Page 166 - Signs of the End Times in Surat Al-Kahf

SIGNS OF THE END TIMES IN SURAT AL-KAHF

Lord, give me right judgment and unite me with the righteous.
(Surat ash-Shu‘ara’, 78-83)
Allah willed for Khidhr (as) to take this child’s life, but He could
have done it through somebody else. The boy could have been killed in
an accident, by a heart attack, or by falling and sustaining a deadly head
injury. As Allah makes clear: "… When their specified time arrives,
they cannot delay it for a single hour, nor can they bring it forward"
(Surat an-Nahl, 61). In this case, Allah determined that the angels would
be the invisible agents and that Khidhr (as) would be the visible agent of
this death, whereby Khidhr (as) appeared to be taking the child’s life. In
reality, Khidhr (as) acts by the revelation he receives from Allah, and
certainly does not act against His orders. Also, he cannot act by his own
will unless Allah wills so. Allah chose him to be the means for this task.
The same is true for the life that Musa (as) took, as related below:
He entered the city at a time when its inhabitants were unaware,
and found two men fighting there—one from his party and the
other from his enemy. The one from his party asked for his sup-
port against the other from his enemy. So Musa hit him, dealing
him a fatal blow. He said: "This is part of Satan’s handiwork. He
truly is an outright and misleading enemy." He said: "My Lord, I
have wronged myself. Forgive me." So He forgave him. He is

the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful. (Surat al-Qasas, 15-16)
Musa (as) intervened in a fight to help someone, but unintentionally
killed the other person. Here again, he was only the means. Although
that man died at Musa’s (as) hands, Musa (as) was no more than the vis-
ible cause, and the angels were the invisible agents. Allah states in the
Qur'an that it is the angels’ duty to take lives, although ultimately it is
only Allah Who does so.
No matter how much people resist, wherever they look for refuge or
wherever they flee, everyone is always proceeding toward his or her
death. Allah reminds us that no one can escape death: " Say, 'Even if
you had been inside your homes, those people for whom killing was

164