf:

‫فَلَ اما بَلَغَا ََْم َم َع بَيْنِ ِه َما نَ ِسيَا ُحوتَ ُه َما فَ ااَّتَ َذ َسبِيلَهُ ِِف الْبَ ْح ِر َسَربًا‬
2
Some of the scholars of Arabic said that Huqub (referring to “go on for ages”)
means a year in the dialect of the Qays and then he narrated that Abdullah bin
‘Amr said it means 80 years and Mujahid said “seventy years” and Ali bin Abi
Talhah said that ibn Abbas said it meant a lifetime.

10
 FA-LAMMĀ BALAGhĀ MAJåMAcA BAYNIHIMĀ
NASIYĀ HŪTAHUMĀ FA-TTAKhADhA SABĪLAHU
FI-L-BAHRI SARABĀ

And when they reached the point where the two met,
they forgot [about] their fish, and it took its course into
the sea, boring [as if through a tunnel]. [18:61]

When Musa  got up, his companion forgot to tell him about the
fish, and so they carried on their journey during the rest of the day
and the whole night. The next morning Musa  said to his boy-
servant,

ِ ِ ِ ِ َ َ‫فَلَ اما جاوزا ق‬

َ َ‫ال ل َفتَاهُ آتنَا َغ َداءَنَا لََق ْد لَقينَا م ْن َس َف ِرنَا ََٰه َذا ن‬
‫صبًا‬ ََ َ
FA-LAMMĀ JĀWAZĀ QĀLA LIFATĀHU ĀTINĀ
GhADĀA’ANĀ LAQADå LAQĪNĀ MIÑ SAFARINĀ
HĀDhĀ NASABĀ

Bring us our morning meal; truly, we have suffered

much fatigue in this, our journey. [18:62]

His boy-servant then said to him,

‫وت َوَما أَنْ َسانِيهُ إِاَل‬

َ ُ‫يت ا ْْل‬
ِ
ُ ‫ص ْخَرِة فَِإ ِِّّن نَس‬ ‫ت إِ ْذ أ ََويْنَا إِ ََل ال ا‬ َ ْ‫أ ََرأَي‬
‫الشْايطَا ُن أَ ْن أَذْ ُكَرهُ َو ااَّتَ َذ َسبِيلَهُ ِِف الْبَ ْح ِر َع َجبًا‬
ARĀYTA IDh AWAYNĀ ILĀ-S-SAKhRATI FA’INNĪ
NASĪTU-L-HŪTA WA MĀ AÑSĀNĪHU ILLĀ-SH-
SHAYTĀNU AN ADhKURAHU WA-TTAKhADhA
SABĪLAHU FI-L-BAHRI cAJABĀ

Do you remember when we betook ourselves to the rock;

I indeed forgot the fish. None but Shaytan made me
forget to remember it. It took its course into the sea in a
strange way. [18:63]
11
Musa said, “That is where we have been seeking. So they
went back retracing their footsteps” [18:64] until they reached the
rock. There they found a man covered with a garment. Why did Musa
initially pass by the destination? Why did they forget? Remember
Musa  said, “…Truly we are tired in this [stage] of our
journey.” [18:62] This is a classic example of what happens when
inertia sets in. I think we have all experienced physical and spiritual
inertia at some point in our lives. We all know what happens when
we get tired or become inattentive. We also become defensive, and
we make statements like, “Why didn’t you tell me that?” “I didn’t
think it was important,” or “Oh, didn’t I tell you that? I thought I
told you that," or “I’m sorry. I forgot.” Immediately we defend our
state. We miss the cues, the hints of purpose (isharaat). We don’t
realize the importance of the linkages, the vastness of space that
surrounds the little amount of matter, the vastness of the Unseen,
which supports the limited thing we call life, this physical world we
call ‘the seen’. We tend to make assumptions, cognitively or
unconsciously. This is indeed part of the human condition. Adam
 assumes he heard the warning of Allah vis a vis Shaytan.
Ibrahim  perhaps assumes all will be harmonious with Saara and
Hagar. Nuh  questions Allah’s actions vis a vis his son. Sidna
Musa , as other prophets before and after him, makes certain
assumptions, too, and commits certain wrongs.

THE GIVING OF BAYcAT

When Musa  finally finds Khidr , he asks to follow him and

become his student. We don’t know if he was there when Musa 
was there the first time, and Musa  just didn’t see him, or if he
showed up conveniently when they returned. Obviously, he had
knowledge that they were not going to be there the first time they
stopped, or they wouldn’t see him. For people of tareeqah, this is
often seen as the first example of the giving of baycat, and one of
several places in Qur’an that exemplifies and supports this practice.
We can see the importance of this practice from the very existence of
Al-Khidr , from his role in the story, and from that fact that even
the prophets of Allah sought out a teacher (in the form of Al-
Khidr ) to facilitate understanding of the Unseen and refinement
of their character.

12
Having met a true murshid, Musa  implores him to accept himself
as his disciple (mureed) and teach him the knowledge of Higher
Spiritual Truths, which would lead him to the Supreme Goal. Musa
 says, “May I follow you on condition that you teach me out
of what you have been given of right guidance?” [18:66] We
know the story, but we have to understand some of the little nuances
of it. Aware of the reality of such baycat, and the fact that Spiritual
Knowledge can and often does confuse the minds of the seekers, the
Murshid (Al-Khidr ) warns the Seeker that it is a difficult path on
which he embarks. He will see and experience many mysterious
things, and may neither be able to bear them calmly nor patiently.
Al-Khidr  says, “Surely you will not be patient with me. For
how can you have patience with that which your knowledge
cannot encompass?” [18:66-68]

Khidr  is telling the Prophet Musa  directly that he does not

understand the full meaning of the request he is making. Have we not
all experienced that? Certainly, I did not know the full meaning of
the request I was making when I gave my hand to my Shaykh. But
the Seeker promises to follow and obey his Master under any
circumstance. “Allah willing, you will find me patient: I will not
disobey any order of yours,” [18:69] says Musa . Aha! How
many times have we heard that, or even just implied? I guess in this
case, you can say “take it with a grain of salted fish.” He says this
with surety and sincerity. There is no doubt that he is sincere. There
is no doubt that any of you are sincere, who have given your hand;
yet, he is wrong about his own ability to be patient and obedient. But
this assurance is not enough, and so the Master places a final
condition before the Seeker that he should not question him about
anything whatsoever, and the Seeker agrees to it. Now, if Khidr 
has knowledge of the unseen world and what is going to happen, why
does he allow him to continue? Because Musa  has to find out for
himself about himself.

