What is your opinion regarding al-Khidr? Is he a prophet or a wali (close friend of Allah)? And is he still alive to this day?
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The questioner : What is the stronger position regarding al-Khidr (peace be upon him): is he a prophet or a messenger? And what is the authenticity of the claim that he is alive to this day and appears to some people occasionally? Many people have been misled by this story into believing that the awliya (close friends of Allah) have a status above the status of prophethy, to the point that one of their followers said:
"The station of prophethy is in the barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection), above the messenger and below the wali"
Please advise us, may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : Your question regarding al-Khidr, whether he is a prophet or a messenger, is not the point of disagreement. The disagreement is whether he is a prophet or a wali (close friend of Allah), meaning he is not a prophet.
The correct view is that he is not a prophet, and that Allah the Exalted granted him knowledge that Musa (Moses) did not know, for the sake of a test and trial. This is because Musa (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I do not know anyone on the face of the earth who is more knowledgeable than me" So Allah the Exalted wanted to show him that there are people on earth who are more knowledgeable than he is, and he was more knowledgeable than Musa regarding what Allah taught him about the story of the ship.
"The station of prophethy is in the barzakh (the interval between death and resurrection), above the messenger and below the wali"
Please advise us, may Allah reward you?
The Shaykh : Your question regarding al-Khidr, whether he is a prophet or a messenger, is not the point of disagreement. The disagreement is whether he is a prophet or a wali (close friend of Allah), meaning he is not a prophet.
The correct view is that he is not a prophet, and that Allah the Exalted granted him knowledge that Musa (Moses) did not know, for the sake of a test and trial. This is because Musa (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I do not know anyone on the face of the earth who is more knowledgeable than me" So Allah the Exalted wanted to show him that there are people on earth who are more knowledgeable than he is, and he was more knowledgeable than Musa regarding what Allah taught him about the story of the ship.