Musa (AS) carefully approached the man sat near the seaside. He greeted him with salaam. The man responded by saying, “Who here knows how to say ‘salaam’?” Meaning, “Since when do the people around here say ‘salaam’?” Musa (AS) understood that he knew that Musa (AS) came from a different land and that he was not a local person. He thought that it was best for him to introduce himself quickly. He said, “I am Musa.” The man said, “Oh, Musa from Bani Isra’il?” He replied, “Yes, I am him.” The man said, “What brings you here?” The Qur’an mentions Musa (AS)’s request to this man, whose name was Khadr, or Khidr, “May I be your follower so that you can teach me some of the guidance that you have been taught?” Khadr responded immediately, saying, “No.” He is not saying “no” because he did not want to take him as his follower, but rather, he knew that Musa (AS) did not have what it took to be his follower. “You do not have the ability to be patient with me.” Why was this? He was not belittling Musa (AS). He was saying, “You have a certain knowledge from Allah (SWT) and you need to uphold it, and I have a different kind of knowledge from Allah (SWT) which you have not been given, and when you see me acting out the knowledge Allah (SWT) has given me, you will not understand it and you will challenge it. It will become a painful and difficult process for you.” Musa (AS), by nature, was a person who was very straightforward. If there was something to be said, he would say it right away. Khadr knew that, because of this, he would not be able to work with him or learn from him. “How can you be patient over something you do not understand?”
The Qur’an is teaching us, first, the etiquette of approaching the teacher. Even though Musa (AS) was a prophet of Allah (SWT) and was given the Torah and an entire nation to guide, Khadr was also a prophet who knew what Musa (AS) did not. The Qur’an shows us how Musa (AS) had to humble himself to be accepted as a student by someone who was, in fact, someone of a lesser status than him. Musa (AS) said, “Please give me a chance. You will find me patient. I will not go against any rules that you tell me.” Khadr is not interested in having him as a student, but when Musa (AS) continued to insist, he said, “I have one rule. If you want to follow me around, you must follow this one rule. That is, do not ask me any questions. You will not ask me any questions about anything that I do until I give you the explanation myself.” This is the teacher laying down the rules for the student. Musa (AS) did want to learn from him because he knew that would please Allah (SWT) and give him knowledge that he did not have, so he accepted. We learn, in just a few words of the Qur’an, what the approach is from the student to the teacher, and when the teacher accepts the student, it is on the teacher’s terms. They lay down the rules and expectations that must be met by the student, and if the student cannot abide by their rules, they will not be able to benefit from that teacher. This opens the chapter of rules, classroom norms, the manner in which teaching and learning take place, the etiquettes that must be followed, and the adhab that must be utilised. There is so much to be learned here, but this story leads us into another chapter where Musa (AS) does become the student of Khadr for a while and they have an interesting journey in which they explore many things. Instead of going into the whole story, we will talk about the etiquettes of learning in the future.