[Al-Khidr ] said, “If you would follow me, then ask

me no questions about anything until I myself mention
it to you.” [18:70]

13
A spiritual bond now binds them. As people of tareeqah, as seekers of
Truth, as givers of baycat, we try to refine our souls, our inner most
souls. We strive to be in not only the company of our shaykh and our
shuyukh, but also to realize that the blessing of being in tareeqah carries
with it responsibility. That responsibility accrues to whoever has
given baycat, no matter what stage they are at, in their own spiritual
development. We carry with us the trust of all the awliyaa’u-Llaah and
the ambiyaa’, to whatever degree we know the hidden aspects and
secrets of the unseen world, even if our knowledge is only to know
that those secrets exist and we don’t yet know them. We accept and
understand this type of heritage and responsibility in many ways
when it comes to the outer. You are the daughter or son of so-and-
so. You are in the line of so-and-so. Everyone is familiar with this
concept, but when it comes to tareeqah, it is equally serious. Wherever
you go, knowingly or unknowingly, you represent that Order. You
represent that shaykh and the people of tareeqah—all the people of
tareeqah, no exceptions. This is a heavy responsibility and burden. It
is based on a promise that you don’t really understand what it means.
You may never really understand what it means if you let the inertia
set in.

THE TEACHINGS OF AL-KHIDR 

So Musa  is accepted as the student of Al-Khidr  and they set

out walking along the shore, until a boat passed by and they asked the
crew to let them go on board. The crew recognized Al-Khidr  and
allowed them to go on board free of charge. They knew him as a
friend of the poor and servant of Allah . When they went on
board, Musa  saw that Al-Khidr  had pulled out one of the
planks of the ship. Musa  said to him, “These people gave us a
free passage, yet you have broken their boat so that it is possible that
the people will drown! Verily, you have done a terrible thing!” Al-
Khidr  said, “Did I not tell you, that you would not be able to
have patience with me.” [18:72] Musa  said, “Do not take me
to task for my forgetfulness, and don’t be hard on my [by
making] a difficulty in my case!'” [18:73] Have you ever been
there? If you do that excessively, it’s called passive-aggressive
behavior. Shut the person up. Give an excuse until they raise their
hands and say, “Okay, fine. I’m not going to say anymore.” Then a

14
bird came and sat on the edge of the boat, dipping its beak once or
twice in the sea. Al-Khidr  said to Musa , “My knowledge and your
knowledge, in comparison to Allah’s knowledge, is like what this bird has taken
out of the sea.” Now, he’s putting himself on the level with Musa ,
compared to Allah . Musa  had put him at a level higher than
himself, because Allah said he had knowledge of the Unseen,
rahmah. Then they both disembarked from the boat, so we can
assume that the damage Al-Khidr  did to the boat was just enough
to allow it to sail to its home port or before it left; how else could
they have survived?

Later, while they were walking on the shore, Al-Khidr saw a boy
playing with other boys. Al-Khidr  took hold of the boy’s head
and killed him with his hands. Musa  said to him, “Truly what
you have done is terrible!” [18:74], and Khidr  says, “Didn’t I
tell you that you would not have patience with me?” [18:75] But
Musa  assures him that next time will be different, “If I question
you about anything after this, then do not keep company with
me…” [18:76] So now, what is happening? Musa is giving him
the order that he was given by him previously. He was told that was
the condition; and he is saying it now. Then they both proceeded
until they came to the people of a town. They asked them for food
but they refused to entertain them. These were not nice people.
Outside of the town they found there a wall on the point of falling
down. Al-Khidr  set it up straight with his own hands. Musa 
said, “We came to these people, but they neither fed us nor received
us as guests. “If you had wished, surely, you could have taken
wages for it!” [18:77]

At each stage, Prophet Musa  asked questions and passes

judgment, until after this third time, Al-Khidr  said, “This is the
parting between you and me. [But first] I will tell you the inner
meaning of that which you could not bear with patience.”
[18:78] This is the parting between the esoteric and the exoteric. This
is the parting between zaman and waqt. This is the point where the
barzakh is set, and you are where you are in the barzakh. Nothing is
going to change but by the Will of Allah . And he goes on to
explain the inner meanings:

15
 ‫ت أَ ْن‬ ‫ي يَ ْع َملُو َن ِِف الْبَ ْح ِر‬ ِ ِ َ‫أَاما ال اس ِفينَةُ فَ َكان‬
ُ ‫فَأ ََرْد‬ َ ‫ت ل َم َساك‬ ْ
ٍ ِ ٌ ِ‫أ َِعيبَ َها َوَكا َن َوَراءَ ُه ْم َمل‬
ُ‫َوأَاما الْغُ ََلم‬ .‫صبًا‬ ْ ‫ك يَأْ ُخ ُذ ُك ال َسفينَة َغ‬
.‫ي فَ َخ ِشينَا أَ ْن يُْرِه َق ُه َما طُ ْغيَانًا َوُك ْفًرا‬ِ ْ َ‫فَ َكا َن أَبَواهُ ُم ْؤِمن‬
َ
AMMĀ-S-SAFĪNATU FA-KĀNAT LIMASĀKĪNA
YAcMALŪNA FI-L-BAHRI FA-ARADåTU AN
c
A ĪBAHĀ WA KĀNA WA RĀA’AHUM MALIKUÑY-
YA’KhUDhU KULLA SAFĪNATIN GhASBĀ.

WA AMMĀ-L-GhULĀMU FA-KĀNA ABAWĀHU

MU’MINAYNI FA-KhASHĪNĀ AÑY-
YURHIQAHUMĀ TUGhYĀNAÑW-WA KUFRĀ.

