أَمَّا ٱلسَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَـٰكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ فَأَرَدتُّ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا وَكَانَ وَرَآءَهُم مَّلِكٌ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًا 79
Translations
As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working at sea. So I intended to cause defect in it as there was after them a king who seized every [good] ship by force.
Transliteration
Amma al-safīnatu fakānat li-masākīn ya'malūn fī al-bahr fa-aradtu an a'ībahā wa-kāna warā'ahum malik ya'khudh kulla safīnah ghasbā
Tafsir (Explanation)
In this ayah, Khidr explains his action of damaging the ship: it belonged to poor people who worked on the sea, and he intentionally made it defective to protect it from a tyrant king who seized every ship by force. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, this demonstrates Khidr's divine knowledge ('ilm) of hidden affairs—he knew of the impending danger and acted to preserve the poor people's livelihood through apparent harm that concealed true mercy. The ayah illustrates the principle that sometimes what appears as destruction or harm is actually protection and wisdom from Allah.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of the story of Khidr and Musa (peace be upon them) in Surah Al-Kahf, a Meccan chapter. The broader context involves three actions by Khidr that initially puzzled Musa, but were later explained as containing divine wisdom and mercy. This narrative teaches believers about the limitations of human knowledge compared to divine knowledge.
Related Hadiths
The entire story of Khidr and Musa is referenced in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith 3401), where the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) explains Khidr's three actions and emphasizes that Khidr possessed special knowledge from Allah. Additionally, hadith collections contain the general principle: 'Perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you' (Quran 2:216), which reflects the wisdom embedded in Khidr's actions.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that apparent misfortunes or incomprehensible divine actions may conceal profound wisdom and mercy meant to protect us. Believers should cultivate trust in Allah's plan even when unable to understand the immediate reasoning behind events, recognizing that human knowledge is limited while Allah's wisdom is infinite and ever-encompassing.
Related Ayahs
وَيُنذِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدًا
And to warn those who say, "Allāh has taken a son".
وَيَوْمَ نُسَيِّرُ ٱلْجِبَالَ وَتَرَى ٱلْأَرْضَ بَارِزَةً وَحَشَرْنَـٰهُمْ فَلَمْ نُغَادِرْ مِنْهُمْ أَحَدًا
And [warn of] the Day when We will remove the mountains and you will see the earth exposed, and We will gather them and not leave behind from them anyone.
وَكَذَٰلِكَ بَعَثْنَـٰهُمْ لِيَتَسَآءَلُوا۟ بَيْنَهُمْ ۚ قَالَ قَآئِلٌ مِّنْهُمْ كَمْ لَبِثْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ لَبِثْنَا يَوْمًا أَوْ بَعْضَ يَوْمٍ ۚ قَالُوا۟ رَبُّكُمْ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا لَبِثْتُمْ فَٱبْعَثُوٓا۟ أَحَدَكُم بِوَرِقِكُمْ هَـٰذِهِۦٓ إِلَى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ فَلْيَنظُرْ أَيُّهَآ أَزْكَىٰ طَعَامًا فَلْيَأْتِكُم بِرِزْقٍ مِّنْهُ وَلْيَتَلَطَّفْ وَلَا يُشْعِرَنَّ بِكُمْ أَحَدًا
And similarly, We awakened them that they might question one another. Said a speaker from among them, "How long have you remained [here]?" They said, "We have remained a day or part of a day." They said, "Your Lord is most knowing of how long you remained. So send one of you with this silver coin of yours to the city and let him look to which is the best of food and bring you provision from it and let him be cautious. And let no one be aware of you.
أَوْ يُصْبِحَ مَآؤُهَا غَوْرًا فَلَن تَسْتَطِيعَ لَهُۥ طَلَبًا
Or its water will become sunken [into the earth], so you would never be able to seek it."