The Dutch scholar A. J. Wensinck proposed
that elements in his story were related to the Epic
of Gilgamesh of ancient Mesopotamia and to the
Romance of aleXander the great of the Late
Antique era (third century to eighth century c.e.).
All three story cycles involved heroic figures who
traveled to the limits of the known world and
uncovered hidden secrets. Khadir even appeared
as a companion of Alexander in his quest for the
spring of life in Arabic versions of the legend.
Indeed, Khadir was famous in Islamic tradition
for his knowledge of the unseen. So much so, in
fact, that some Muslim scholars even ranked him
among the prophets, thinking that his insights
could have come only from a divine source. ibn
ishaq (d. 767) included a chapter on Khadir in his
collection of prophets’ tales, equating him with
the biblical prophet Jeremiah and relating how
he interceded on behalf of the wayward Children
of Israel with God. In palestine and Syria Khidr
is associated with the Christian Saint George for
reasons that are not entirely clear.
Although Khadir was never mentioned in
the qUran, the majority of commentators iden-
tified him with an unnamed “servant” of God
mentioned in its 18th chapter (Q 18:60–82).
This passage was a legend about the journey of
Moses to the meeting place of the two seas, which
some commentators said was located between the
seas of Byzantium and Persia (the Gulf)—per-
haps in the Suez region. There he encountered
one of God’s servants (Khadir), who had been
given the gift of God’s mercy and knowledge.
moses asked to travel with him so that he might
acquire some of his knowledge. Khadir reluctantly
agreed on the condition that Moses promise not
to ask questions and be patient in his quest for
knowledge. During their travels, Khidr, acting
like the trickster known to the legends of the
Native Americans, did three shocking things. He
scuttled a boat in which they were sailing, he
killed a young man without provocation, and he
built a crumbling wall without charge. Moses lost
his patience at each incident, much to Khadir’s
chagrin, and demanded an explanation. Exasper-
ated at Moses’s inability to grasp the meaning of
his deeds, Khadir at last explained himself. He
scuttled the boat because a tyrannical king was
about to take it from its impoverished owners.
He killed the youth because he was destined for
a troubled life that would bring only grief to his
faithful parents. Lastly, he built the wall to pro-
tect a buried treasure belonging to two orphans
so that they had a means of support when they
grew up. In each instance, Khadir demonstrated
an uncanny knowledge about the future, which
he attributed to God. Later commentators saw in
the story the interplay of two kinds of knowledge.
One, possessed by Moses, was knowledge of the
material world and its apparent meanings. The
other, possessed by Khadir, represented knowl-
edge of the invisible world of the spirit and its
deeper meanings.
Sufis have drawn inspiration from Khadir
because of his knowledge of the unseen, his
close relation to God, his capacity for travel, and
his ability to flout conventions in order to teach
deeper truths. He was an exemplary guide (mur-
shid or pir) who could lead them to immortality,
breaking their ties to the material world. Several
mystics, including ibn al-arabi (d. 1240), claim to
have met him and been initiated by him into the
Sufi way. Among the Twelve-Imam Shia, Khadir is
believed to have a close association with the 12th
Imam, who is in Occulatation (ghayba). A mosque/
shrine complex in Jamkaran, Iran (near the holy
city of Qom), has become a popular pilgrimage site
where people go to seek the assistance of both Kha-
dir and the 12th Imam. Ismailis note that Khadir
practices tawil (esoteric interpretation, Q 18:78)
when he explains his troubling actions to Moses,
thus affirming a key method used in interpreting
scripture to arrive at its hidden (batini) meaning.
Alawis in Turkey fast for three days in honor of
Khadir. Many mosques in Muslim countries have
been named after him. In addition to the shrine in
Jamkaran, other shrines dedicated to Khadir exist
on the island of Abadan (Iran) in the Persian Gulf,Khadir 429 J