As for the boat, it belonged to poor people working in

the sea. I wished to damage it as there was a king
coming after them who seized every [sound] boat by
force.

And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we

feared he would bring bitter grief on them by his
wickedness and disbelief. [18:79-80]

Ibn `Abbas narrated from Ubayy bin Kacb that the Prophet  said
about this:

The boy Al-Khidr killed was destined to be a disbeliever from the day he
was created.

And Qatadah, one of the companions of the Prophet , said,

His parents rejoiced when he was born and grieved for him when he was
killed. If he had stayed alive, he would have been the cause of their doom.
So let a man be content with the decree of Allah, for the decree of Allah
for the believer, if he dislikes it, is better for him than if He were to
decree something that he likes for him.

16
Furthermore, another interpreter points out that:

Allah knew that the future of this boy was that he would become a
tyrant; therefore, the wisdom behind the birth of the boy could be that his
father was destined for a higher rank in al-Jannah, in the event of his
son’s death. Perhaps Allah was to bless the parents of the boy with
another more virtuous son. The son may have also been killed to provide
a lesson to the youth. If this boy had lived, he would have been destined
for hell, but his death at a young age meant he was destined to enter al-
Jannah. Thus, his death was beneficial to the society, to his parents, and
to himself.

Who among us are enlightened enough to accept this out of

hand? Allah forbid anything happens to our children.

‫ي ِِف الْ َم ِدينَةِ َوَكا َن ََتْتَهُ َكْن ٌز ََلَُما‬ِ ْ ‫ي يَتِيم‬ ِ ِ

َ ْ ‫اْل َد ُار فَ َكا َن لغُ ََل َم‬
ِْ ‫وأَاما‬
َ
‫اُهَا َويَ ْستَ ْخ ِر َجا َكْن َزُُهَا‬ ِ
ُ ‫ك أَ ْن يَْب لُغَا أ‬
ُ ‫َشد‬ َ ُّ‫صاْلًا فَأ ََر َاد َرب‬
َ ‫وُهَا‬ ُ ُ‫َوَكا َن أَب‬
…‫ك‬ َ ِّ‫َر ْْحَةً ِم ْن َرب‬
WA AMMĀ-L-JIDĀRU FA-KĀNA LIGhULĀMAYNI
YATĪMAYNI FI-L-MADĪNATI WA KĀNA
TAHTAHU KAÑZUL-LAHUMĀ WA KĀNA
ABŪHUMĀ SĀLIHAÑ FA-ARĀDA RABBUKA AÑY-
YABåLUGhĀ ASHUDDAHUMĀ WA YASTAKhRIJĀ
KAÑZAHUMĀ RAHMATAM-MIR-RABBIKA…

And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in

the town, and beneath it was a [buried] treasure
belonging to them. Their father was a righteous man,
and your Lord intended that they should attain their age
of full strength and take out their treasure as a mercy
from your Lord. [18:82]

Al-Khidr  concludes the teaching by showing that not only were

his actions, which appeared to be wrong, were actually right, but they
were not his actions at all, but the decrees of Allah acted upon by
17
him because of his knowledge of the Unseen and from the Mercy of
Allah .

ِ ِ ِ َ ِ‫َوَما فَ َع ْلتُهُ َع ْن أ َْم ِري ََٰذل‬

‫صْب ًرا‬ ُ ‫ك تَأْو‬
َ ‫يل َما ََلْ تَ ْسط ْع َعلَْيه‬
WA MĀ FA-cALTUHU cAN AMRĪ DhĀLIKA TA’WĪLU
MĀ LAM TASTIc cALAYHI SABåRĀ

And I did them not of my own accord. That is the

interpretation of those (things) over which you could not
be patient. [18:82]

Despite the fact that Musa  was a prophet, and he carried the
Divine law from Allah to humanity, it still did not give him the
subtle knowledge known to one who has become the direct recipient
and instrument of Allah . Musa  is shown all these events,
shown how Allah responds to circumstances in order to benefit
His creation, redirecting circumstances, using His servant as an
instrument to accomplish his intended purpose. Through Khidr ,
Musa  is given a lesson of the vast knowledge of Allah : how
subtle it is, how momentary it can be, how specific and also how
universal; how you can see it in one moment and forget it in the next.
As a prophet, Musa  is already wise, but the story of Musa  and
Al-Khidr  tells us that even with wisdom, we don't understand
every inner meaning.

LEARNING TO ACCEPT THE INNER MEANINGS

There are many things we can learn today from this story: some of
them are about paradoxes, confusion, and chaos. What appears to be
loss might be gain. What appears to be gain might be loss. What
appears to be wealth might be eventually poverty. What appears to be
poverty might be safety. What appears to be illness might lead to
health. The momentary appearance of cruelty might be a mercy for a
larger number of people. In other words, Allaahu caalim (Allah
knows best). Allah’s wisdom transcends all human capability for
understanding. As many books as you can read or write, as many
great philosophical ideas as you can have, as many interesting
18
discussions that you can have, if we don't have humility between
every single word, and are not questioning our knowledge with every
single word (instead of celebrating how great and brilliant you are),
you are not only not seeing the Unseen, you are shutting yourself off
from it; and though this life may be full for you, and you have many
understandings and much wealth and much success, the Hereafter
will be empty of meaning.

Knowledge of the Unseen, cilm adh-dhaati, is knowledge only accorded

to Allah . Allah grants power and authority to certain of His
servants for the purpose of benefiting the rest of His creation.
Everything must benefit from Allah’s knowledge. Not just you,
not just me, not just the people in tareeqah, not just the Muslims, the
Christians, and the Jews—but everything, the birds, the insects, the
trees, everything. In the case of Musa , Khidr’s  knowledge of
the Unseen was the source of many difficult lessons, lessons about
his own self and abilities. Not just the lessons of those stories, but
what about reflecting on what happened? Did anything ever happen
to you that you didn’t reflect on for hours, days, months, years,
especially if it had to do with our self-image, or the idea of our own
knowledge, lessons about our own self and abilities, and about the
mystery and vastness of Allah’s intention?

