Said bin jubair reported: I said to Ibn Abbas (RA) that Nauf al-Bikali was of the opinion that Moses (علیہ السلام) (peace be upon him), the Apostle ﷺ of Bani Israil, was not the same who accompanied Khadir, whereupon he said: The enemy of Allah tells a lie. I heard Ubayy bin Kab say: Moses (علیہ السلام) (peace be upon him) stood up to give sermon to the people of Israil. He was asked as to who amongst the people has the best knowledge, whereupon he said: I have the best knowledge. Thereupon Allah was annoyed with him that he did not attribute (the best knowledge) to Him. He revealed to him: A servant amongst My servants is at the junction of two rivers who has more knowledge than yours. Moses (علیہ السلام) said: How can I meet him? It was said to him: Carry a fish in the large basket and the place where you find it missing there you will find him. Thereupon Moses (علیہ السلام) proceeded forth along with a young man (Yusha). Joshua bin Nun and Moses (علیہ السلام) (peace be upon him) put the fish in the basket and there went along with him the young man (Yusha) until they came to a certain rock and Moses (علیہ السلام) and his companion went to sleep and the fish stirred in that basket and fell into the ocean and Allah stopped the current of water like a vault until the way was made for the fish. Moses (علیہ السلام) and his young companion were astonished and they walked for the rest of the day and the night and the friend of Moses (علیہ السلام) forgot to inform him of this incident. When it was morning, Moses (علیہ السلام) (peace be upon him) said to the young man: Bring for us the breakfast for we are dead tired because of this journey, and they did not feel exhausted until they had passed that place where they had been commanded (to stay). He said: Dont you know that when we reached the Sakhra (rock) I forgot the fisii and noth ng made me forget it but the satan that I. could nit remember it? How strange is it that the fish found a way in the river? Moses (علیہ السلام) said: That was what we had been aiming at. Then both of them retraced their steps until they reached Sakhra; there they saw a man covered with a cloth. Moses (علیہ السلام) greeted him. Khadir said to him: Where is as-Salam in our country? He said: I am Moses (علیہ السلام), whereupon he (Khadir) said: You mean the Moses (علیہ السلام) of Bani Israil? He said: Yes. He (Khadir) said: You have a knowledge out of the knowledge of Allah which in fact Allah imparted to you and about that I know nothing and I have knowledge out of Allahs knowledge which He imparted to me and about that you do not know. Moses (علیہ السلام) (peace be upon him) said to him: May I follow you so that you may teach me that with which you have been taught righteousness. He said: You will not be able to bear with me; how you will be able to bear that about which you do not know? Moses (علیہ السلام) said: Thou will find me patient, nor shalt I disobey you in aught. Khadir said to him: If you were to follow me, then do not ask me about anything until I myself speak to you about it. He said: Yes. So Khadir and Moses (علیہ السلام) set forth on the bank of the river that there came before them a boat. Both of them talked to them (the owners of the boat) so that they might carry both of them.
They had recognised Khadir and they carried them free. Khadir thereupon took hold of a plank in the boat and broke it away. Moses (علیہ السلام) said: These people have carried us without any charge and you attempt to break their boat so that the people sailing in the boat may drown. This is (something) grievous that you have done. He said: Did I not say that you would not bear with me? He said: Blame me not for what I forgot and be not hard upon what I did. Then both of them got down from the boat and began to walk along the coastline that they saw a boy who had been playing with other boys. Khadir pulled up his head and killed him. Moses (علیہ السلام) said: Have you killed an innocent person who is in no way guilty of slaying another? You have done something horrible. Thereupon he said: Did I not say to you that you will not be able to bear with me? He ( Moses (علیہ السلام)) said: This (act) is more grievous than the first one. He ( Moses (علیہ السلام)) further said. If I ask you about anything after this, keep not company with me, then you would no doubt find (a plausible) excuse for this. Then they both walked on until they reached the inhabitants of a village. They asked its inhabitants for food but they refused to entertain them as their guests. They found in it a wall which had been bent on one side and was about to fall. Khadir set it right with his own hand. Moses (علیہ السلام), said to him: It is the people to whom we came but they showed us no hospitality and they did not serve us food. If you wish you can get wages for it. He (Khadir) said: This is the parting of ways between me and you. Now I wish to reveal to you the significance of that for which you could not bear with me. Allahs Messenger ﷺ said. May Allah have mercy upon Moses (علیہ السلام)! I wish if Moses (علیہ السلام) could show patience and a (fuller) story of both of them could have been told. Allahs Messenger ﷺ said that the first thing which Moses (علیہ السلام) said was out of forgetfulness. Then there came a sparrow until it perched on the wall of the boat and took water from the ocean. Thereupon, Khadir said: My knowledge and your knowledge in comparison with the knowledge of Allah is even less than the water taken by the sparrow in its beak in comparison to the water of the ocean, and Said bin jubair used to recite (verses 79 and 8O of Sura Kahf) in this way: There was before them a king who used to seize every boat by force which was in order, the boy was an unbeliever.