The Book of Virtues

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be please with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not proper for a servant of Allah to say: “I am better than Yūnus ibn Matta." And he linked him to his father.

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be please with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not proper for a servant of Allah to say: “I am better than Yūnus ibn Matta." And he linked him to his father.

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, who is the most honorable among people?" He replied: "The most pious among them." They said: "We are not asking you about this." He said: "Then, Yusuf (Joseph), the prophet of Allah, son of the prophet of Allah, son of the prophet of Allah, son of the intimate friend of Allah." They said: "We are not asking you about this." He said: "Are you then asking me about the origins of the Arabs? The best of them in the pre-Islamic era are the best of them in Islam, provided that they acquire religious knowledge."

Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr reported: I said to Ibn ‘Abbās: "Nawf al-Bakāli claims that Mūsa is not the Mūsa of the Children of Israel; that he is a different Mūsa." He said: "The enemy of Allah has lied. Ubay ibn Ka‘b reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Mūsa stood to deliver a speech before the Children of Israel and the people asked him: ‘Who is the most learned person among the people?’ Mūsa replied: ‘I am.’ Allah rebuked him because he did not attribute the knowledge to Him. So Allah revealed to him: ‘At the junction of the two seas, there is a servant of Ours who is more learned than you.’ Mūsa asked: ‘O my Lord, how can I meet him?’ Allah said: ‘Take a fish and put it in a basket and then set out, and where you lose the fish, you will find him.’ So he set out along with his boy-servant Yūsha‘ ibn Nūn, and they carried a fish inside a large basket until they reached a rock (on which) they both laid their heads down and slept. The fish snuck out of the basket and slipped off through the sea. Mūsa and his boy-servant were astonished. They continued on through the rest of the night and day, and the next morning Mūsa said to his boy-servant: ‘Bring us our meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue on this journey.’ Mūsa did not feel tired until he had passed the place that Allah had told him to look for. His boy-servant then said to him: ‘Do you remember when we rested on the rock? Well, I forgot all about the fish; and it was none other than the devil who made me forget.’ Mūsa said: ‘That was what we have been looking for,’ so they returned, retracing their footsteps. When they reached the rock, they found a man shrouded with a robe. Mūsa greeted him with the greeting of peace. Al-Khidr said: ‘Is there (such a greeting of) peace in your land?’ Mūsa said: ‘I am Mūsa.’ He said: ‘Are you the Mūsa of the Children of Israel?’ Mūsa said: ‘Yes,’ and added: ‘May I follow you so you can teach me something of the guidance that you have been taught?’ Al-Khidr said: ‘You will not be able to have patience with me. O Mūsa. I have some of Allah's knowledge, which He has bestowed upon me that you do not know, and you too, have some of Allah's knowledge, which He has bestowed upon you that I do not know.’ Mūsa said: ‘If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you.’ So they set out walking along the shore, until a boat passed by and they asked the crew to let them on board. The crew recognized Al-Khidr and allowed them on board free of charge. A bird came and perched on the edge of the boat and pecked in the sea once or twice. Al-Khidr said: ‘My knowledge and your knowledge compared to Allah's knowledge are like the pecking of that bird in the sea.’ Al-Khidr then broke one of the boat's panels and pulled it out. Mūsa said to him: ‘These people gave us a free ride, yet you have broken their boat so its people will drown!’ Al-Khidr said: ‘Did I not say that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ Mūsa said: ‘Call me not to account for what I forgot and be not hard upon me in my affairs.’ So Mūsa’s first questioning was due to forgetfulness. They both continued on and came upon a boy playing with some other boys. Al-Khidr took hold of the boy's head and pulled it right off with his hands, killing him. Mūsa said to him: ‘Have you killed an innocent soul without a right?’ He said: ‘Did I not say to you that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ Ibn ‘Uyaynah said: ‘And this was more assertive.’ They continued on until they came to a town and they asked the people for some food, but they refused to entertain them. They found a wall in the town that was on the point of falling down. Al-Khidr set it straight with his own hands. Mūsa said: ‘If you had wished, surely, you could have asked for wages for that!’ He said: "This is the parting between you and me.’" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on Mūsa! If only he had had more patience so Allah could have told us more about them both!"