We can learn from the knowledge that Al-Khidr  imparts, the

secrets of the very delicate balance between patience, trust, and faith,
and surrender. It is so easy to over-balance, to not see the linkages,
not know when to pause, to be patient, to wait; hence, we have
methods given to us for that purpose. We especially think of
muraaqabah and dhikru-Llāh; contemplating Qur’an. We can learn
from Musa  that knowledge cannot be taken for granted
(assumed), and every act of ours, every question, every word, and
hence every thought unuttered has a consequence. A stone thrown
into a pond makes a ripple, not in one direction, but in every
direction, in every aspect of our lives. We can understand from the
tafseer, some of which I have already shared, the linkages that Musa
 didn’t see, because he was focused on the outer meaning rather
than the unseen reality. Indeed, every time Musa’s  attention goes
from the inner journey he is on to the outer occurrences that Al-
Khidr  instigates, he asks a question, which he is not supposed to

19
do. It becomes not only a trust issue, but an issue of attention. Once
the attention is turned outward then doubt or questions rise. Then
we find that inertia sets in, a kind of forgetfulness that is sometimes
worse than action.

One of the greatest pitfalls to the spiritual path is torpor, laziness—

when you can’t get yourself to do something, where there is a lack of
self-discipline to do wuduu’, to pray, to study, to read Qur’an, to sit in
muraaqabah, to make tahajjud prayer, to make istighafar, to make
istikhaara. When torpor or questioning becomes your pattern, it
becomes your way of life and blocks your access to knowledge of the
Unseen. Eventually, Musa  comes to understand (or at least is
told) the underlying intention of those events. But he pays a price,
the price of not being aware in the moment. What is explained post
facto is far from the same as being in a receptive and awakened state
in the moment. He got the answer, but he didn’t get it in the time
frame he normally would have gotten it; consequently, it cannot
possibly have the meaning that it would have if he was ready for it to
arrive at the right time, if at all.

Khidr  is living in waqt and seizes the moment because of the

knowledge given by Allah to him. But Musa , like most of us, is
operating in zaman, linear time, the world of literal cause/effect,
rather than insight and trust. Only after the explanations do we
understand that what seems to be wrong in Al-Khidr’s  actions is
right in Allah’s judgment. You could say, in a way, that Musa’s
encounter with Al-Khidr  is somehow an encounter with the
subtlest Attributes of Allah in order that Allah can equip Musa
 to overcome the assumptions that come with life in this world. It
can also be seen as a test for Musa . But it certainly is an example
of the fact that we human beings are always faced with the limits of
our search for awareness, unity, union with, submission to Allah ,
or humility before vast knowledge.

TRAVELING IN THE HOMELAND

The Sufi draws many practical lessons from the stories of Al-Khidr
. Among these is the second principle of the Naqshbandiyya
Order: safar dar watani / journeying in one’s homeland. As I have said,

20
Al-Khidr  is known as the Wanderer, the ever-traveling Dervish.
When Musa  wished to study with him, he had to travel to the
place where he would meet him. And, rather than stay in one place
as a student, he became Al-Khidr’s  traveling companion,
traveling across the land and sea to the various circumstances that
they encounter. There’s an implication in the idea of travel that is a
divergence from the common idea of living an ascetic life and being a
spiritual individual. The outward journey through the world serves as
a mirror for the traveler. There are a myriad of analogies and
statements about the dimension of meditation, and the levels one
goes through in each lateefah, and in each transmission, and how
everything in the outer reflects the inner, and everything in the inner
reflects the outer. This is a core of our teaching.

It is important, if you are a serious sojourner, to build the bridge

between the outer and the inner life in a conscious and direct way,
not just in thinking and speaking philosophically and being clever.
By getting the taste/dhawq of it, by infusing your life with it, you gain
so much knowledge that it becomes on the tip of your finger, or the
tip of your tongue. You can then recognize the dimensions of
meditation: ghunoodgi (drifting as in leaving the outer world), adraak
(awareness of the altered state and station i.e., being conscious in
one’s meditation), and wuruud (being able to direct your inner travel
and be conscious of your direction and perception).

In this journey in the world and on the path, you begin to see in your
own self both the inner and the outer. You see that in the world
around you there is a mirror to your journey. This life is actually
about journeying in one's homeland. That homeland is your own
inner world, your own inner self. Wherever you are in the outer
world, it becomes a mirror for your inner state; so you are journeying
in the inner world also. ‘Journeying in the homeland’ means realizing
that what you are looking for is within you and around you in the
most familiar places. That was a lesson for Musa . He searched
far and long to find Al-Khidr  and learns the secret knowledge
from him. The lessons Al-Khidr  teaches him are lessons about
the refinement of his own inner self. His lack of patience and lack of
knowledge can only be transformed by patience and inner reflection.

21
So Musa’s  journey is a journey in his homeland. Journeying in
one's homeland has two meanings. It means literally staying where
you are geographically, and “digging your well in one place,” as I like
to tell my students. It also means turning inward and journeying in
the most familiar place: your own self you are constantly aware of.
The Prophet  said: “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.’” Did he need the excuse, or did Musa  need to
give it? From this hadith, we can understand that if Musa  had
continued to persevere in the journey in his “inner homeland,” under
the guidance of his teacher, and despite the challenges and
difficulties, he would have achieved even greater depths of
knowledge and understanding. But it was Allah’s Will that it was
not to be that way. If knowledge and understanding were to come to
him, it would come to him not through that source.

CHOOSING THE SPIRITUAL WAY

The first step on this inner journey to knowledge and understanding

of the secrets of the unseen world is turning one’s attention away
from the pursuits of the outer and diving into the inner journey. In
many stories and traditions, it is the voice of Al-Khidr , the hatif
(or invisible caller) that directs those with potential to remember the
inner journey.

