What you have done is unacceptable and abhorrent.

What you have done is unacceptable and abhorrent.” At this point, Khidr (ع) briefly explains his reason for what he did “The Divine will and wisdom are superior to all things, and the unsophisticated intellect of human beings cannot comprehend the finer points of Allah’s (awj) affairs and His will. Thus, human intellects have no authority over His will; rather, His will holds sway over human intellects.

So don’t just rely on your reasoning and its superficial understanding, and for now patiently bear whatever I do...”[^2] Looking carefully into this tradition, we conclude that: Every thing has an outer aspect and an inner reality. If something has a good and innocent-looking outer form but underneath is evil and sinful, it is not possible to simply rely on laws pertaining to the outer aspect.

Sometimes Allah (awj) decides, on the basis of some overriding good, to act beyond the limits of apparent recompense and desires to apply the [laws of the] inner dimension, along with its reward or punishment.

The killing of the young man was entirely dependent on Allah’s (awj) command; Khidr (ع) did not perform this deed without a Divine command, but was merely executing His will.[^3] Here the question presents itself as to whether by killing that youth, Allah (awj) has punished him before any crime has been committed on his part. The points below can help us answer this question.

If a person is born to Muslim parents and then denies his or her faith after attaining maturity, the rules of an “apostate from nature” (murtadd fitri) will apply to him or her. If that person is a man, he will be worthy of death.

It has come in several traditions: “[Though the Qur`an clearly states that] the parents of that young man were believers, their son was an disbeliever, to the extent that there was no hope of his heart opening up to the truth, and the seal of obstinacy and rejection of faith had been placed on it.”[^4] So while it is true that his apparent conduct in playing with his friends did not reveal his disbelief (just as Musa (ع), relying on this outward state, thought him innocent), the reality of his heart and beliefs proved his disbelief (as demonstrated in the Divine knowledge and its revelation to Khidr (ع)).

As a result, his being killed was merely a result of his choosing to be an apostate, which carries the consequence in this world of termination of physical life.