—mention this matter at all, nor ever convey it to his community, nor did the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him?

As for someone’s assertion that al-Khidr is “the chief of the saints,” we ask: Who appointed him to that rank when the greatest of all saints are the Companions of Muhammad—may peace and blessings be upon him and his family—and al-Khidr is not counted among them?

Indeed, the bulk of what is circulated on this topic consists either of sheer fabrications or of stories built on a single person’s conjecture: someone sees an unfamiliar man, assumes he is al-Khidr, and proclaims, “This is al-Khidr.” The Rāfiḍah behave likewise when they spot an individual they imagine to be the awaited, infallible Imam—or at least claim as much. It is related from Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, when al-Khidr was mentioned in his presence, that he said, “Whoever refers you to one who is absent has not treated you fairly.” None but Satan has set such notions upon people’s tongues. We have discussed this issue in detail elsewhere.