During a trip to Damascus with Ibrahim Ibn Adham, along with Yusef
Ghusuli and Abdullah Sinjari, he asked Ibn Adham, “O Abu Ishaq!
Tell me about your beginning in this matter (meaning Sufism), and how
did it come to be?” He answered and said, “My father was King of
Khorasan. When I was a young man, I used to go riding and hunting.
One day, I went out with my dog on one of my horses. Having spotted
the tracks of a rabbit or a fox, I started pursuing him. I heard a hatif
(invisible caller) addressing me. It said, “O Ibrahim, is that what you
were created for? Is that what you were commanded to do?”

I became frightened, and I stopped for a while. Then I urged my horse on

to a gallop. And the hatif returned to me three times, repeating the same
questions, until, at last I heard another hatif, this time coming from the

22
 pommel of my saddle, saying, “By Allah, you were not created for this,
nor was this what you were commanded to do.” I descended from my
horse, and chanced upon one of my father’s shepherds tending his flock. I
took his woolen robe from him, gave him my horse and all that I had,
and I proceeded in the direction of Mecca.

As I was traveling in the desert towards Mecca, I met a man who was
walking. He did not carry with him any food, any vessel, or any
provisions. At sunset, he performed Maghrib prayer, and then moved his
lips uttering words that I did not understand. A vessel with food in it
and another with drink materialized in front of me. I ate and I drank. I
remained with him in this manner for several days, during which he
taught me the Supreme Name of Allah. He then disappeared, and I
remained alone. After much time alone, I felt forsaken in my solitude. I
called on Allah with the Supreme Name.

Suddenly, I was confronted with a man who grabbed me by the buckle of

my belt. He said, “Ask and you will be given.” I was frightened by his
words, but he said, “Don’t be afraid, no harm will come to you. I am
your brother Al-Khidr . It was my brother Daoud who taught you
the Supreme Name of Allah, but do not ever use it for ducaa/invocation
against anyone, even if there is an enmity between the two of you, for you
would cause his perdition in this world and the next. But do ask Allah
to reinforce with it your cowardice, to strengthen with it your weakness,
and to bestow upon you with it companionship in your solitude, and to
renew every hour with it your desire for Him/Hu.” With that, he
departed and left me.

We hear in this story the theme I began with of calling on help from
the Unseen. We hear also of the difficulty of the journey. The
speaker, who had clearly already achieved great wisdom, called out to
Allah out of a feeling of being forsaken in solitude; yet, it was in
his solitude that he found reliance on Allah . As Ishaq al Balki
reports, “My father related to me that he once asked Ibrahim Ibn Adham,
‘Advise me.’ He said, ‘Take Allah as your companion, and leave people aside.’”
We see from the story that it is not always easy to turn away from this
world and toward the inner. The man in the story was a prince,
surrounded by all the wealth and pleasures of this world, intent on
riding and hunting. At first he fled from the voice of Al-Khidr ,

23
from the voice saying “‘By Allah, you were not created for this, nor was this
what you were commanded to do.”

How many of us, surrounded and immersed in the things of this

world, have heard that voice, perhaps an almost inaudible whisper
from deep inside of us, saying, “By Allah, you were not created for this, nor
was this what you were commanded to do”? Maybe it was even when we
tried to help someone who didn’t want the help, and we find out
later. We are trying to serve a purpose that can’t be served. We want
something that we want, but we don’t ask what Allah wants for
us. But somewhere there is that deep voice, whispering to us. Is that
your voice, my voice? Whose voice is it? Maybe we know. Maybe if
we are in tareeqah, we have been blessed with that voice. But we don’t
know. It’s better to assume it is a possibility, than to assume it is not.
If we have heard that voice, how many have answered its call in a way
it should be answered? What does it take to answer that call, “to do
what we are commanded to do”?

Ibrahim Ibn Adham said, “Know that you will not reach the rank of
saliheen, the blessed ones, until you cross six obstacles:

1. Close the door of ease, and open the door difficulties.

2. Close the door of loftiness and grandeur, and open the door of humiliation.
3. Close the door of rest, and open the door of effort.
4. Close the door of sleep, and open the door of sleeplessness.
5. Close the door of wealth, and open the door of poverty.
6. Close the door of hope, and open the door of preparation for death.

We are not going to get a piece of paper and rate ourselves on this—
not today. But I guarantee, we will all rate ourselves eventually.

LESSONS FOR THE MUREED (Rules of Discipleship)

How do we begin to cross these obstacles (as Ibrahim Ibn Adham

put it) on the journey? We need to strive to be in the presences of
those who are wise and know more than us: the shuyukh. For Sufis
and seekers on the Path, the story of Musa  and Khidr  has a
very special importance. It is the model of one who seeks and
follows a teacher. It holds many specific lessons on conduct for the
24
mureed, or would-be mureed. The conditions of conduct which are
required, necessary even, for all of us mureeds have been stated in
many different ways over the centuries. These conditions are
numerous, but some of the most important ones are as follows.

1. Don’t object in our hearts against any of the actions of our

Shaykh, but try to find all the possible explanations for them. If we
can’t find an explanation, then attribute our doubt or any blame to
our own lack of understanding, because this was the example of
Musa  and Khidr ; or more specifically, this was the instruction
that al-Khidr  gave Musa . The path on which the Master leads
his Disciple is full of mysteries and paradoxes. The Seeker, being
unable to understand his Master’s acts, falls into the weakness of
questioning, and even doubting his Master, and then comes the
torpor and the excuses. Sailing on the Divine Ocean is not always
going to be a smooth ride. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:

‫ص ِم َن ْاْل َْم َو ِال‬

ٍ ‫وع َونَ ْق‬ ِ ‫اْلو‬ ٍِ ِ
ِ ُ‫ف َوا ْْل‬ َْْ ‫َولَنَْب لُ َونا ُك ْم ب َش ْيء م َن‬
ِ ‫ الا ِذين إِذَا أَصاب ْت هم م‬.‫صابِ ِرين‬ ِ
ٌ‫صيبَة‬ ُ ُْ ََ َ َ ‫س َوالث َامَرات َوبَ ِّش ِر ال ا‬ ِ ‫َو ْاْلَنْ ُف‬
.‫قَالُوا إِناا لِلا ِه َوإِناا إِلَْي ِه َر ِاج ُعو َن‬
WA LANABåLUWANNAKUM BISHAY’IM-MINA-L-
KhAWFI WA-L-JŪcI WA NAQåSIM-MINA-L-
’AMWĀLI WA-L-’AÑFUSI WA-Th-ThAMARĀTI WA
BASHSHIRI-S-SĀBIRĪN. ALLADhĪNA IDhĀ
ASĀBAT’HUM MUSĪBATUÑ QĀLŪ INNĀ LI-LLĀHI
WA’INNĀ ILAYHI RĀJIcŪN.