Sa‘īd ibn Jubayr reported: I said to Ibn ‘Abbās: "Nawf al-Bakāli claims that Mūsa is not the Mūsa of the Children of Israel; that he is a different Mūsa." He said: "The enemy of Allah has lied. Ubay ibn Ka‘b reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Mūsa stood to deliver a speech before the Children of Israel and the people asked him: ‘Who is the most learned person among the people?’ Mūsa replied: ‘I am.’ Allah rebuked him because he did not attribute the knowledge to Him. So Allah revealed to him: ‘At the junction of the two seas, there is a servant of Ours who is more learned than you.’ Mūsa asked: ‘O my Lord, how can I meet him?’ Allah said: ‘Take a fish and put it in a basket and then set out, and where you lose the fish, you will find him.’ So he set out along with his boy-servant Yūsha‘ ibn Nūn, and they carried a fish inside a large basket until they reached a rock (on which) they both laid their heads down and slept. The fish snuck out of the basket and slipped off through the sea. Mūsa and his boy-servant were astonished. They continued on through the rest of the night and day, and the next morning Mūsa said to his boy-servant: ‘Bring us our meal; truly, we have suffered much fatigue on this journey.’ Mūsa did not feel tired until he had passed the place that Allah had told him to look for. His boy-servant then said to him: ‘Do you remember when we rested on the rock? Well, I forgot all about the fish; and it was none other than the devil who made me forget.’ Mūsa said: ‘That was what we have been looking for,’ so they returned, retracing their footsteps. When they reached the rock, they found a man shrouded with a robe. Mūsa greeted him with the greeting of peace. Al-Khidr said: ‘Is there (such a greeting of) peace in your land?’ Mūsa said: ‘I am Mūsa.’ He said: ‘Are you the Mūsa of the Children of Israel?’ Mūsa said: ‘Yes,’ and added: ‘May I follow you so you can teach me something of the guidance that you have been taught?’ Al-Khidr said: ‘You will not be able to have patience with me. O Mūsa. I have some of Allah's knowledge, which He has bestowed upon me that you do not know, and you too, have some of Allah's knowledge, which He has bestowed upon you that I do not know.’ Mūsa said: ‘If Allah wills, you will find me patient, and I will not disobey you.’ So they set out walking along the shore, until a boat passed by and they asked the crew to let them on board. The crew recognized Al-Khidr and allowed them on board free of charge. A bird came and perched on the edge of the boat and pecked in the sea once or twice. Al-Khidr said: ‘My knowledge and your knowledge compared to Allah's knowledge are like the pecking of that bird in the sea.’ Al-Khidr then broke one of the boat's panels and pulled it out. Mūsa said to him: ‘These people gave us a free ride, yet you have broken their boat so its people will drown!’ Al-Khidr said: ‘Did I not say that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ Mūsa said: ‘Call me not to account for what I forgot and be not hard upon me in my affairs.’ So Mūsa’s first questioning was due to forgetfulness. They both continued on and came upon a boy playing with some other boys. Al-Khidr took hold of the boy's head and pulled it right off with his hands, killing him. Mūsa said to him: ‘Have you killed an innocent soul without a right?’ He said: ‘Did I not say to you that you would not be able to have patience with me?’ Ibn ‘Uyaynah said: ‘And this was more assertive.’ They continued on until they came to a town and they asked the people for some food, but they refused to entertain them. They found a wall in the town that was on the point of falling down. Al-Khidr set it straight with his own hands. Mūsa said: ‘If you had wished, surely, you could have asked for wages for that!’ He said: "This is the parting between you and me.’" The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "May Allah have mercy on Mūsa! If only he had had more patience so Allah could have told us more about them both!"