Question
Assalamualaikum,
Ghamdi sb has mentioned in his tafseer of Ayah 65 of Surah 18 that Hazrat Khidr was an angel of Almighty Allah. However, it is mentioned in the Ayah that he is a person. How can Ghamdi sb say he is an angel? Is there any logical reason?
Jazak Allah Khair. Regards,
Answer
Wa alaikumussalaam,
Thank you for your question. It is important to note that the Ayah does not explicitly state that he was not an angel; rather, it describes him as a servant of the Almighty. Angels are also servants of Allah. Mr. Ghamidi proposes that Hazrat Khidr may have been an angel in human form. Various instances in the Qur’an illustrate angels taking on human forms (See Qur’an 19:17). Angels are tasked by the Almighty with executing His directives according to His divine plan and will. God creates and destroys life, bestows blessings, and withholds them to make this world a place of trial and test. The incidents narrated in this story, such as the killing of a child and the damaging of a ship, are of a similar nature. Human beings do not possess the authority to perform such actions.
Furthermore, a comparable mystical figure named Melchizedek is mentioned in the Bible, associated with the time of Abraham (pbuh) (See Genesis 14:18). In the New Testament, he is described as being without father, mother, or lineage (See Hebrews 7:3). Many Christian scholars believe him to be an angel of the Almighty who assumed human form.
There is no necessity to speculate about the precise nature of the wise man, generally known as Khidr, mentioned in the incident in Surah Kahf. Understanding the nature and purpose of the incident negates the need to determine whether Khidr was a human, an angel, or a prophet. Khidr could have been an ordinary man appointed by God to execute certain divine directives, an angel in human form, as Mr. Ghamidi suggests, or the entire incident could have been a spiritual experience of Moses (pbuh).
Regardless of Khidr’s exact nature, the Qur’anic narrative serves to instruct Moses (pbuh) and the believers to trust in God’s knowledge, mercy, wisdom, and justice, and to never doubt the correctness of God’s decisions, even in circumstances of extreme distress and disturbance.
I hope this helps. God knows best.
Regards,
Answered by: Mushafiq Sultan
Date: 2017-05-04
