18.71
Abbas - Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs
(So the twain set out) so both Khidr and Moses (pbut) set out (till, when they were in the ship) to cross over, (he made a hole therein) Khidr made a hole in the ship. ((Moses) said) to him: (Hast thou made a hole therein to drown the folk thereof? Thou verily hast done a dreadful thing) towards the people of the ship.
So they set off making their way on foot along the coast of the sea until when they embarked on the ship which was carrying them he al-Khidr made a hole in it by destroying a plank or two on the starboard side with an axe after they had sailed into deep waters. Said he Moses to him ‘Did you make a hole in it to drown its people? li-tughriqa ahlahā ‘for you to drown its people’; a variant reading has li-yaghraqa ahluhā ‘so that its people might drown’. You have certainly done a dreadful thing’ that is a grave and reprehensible thing — it is reported that the water did not actually penetrate it.
So they set off until when they embarked, on the ship of the body that has reached the limit of self-discipline, when it is good for servanthood, [travelling] to the world of holiness across the sea of primordial matter as it journeys to God, he made a hole in it, that is, he diminished it by means of [spiritual] discipline, by decreasing [his intake of] food, weakening its workings, upsetting its regulation and enervating it. Said [Moses], 'Did you make a hole in it to drown its peopleḍ, that is, did you break it in order to drown in the sea of primordial matter the animal and vegetative faculties that are in it so that it might be perishḍ You have certainly done a dreadful thing': this denunciation is an expression of the manifestation of the soul with its attributes and the inclining of the heart to it and the dissatisfaction with being deprived of its shares during the act of [spiritual] disciplining and its lack of contentment with its duties.
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:
(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.'
(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 :
«كَانَتِ الْأُولَى مِنْ مُوسَى نِسْيَانًا»
(In the first instance, Musa asked Al-Khidr because he had forgotten his promise.)
