Let's Read Surah Kahf Today (Friday) -- Patience in Seeking Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,”Whoever goes down a path searching for knowledge, Allah will make it easy for him the road to Paradise.” [Muslim]

If seeking knowledge is easy, then so many people would be doing it. The fact is that those who are on the path of knowledge are blessed but you need patience to keep going. So many people fell by the wayside because they don't have patience.

The story of Musa and Al-Khidr (peace be upon them) in Surah Kahf is teaching us patience in seeking knowledge. Thus, we are being reminded about this every week for those who follow the Sunnah of reading Surah Kahf every Friday.

Musa (peace upon him) has a distinct position in the comity of prophets. This has been mentioned explicitly in the Qur'an, and Sunnah. The special distinction of having conversed
with Allah is his hallmark. Allah had blessed Musa (peace be upon him) with an intense desire to seek knowledge. As soon as he smell the scent of knowledge elsewhere too, knowledge that he did not have, he was all set to go for it traveling like an ardent student and it was Allah Himself that he turned to for the address of that servant of His, al-Khidr.

وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِفَتَاهُ لَا أَبْرَ‌حُ حَتَّىٰ أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَ‌يْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا ﴿٦٠

And [mention] when Musa to his servant, "I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period." (60)

[Qur'an, Al-Kahf 18:60]

Had it been the will of Allah that Musa should meet al-Khidr at that spot, He could have arranged that easily. Or, if Musa himself was Divinely destined to travel, he could have been given a clear address to help him reach it without any bother. But, what happened here was different. The address given to him was far from being precise - 'when you reach the place where the dead fish stirs and disappears, that will be the place you will find Our servant.

The address of al-Khidr was left imprecise in a manner that it would not remain easy to pinpoint it. Obviously, this too was nothing but a trial and test for Musa. As though this was not enough, when they had reached the exact spot but then they forgot the fish. This was yet another test. After having reached the projected destination, the fish came alive and disappeared into the sea. The reality had unfolded and the place was pinpointed. But, that was not the end. The seeker of knowledge had to undergo yet another test -- hunger and fatigue, and there is no food. When Musa finally saw Al-Khidr and followed him so he could learn from him, this was when he faced the most difficult test.

The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) narrated the journey of Musa's quest for knowledge and the meeting with Al-Khidr. Once he had narrated the entire event, the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "I wish Musa could have remained more patient so that we would have come to know more about the two of them."

May Allah grant us steadfastness and make us of those who are patient. May Allah increase us in beneficial knowledge. Ameen.

Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.

And Allah knows best and He alone grants success.

Wassalaam