all people.” He also said:

“I have been granted five things that no one before me was granted: I have been granted victory through fear instilled in the enemy a month’s journey away; the earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification; war booty has been made lawful for me, though it was not lawful for anyone before me; I have been granted intercession; and a prophet used to be sent specifically to his own people, whereas I have been sent to all people.”

Allah Most High said:

“We have sent you only as a bearer of good tidings and a warner to all mankind.”

And He Most High said:

“Say, ‘O mankind, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all,’”

and the verse continues.

Thus Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is Allah’s Messenger to all humankind and jinn: humans and jinn, Arabs and non-Arabs, kings and ascetics, Allah’s allies among them and those who are not. No one may depart from following him, inwardly or outwardly, or from following the Book and Sunnah that he brought, in any matter, small or great, whether concerning knowledge or deeds. No one may say to him what al-Khidr said to Moses, for Moses was not sent to al-Khidr.

Second: The account of al-Khidr contains no violation of the revealed law. Rather, the things he did are permissible under the revealed law when a servant knows their grounds, as al-Khidr did. Hence, when he explained those grounds to Moses, Moses agreed with him. Had he acted contrary to Moses’ revealed law, Moses would never have agreed with him. We have discussed this at length elsewhere.

Making a hole in the boat illustrates that a person may preserve legally protected property for its owner by destroying part of it, for that is better than losing it altogether. Similarly, during the Prophet’s lifetime, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, a shepherd was permitted to slaughter a sheep that he feared would die.

The account of the boy illustrates the permissibility of killing a child who attacks. Hence Ibn ‘Abbās said to Najda:

“As for the boys, if you know about them what al-Khidr knew