Be sure, We shall test you with something of fear and

hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits of your
toil, but give glad tidings to those who patiently
persevere, who say, when afflicted with calamity, “To
Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.” [Surah al-
Baqarah, 2:155-156]

The Seeker suffers worldly losses and endures difficulties, sometimes

with doubt. The Seeker has been informed about the duality of the
struggle: to endure trials or lose him or herself to the world. What
25
seems to him or her an unjust act is indeed an act of kindness. This is
the way of the Master. Mawla Murtaza Ali has said: “Never permit
yourselves to have a doubt (in religion). As soon as you permit one to arise, you
become unbelievers, deprived of the Mercy of Allah, because doubt is the feature of
His enemies. So, let you always be firm in your religious opinion.” And
according to 17th century Shaykh cAbd al-Ghani ibn Isma’il al-
Nablusi: Objection is most repulsive, and the one objecting is not excusable.
The veil that results from objection has no cure; lifting it is very difficult, and it
particularly results in blocking the channels of fayd (spiritual downpour,
abundance) upon the mureed. So, brother, sister! Do avoid this irremediable
ailment.

It is very difficult to lift the veil. We see that Al-Khidr  gave Musa
 three chances to “lift the veil of his objection” and he was not
able to, because one of the things that block that light of fayd is
objecting in the heart to the actions of the shaykh. The second
condition of conduct for the mureed is as follows:

2. Disclose your thoughts to the shaykh, good or bad, so that he

can treat you. The shaykh in this case is like a doctor who, when
given the information about the state of mind or health, can give a
prescription. You may ask, “But what about Musa ? Wasn’t he
following this instruction when he disclosed his thoughts to Al-Khidr
?” The response to this is two-fold. First, he was countering a
previous very clear instruction and agreement he made with his
“shaykh”—to be patient and not to question. Second, even in his
error, it was through his disclosing of his thoughts and questions that
Khidr  was able to treat and guide him, and that we are able to
learn from his story centuries later, maybe 6,000 years later. And we
are still learning from this story.

When one discloses his/her thoughts to the shaykh, with sincerity and
humility, there is tawajjuh. What is really happening is that the shaykh
is turning his attention towards Allah in order to correct the error
or the problem in the mureed, and then he turns his attention toward
the mureed. So the student, especially one who has made some
progress on the path, should be very careful not to rely just on his or
her own kashf because that kashf can been tainted, colored, and
mistaken.

26
3. Another instruction is to be truthful in your seeking. That
means no matter what is afflicting you, no matter how tired you are,
no matter how hard it is, no matter what is happening to you, even if
you are reproached, even if you are frustrated, even if you are
annoyed by situations, you don’t allow it to diminish your seeking. It
doesn’t diminish your taking the time, even in the midst of all those
difficulties, to sit in muraaqabah, to pray, to read Qur’an, to study, to
serve fī sabīli-Llāh. In other words, don’t fall into Shaytan’s trap of
using difficulties as an excuse to distract you away from the practices,
which themselves will cure and liberate, if you can only stay true to
them. You are not going to cure those ailments any other way. You
are only going to cure those things by staying true to the practice.
That is the prescription. You go to a doctor; he gives you a
prescription. You take it or you don’t. Sometimes, you get to not
finish the prescription, like I did this week, but I got permission.

Again, we see the connection to the story of Musa , who initially

missed the place where the two seas meet because he was tired and
hungry from the long journey. How might his entire journey have
been different had he maintained attention to the goal? Similarly,
how might the story have been different if Musa  was able to stay
true to the “practice” he was given: to be patient and not question?
But that was not the Will of Allah , obviously. So, if there are
things that disturb you, if there are things that bother you, if there are
things that you don’t understand, then turn towards them, rather than
away from them. Turn towards love, towards our love for our
shaykh, towards Allah; towards worshipping Allah, towards seeing
that Divine Presence everywhere. Truth and understanding can
rarely be achieved without the trials and vicissitudes and distractions.
Unless and until we direct our attention away from the supposedly
important things in the outer, we will not be able to turn ourselves
toward what is truly important in the inner.

4. A fourth instruction is that we are not to emulate the actions of

the shaykh, but we are to take all the verbal suggestions,
commands, orders in such a way that they should be obeyed,
immediately. You may see something in the outer and it looks like a
fault, a flaw, something that is not understandable; but the knowledge
behind that and the reason behind that might be so weighty that it

27
might crush you. This instruction again returns us to the story of
Musa  and Khidr . The teaching was not about emulating
Khidr’s outer actions: sinking a boat, or killing an innocent boy,
or building a wall. The teaching was the opposite: look beyond the
external actions to accept the inner knowledge of the Unseen.

The second part of this instruction is that when we are told to do

something by the shaykh, we should do it immediately, right away,
and not get involved in trying to interpret what the shaykh says or
does, or in trying to read the “spirit” of the instruction. If you want
to disrupt your progress on the path, then don’t follow the guidelines
of the shaykh. Most often the guidelines are about attending suhbat,
reading Qur’an, sitting in muraaqabah. Sometimes the instructions are
about the way you act or even things that have to do with your
worldly life to make you a better person.

As a carrier of knowledge and secrets, as a person who represents

what the shaykh represents and what his shaykh represented, back to
Rasuulu-Llaah , you respect him and honor him. You fill your heart
with dhikr, because dhikr drives away the distractions, the
forgetfulness of Allah, and the involuntary thoughts that often
interfere with our prayer and our dhikr; because you, if you are in
tareeqah, represent everyone, all the way back.

