Khidr and the Seal of the Prophets - in the Muhammadan Glow

' ilVerde / Alkhidr ' by Cristina Colombo

The Prophet Khidr & The Seal of the Prophets

He is a man unlike any other,

He is a world changer,

And while I attend to matters

That is beyond normal men's

Ability to comprehend in the beginning,

He is the Master in the beginning and the end,

And nothing is hidden from him...

He is a Prophet unlike any other,

And lo now I do remember

My little time with Moses the firebrand,

Who stayed by me till my deeds

His heart could not withstand...

But this man? This Muhammad Habibullah?

His many layers of good manners

Would confound even me

Who is wont to confound others...

He is a world changer

By changing the state of a man's heart,

And even I, Khidr will be exposed

And melting like the morning snow

Before the Ahmad of Ahad

In his Muhammadan Glow..

..................................................

Khidr (a.s.) is a Prophet of God and he appears in many pages in the history of mankind. Famously he had a brief interlude with Moses, who accompanied him until Moses Kalimullah could not stand Khidr's deeds which appeared to be against the Law (sharia) and just plain wrong. Against his own promise, Moses  (a.s.)ultimately ended up questioning Khidr (a.s.) too many times, and there ends the short commune of two illustrious Prophets of God. 

Khidr (a.s.) also made a showing in the Hikayat Hang Tuah, an ancient fable of the mighty Admiral Hang Tuah of the old Melakan sultanate. Hang Tuah was on a mission to the Caliph of Islam and resolved along the way to perform pilgrimage to Mecca. Just before arriving in Mecca, he met someone among the Arabian sand dunes...

"Thereupon, the Laksamana walked towards a secluded place to relieve himself. And along the way he saw an old man sitting upon a white rock ( that is as white) like washed cotton. And when the old man saw the Laksamana coming near, immediately the old man came down and walked towards the Laksamana, with greetings of salam (peace) upon the Laksamana. And verily did the Laksamana return the courteous salutations of the old man. "O' Laksamana (said the old man), please lend me a silver tale, for I am a hungry poor dervish (darwish) unable to buy even bread.

Looking at the old man closer, the Laksamana felt, "This is no dervish, to my mind, this is either a Prophet or a Saint of God." The Laksamana then took two to three silver riyal from his pocket and offered them to the old man. But the old man only took one riyal and thereafter he embraced the Laksamana and kissed his head while saying, "My son Laksamana, please take this chembul (a pot or small receptacle to keep liquid) and when you are unable to speak the language of the people (that you will meet), pour out some of the water in this chembul and wipe it on your lips and your ears, that you may converse with them." Then just before the old man suddenly disappeared into thin air he said this to the Laksmana, "(oh, by the way) I am the Prophet Khidr".

I do not recall an encounter between the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and the Prophet Khidr(a.s.). If someone has any such tale, I would love to hear about it. But it is my reckoning that what had astonished Moses (a.s.) would probably not have the same effect upon Muhammad (s.a.w.). In all probability it would be Khidr (a.s.) who would come away from a meeting with Muhammad, Seal of the Prophets somehow changed.

Because love changes people, you see. Especially Prophets...

Maybe yes. Maybe no. Whatever the case may be, thank God for God, and thank God for his Prophets Moses and Khidr, and the Master of the Prophets, Muhammad Habibullah... 

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Have a beautiful day...

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way

Hang Tuah and the Prophet Khidr - some miles out from Mecca, a long, long time ago

My very own copy, almost 50 years old.
A gift from Heche...

Hikayat Hang Tuah (The Tale of Hang Tuah) is an ancient manuscript of old Malay literature. It has been approached more for its literary style and depth, rather than as a historical document, as 'fables' and 'tales' often are, such as the tale of King Arthur and his Excalibur.

When I mentioned to a dear friend recently, that I am currently reading this opus, he wryly commented, "Well, you know... its all tahyul (superstition and fantasy)." I kept my peace but I thought (silently to myself), "But isn't God the biggest 'tahyul' of them all? Tahyul in the context of something that cannot be seen and verified by the human eye? Him and His angels and the droves of Djinn that as Muslims, we are still bound to believe in?" But I felt it best to leave the metaphysical debates aside (for now), and we chatted on to other matters.

Well, to begin with, Hang Tuah is the hero, the Malay arch-type of virtue, courage and loyalty in the Malay consciousness, myth and history. Myth because some of the events which he took part in are of true supernatural nature, but historical because he was referenced by chroniclers of the old Melaka Sultanate. He was a warrior, palace captain, statesman and admiral of the Sultan. And he was also very much a human being, as is depicted in the narrative of the Hikayat. The Hikayat itself is not very descriptive and is told more as a narration as you will see in the excerpt below. I do not guarantee the accuracy of some of the old malay words, but I think I managed to get the gist of the meaning.

I find this particular story interesting because it involved Hang Tuah (known here as the Laksamana, meaning an Admiral or Commodore) on a very long journey from Melaka to Constantinople (Istanbul) as the head delegate of the Sultan of Melaka to the Caliph. Along the way however, the Laksamana and the Maharaja Setia (I think he's a courtier and ambassador of the Sultan) along with their delegation and crew of a few hundred men landed in 'Judah' which is in fact present day Jeddah, the port city that serves the holy city of Mecca and Medina. From there they decided to visit Mecca. It was so hot, the Hikayat recalled, that the caravan only traveled at night and it was in this journey, still some way from Mecca that this excerpt continues. Where the Laksamana Hang Tuah found himself in the presence of the Prophet Khidr -

"Thereupon, the Laksamana walked towards a secluded place to relieve himself. And along the way he saw an old man sitting upon a white rock ( that is as white) like washed cotton. And when the old man saw the Laksamana coming near, immediately the old man came down and walked towards the Laksamana, with greetings of salam (peace) upon the Laksamana. And verily did the Laksamana return the courteous salutations of the old man. "O' Laksamana (said the old man), please lend me a silver tale, for I am a hungry poor dervish (darwish) unable to buy even bread.

Looking at the old man closer, the Laksamana felt, "This is no dervish, to my mind, this is either a Prophet or a Saint of God." The Laksamana then took two to three silver riyal from his pocket and offered them to the old man. But the old man only took one riyal and thereafter he embraced the Laksamana and kissed his head while saying, "My son Laksamana, please take this chembul (a pot or small receptacle to keep liquid) and when you are unable to speak the language of the people (that you will meet), pour out some of the water in this chembul and wipe it on your lips and your ears, that you may converse with them. I am the Prophet Khidr.

Whereupon the old man vanished into thin air..."

Did you say Khi.... *poof*

Khidr is an ancient Prophet of old. There is some tale of him that I am aware of, and most famous is his encounter with the red-haired, red-bearded and fiery Prophet Moses. That's what I mean, he's been around for ages. And according to my friends, Khidr is with us still... doing all sorts of stuff for God and Prophet(pbuh), tweaking events and people on earth as per Divine Orders. Fascinating stuff.

I really must disappear now (like Khidr). Thanks for dropping in, sunshine.

wa min Allah at-taufiq

Hate has no place in Islam

Love will show the Way