"So they set out, until when they met a boy, al-Khidhr killed him. [Moses] said, "Have you killed a pure soul for other than [having killed] a soul? You have certainly done a deplorable thing."
[Al-Khidhr] said, "Did I not tell you that with me you would never be able to have patience?"
[Moses] said, "If I should ask you about anything after this, then do not keep me as a companion. You have obtained from me an excuse." Al-kahf 18:74-76
In the second incident, as they continued on their journey, they came across a child playing with other kids. Khidr goes to the child and kills him on the spot. Musa a.s. is of course horrified at this and blurts out in anger and shock, accusing Khidr of committing a grievous and heinous crime. The word used here 'nukr' which means something really really terrible, as opposed to 'imr' in the first incident(the ship) which implies an evil of a lesser degree.
Khidr a.s. of course rebukes Musa a.s. because he once again forgot his promise to not ask anything until he was told about it. Musa realizing his mistake apologizes and tells Khidr that he will not do it again and that if he does it again, Khidr will then have an excuse to disallow him from following him further in his travels.
A few lessons here. First, this particular incident proves that Khidr is a prophet, for only a prophet could take somebody's life as commanded by Allah jalla wa'ala without any apparent reason. This is NOT allowed for anybody else in the world at any time or place. In Islam, the death penalty, or any other punishment for that matter, can only be meted out in light of strong evidence. Innocent until proven guilty, nuff said!
Another interesting point is Musa's reaction to the situation. Musa a.s. was appalled and shocked at what Khidr did, and so he instantaenously, instinctively blurted out at the injustice that had occurred in front of his eyes. There is a very important lesson for us here, in that our conscience must never allow us to keep silent when we see an injustice happening. It should provoke a response from within us, either to do something with our hands if we are able, or with our tongues if the former is not possible, or at least hate such an act and pray against it. This is in accordance with the hadith of the prophet SAW on the authority of Abu Said al-Khudri:
"Whoever amongst you sees anything objectionable, let him change it with his hand, if he is not able, then with his tongue, and if he is not even able to do so, then with his heart, and the latter is the weakest form of faith." [reported by Muslim]
In today's world, a great sickness has befallen the ummah, where people rush to record with their smartphones a violent act they witness in front of their eyes and then quickly upload it onto youtube to sensationalise it, instead of actually doing something about it or at least condemning it with their tongues and in their hearts. Where in the past the race was to do something as quickly as possible to salvage the situation, now the race is to see who can upload the video fastest and get the most hits, completely oblivious to the predicament at hand. May Allah save our hearts from becoming harder than rocks, lest we lose our ability to judge or worse, feel.
Now on to the main lesson of this incident, that is the need to be patient in times of difficulty (just like in the previous incident), especially in a trial as great as losing a child. Khidr killed the child because Allah had informed him that this child would grow up to become a rebellious creature, who would not only bring doom to himself, but also to his parents by forcing them to leave Islam. Some scholars say that the parents would turn to disbelief not because he would force them, but because their blind love for him would make them disobey Allah.
"And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would overburden them by transgression and disbelief. So we intended that their Lord should substitute for them one better than him in purity and nearer to mercy." Al-kahf 18:80-81
Losing a child is perhaps the most painful trial any person especially a mother, can experience. The prophet SAW lost all his children before his death except Fatimah, who died soon after him. But there is great consolation for parents who lose their kids in the hadith below:
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari said: The Prophet said: "When the child of a man dies, Allah asks the angels, ‘Did you take the soul of my slave's child?’ They reply, ‘Yes.’ He asks them, ‘Did you take away the apple of his eye?’ And they reply, ‘Yes.’ Then He asks, ‘What did My slave say?’ They tell Him, ‘He praised You and said, ‘To Allah we belong and to Him is our return.’ Allah says, ‘Build a house for him in Paradise and call it Bait al-hamd (the house of Praise).’” (At- Tirmidi. Ahmad and Ibn Hibban).
and this:
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'If anyone has three of his children die young and resigns them to Allah, he will enter the Garden.' We said, 'Messenger of Allah, what about two?' 'And two,' he said." Mahmud ibn Labid said to Jabir, "By Allah, I think that if you had asked, 'And one?' he would have given a similar answer." He said, "By Allah, I think so too."
There are many other ahadith on this matter, but I think the two above would suffice for now. The key is to be patient and utter only good words when one loses a child, which is easier said than done. But if the grieving parents can do this, then how successful will they be in the Hereafter! At the death of his son Ibrahim, the pophet SAW wept and said these beautiful yet sad words:
The Eyes Tear
The Heart is in Pain
But (with my tongue) I will only say that which is pleasing to Allah
And we are indeed sad at your departure, O Ibraheem
Shaykh Muhammad Al-Shareef, (founder of al-maghrib institute) has written a whole post on the lessons that can be derived from these words of the prophet which can be read here.
Verse 81 above says that Khidr a.s. wishes Allah would replace their loss with a child who is better. And so the implication here is that, when a child dies, either Allah will replace him/her with a better child, or the reward of the parents' suffering will be delayed until the Hereafter where the child would intercede for them to enter Jannah, insya Allah.
May Allah make us of those who are patient in the face of great calamities, so we obtain His mercy and reward, if not in this world, then the next insya Allah.
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