5. Also, you should be very careful about exposing your needs

to anyone other than the shaykh. If the shaykh is not present, if
there is no one representing him, then you might turn towards a
righteous person, a generous person, a kind person, or a pious person
for some advice. But this should be the last of the resorts, not the
first. Why is that? Because the shaykh sees your nafs, sees you better
than you see yourself. We know that Al-Khidr  saw Musa  with
a clarity that no one else could. At their first meeting he says: “Surely
you will not be able to be patient with me.” [18:67] But Musa 
of course assures him that he will be.

The stranger doesn’t see your nafs the way the shaykh does. Even
another shaykh will not see what your shaykh sees about you. They
may not take into consideration what you need, what you have been
through, where you are in the journey, how you receive, how you

28
reject. How does a stranger know that? That is exactly the reason
why, by the way, we go to strangers for advice. Because they can’t
reflect back on us all the things that we are trying to avoid seeing.
Someone may give you a good answer to a good question, but it may
not help you spiritually, because it is not taking into consideration
your state of mind, your state of emotions, what you know.

6. Service to the shaykh and tareeqah, and the pursuit of

knowledge must end in service to others and commitment to
the future. The disciple learns to sacrifice personal gains for the
good of others. Service to others represents a higher form of
worship, helping to annihilate our nafs ammaara. The aspect of service
is expressed in the words of the 48th Ismaili Imam, Hazrat Mawlana
Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, who said:

Today, I will give you a small motto and that is ‘Work, not Words.’
Labor for the welfare of others is the best way of improving ourselves,
because results are sure and certain. If you work for yourselves, you will
never be happy.

It is in the act of service itself (repairing the wall, in the case of Khidr
) without regard for reward that the teacher exemplifies this aspect
of service. These are just some of the lessons that can be discussed
when we study the stories of Al-Khidr . I have shared with you a
very small part of the duties of the mureed to the murshid. And,
indeed, there is much more, including the duties of the murshid to the
mureed, but those are for another time.

CONCLUSION: CALLING THROUGH THE UNSEEN

I began today by reminding you that Al-Khidr  is the first among

the unseen beings and guides who are among us, guides and helpers
who we are encouraged to call up on for help. I will end by returning
to this instruction, as a practical and daily way we can open our self
to the constant flow of knowledge and assistance of Allah that is
available, flowing to us. We may think that having a relationship to
the unseen world is just for saints and mystics. But the truth is we all
have a relationship with the unseen world, every day. If your tire goes
flat, you say, “Oh, Allah! How am I going to fix this tire?” If you say
29
it in the right way, AAA comes faster than you thought it would
come. While it’s possible that the Angels come and hold the tire in
place, it’s more probable that a policeman or friendly face will come
to aid you. But what we must remember is that in all the mechanisms
(angels, police, or friend), Allah is sending the assistance. Ibn Abi
Shayba relates in his “Musannaf” from Aban ibn Salih that the
Prophet said: “If one of you loses his animal or his camel in a
deserted land where there is no-one in sight, let him say: ‘O
servants of Allah, help me! (yâ cibâd Allâh acînûnî)’, for verily he
will be helped.”

That means we are always near to the door or tunnel (majaaz) to the
unseen world. The key is to stay attentive, to not forget (as Musa 
forgot) that that is what we are seeking. All we need to do is say,
“As-salaamu alaykum, yaa Rasuulu-Llaah! We are sufferers, seeking
your refuge. Help us,” and the tunnel appears. In fact, there are
stories from the companions of the Prophet of his companions
asking for his madad and his answering over great distances:

One night, the Prophet of Allah - may Allah bless him and grant him
peace - was in his house and was heard to proclaim “I am here!
(Labayk!)” three times, and “You have been granted help (Nusirta!)”
also three times.

Umm al- Mu’minin, Maymunah - may Allah be well pleased with her -
asked the Prophet - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - whom
he had been talking to since there was no one present.

He replied, “I was talking to a person called Rajiz from the tribe of

Bani Ka’ab. He asked for help from me against the Quraysh.”

Umm al- Mu’minin, Maymunah - may Allah be well pleased with her -
said that when she finished Fajr prayer the next morning, she heard
Rajiz calling out in the streets of Madina: “Yaa Rasuulu-Llaah! Help
us and call the servants of Allah to help us.”

I’m sure we have all had some experience of knowledge or assistance

coming from the Unseen. In the unseen world nothing is unseen
there. Something comes to you in your kashf. It energizes you,
30
because you're in the flow of a river of knowledge that is always
flowing. You are just walking down to the bank and dipping your
hand in it, or jumping in it, or sipping from it, just like a thirsty
person taking a drink of water. Everything is evidence of Allah’s
immense and subtle knowledge—everything. It’s either very prime
evidence, like a tree, or a bush, fruit, dirt; or it’s secondary evidence,
like what has been constructed out of all of that, like a pen. What
comes out of the pen/qalam is also evidence of the Divine Reality.

When a person can access any knowledge or information about any

event or any circumstance or any person by their will, this state is
called shahud. In this state, you can see anything in the universe. You
can hear things anywhere. You can smell things anywhere in the
universe. You can touch things anywhere in the universe. The highest
point of shahud is fat-h, an opening. At that stage, a person is free
from space and time. They can see, hear, touch, smell, and feel
anything present anywhere in time and space. It is as if you are being
absorbed into a state, and then you become what we call insaan-i-
kaamil. This is the permanent station of Al-Khidr , to whom Allah
taught knowledge directly from His Presence. That stage, even
though it might be a momentary stage—and certainly most people
never get to that stage; most Sufis never get to that stage—is a stage
waiting for us in the ghayb. Inshā’a-Llāh, we earn it in this world for
the Jannah.

We can achieve the entrance to that state in this world by our

sincerity, and by our piety, and by our patience, if it is the Will of
Allah . That is the spiritual journey toward Allah, sayr ilaa-Llaah.
You are on it from the first day you walked this path or any path. My
Shaykh, Hazrat Azad Rasool, called it the Search of Truth. It is the
search for knowledge of the Unseen, for guidance from beyond, for
Peace, for Understanding, for Compassion. Like the Wandering
Dervish, we gratefully accept whatever assistance, knowledge, or
mercy we can find along the way. We continue our journey with
patience and perseverance, with humble acceptance of the vast
oceans of unseen knowledge that surround us. And we pray for a
taste of the knowledge of those, like Al-Khidr , who have been
granted True Wisdom from the Water of Life.

31
My dear friends, as you can see, we can only touch on these subjects.
There is so much to know. It should just inspire us to seek, and not
to be upset when we don’t understand—we are in good company.
Not to be too upset when we can’t follow the promise that we made,
but to repent of it—we are in good company. Not to hurt ourselves
mentally or emotionally if we ask the wrong question, because we are
in good company. But we should never use that good company as an
excuse not to try harder. If we can, we should say, with humility and
gratitude, that we are in the company of those of tareeqah, of the
ambiyaa’, and of the awliyaa’ Allāh. The story of waliyat is very
important to understand. All of us have to set the standard high, and
good intentions are most important. Our expectations must be
tempered. When we don’t get what we ask for, or we don’t
understand something, then seek humility and gratitude. Understand
that, of course, we can say it is all by the Will of Allah. But the Will of
Allah is that we make effort. That we know; otherwise, there
would be no fard, no sunnah, and no nawafil. There would be no
ambiyaa, teaching, no awliyaa’ Allāh, nothing. Why? Just say, it’s the
Will of Allah ; that’s it. We don’t need anyone else.

This is the discussion between shareecah and tareeqah, between the

world of rules and the Path, between the exoteric and the esoteric.
Keep yourself involved in the journey, because there are all kinds of
excuses—“I’m busy. There’s this; there’s that”—and stay in suhbat.
The value of suhbat is very important; but it is not a social thing, like
going to a halqah and reading Qur’an together and then you leave.
That’s good, alhamduli-Llāh. It’s better than sitting at home watching
TV. “Can we adjust the halqah schedule this week around the
football game?” “Sure, we can push it back by half an hour, and
watch the game, and then go sit in meditation.” It’s like learning how
to stop texting. Until you try to stop, you don’t know how addicted
you are to it. Please take it all very seriously, inshā’a-Llāh. I pray that I
take it more seriously, and that you take it more seriously, inshā’a-
Llāh.

32
CLOSING DUcAA

(Prayer for meeting Al-Khidr)

‫بِس ِم اهللِ الرْحن الرحيم بِس ِم اهللِ اْل ََمان اْل ََمان يَا َحنَان اْل ََمان اْل ََمان‬
‫صْب َحان اْل ََمان اْل ََمان‬ ُ ‫يَا َمنَان اْل ََمان اْل ََمان يَا َديَان اْل ََمان اْل ََمان يَا‬
ِ ِ ِ ِ
‫الشيطَان‬ َ ‫الزَمان َو َج َفاء ا ِإل ْخ َوان َو َشِّر‬
َ ‫يَا بُ َرهان اْل ََمان اْل ََمان من فْت نَة‬
‫كرام‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ ْ ‫وظُلْ ِم السلْطَان بَِف‬
َ ‫يم يَا َرْحَان يَا ذُو اْلَ ََلل َواإل‬ ُ ‫ك يَا َرح‬ َ ‫ضل‬ ُ َ
ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ ٍ ِ ِ
َ ‫َْجَعي بَِر ْْحَت‬
‫ك يَا أ َْر َح ُم‬ ْ ‫َص َحابِه أ‬
ْ ‫صلاى اهللُ َعلَى َخ ِري َخلقه حم امد اوآله َوأ‬ ‫َو ا‬
ِِ ‫الر‬
‫اْحي‬ َ
Bismi-Llaahir-Rahmaani-r-Raheem
Bismi-Llaah al Amaan al Amaan
Yaa Hanaan al Amaan al Amaan
Yaa Manaan al Amaan al Amaan
Yaa Dayaan al Amaan al Amaan
Yaa Subhaan al Amaan al Amaan
Yaa Burhaan al Amaan al Amaan
Min fitnati-z-zamaani, wa jafaa’i-l-ikhwaan
Wa sharri-sh-Shaitan, wa dhulmi-s-sultaan
Bi fadlika, yaa Raheem yaa Rahmaan
Yaa dha-l-Jalaali wa-l-ikraam
Wa salla-Llaahu calaa khayri khaliqihi
Muhammadin wa aalihi wa as-haabihi ajmaceen
Bi-Rahmatika, yaa Arhaama-r-Rahimeen

33
The manner of Shaykh cAbd al- Qadir’s (may Allah sanctify his innermost
being) salutation [salaam] to the men of the Unseen [rijal al-Ghaib] (sanctified
be their innermost beings).

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.
In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate.

As-salamu 'alaykum ya rijalal-Ghaib

Peace be upon you, O men of the Unseen! .

As-salamu 'alaykum ya ayyuhal-arwahul-mutaqaddasa.

Peace be upon you, O sanctified spirits!

Ya nuqaba ya nujaba ya ruqaba ya budala!

O presidents, O noblemen, O overseers, O spiritual deputies!

Ya awtadal-ardi awtadun arba'a: ya imaman!

O mainstays of the earth, four mainstays! O two leaders!

Ya Qutbu ya fardu ya umana'!

O Cardinal Pole! O matchless individual! O trustees!

Aghithu-ni bi-ghawthatin wa 'nduru-ni bi-nadratin.

Provide me with assistance. Look on me with favor.

Warhamu-ni wa hassilu muradi wa maqsudi,

Treat me with compassion. Fulfill my wish and my objective.

Wa qumu cala qada'i hawa'iji

And attend to the satisfaction of my needs
c
inda Nabiyyi-na Muhammadin (salla 'llahu 'alai-hi wa sallam).
in the presence of our Prophet Muhammad.

Sallama-kumu-Llaahu (tacala) fid-dunya wal-akhira.

May Allah grant you peace in this world and the Hereafter.

Allahumma salli calal-Khidr.

O Allah, bestow blessings on Al-Khidr!

34