Quran Universe
18:74

فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَٰمٗا فَقَتَلَهُۥ قَالَ أَقَتَلۡتَ نَفۡسٗا زَكِيَّةَۢ بِغَيۡرِ نَفۡسٖ لَّقَدۡ جِئۡتَ شَيۡـٔٗا نُّكۡرٗا

Faintalaqa hatta itha laqiya ghulaman faqatalahu qala aqatalta nafsan zakiyyatan bighayri nafsin laqad jita shayan nukran

So they set out, until when they met a boy, al-Khidh r killed him. [Moses] said, "Have you killed a pure soul for other than [having killed] a soul? You have certainly done a deplorable thing."

Word by word
  1. فَٱنطَلَقَاThen they both set out
  2. حَتَّىٰٓuntil
  3. إِذَاwhen
  4. لَقِيَاthey met
  5. غُلَٰمٗاa boy
  6. فَقَتَلَهُۥthen he killed him
  7. قَالَHe said
  8. أَقَتَلۡتَHave you killed
  9. نَفۡسٗاa soul
  10. زَكِيَّةَۢpure
  11. بِغَيۡرِfor other than
  12. نَفۡسٖa soul
  13. لَّقَدۡCertainly
  14. جِئۡتَyou have done
  15. شَيۡـٔٗاa thing
  16. نُّكۡرٗاevil
Al-Kahf · 18:74Makkah

The second event was far harder to accept.

A loss Musa could not bear to see

In a town
a boyplaying with others
his life taken
by Al-Khidrby Allah's command
Musa
objects fiercelya terrible thing!
What Musa saw
an innocent soulno reason given
Allah's hidden knowledgeexplained later

Musa objected even more fervently than in the first case: you have taken an innocent soul, a young person who had done nothing wrong. Al-Khidr acted on knowledge given him by Allah, which is not given to anyone today. The reason is told later in the surah.

A child dies in the hospital ward down the corridor from you. Nothing about it feels fair, and you cannot find words. Musa felt that too. Grief and protest are human. Allah's knowledge holds what yours cannot.

If a loss makes no sense to me, it makes no sense at all.

Some losses I will never understand here. Allah knows what I cannot.

Try this

Make dua today for one family you know that is grieving a loss.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Then they both proceeded till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him. Musa said: "Have you killed an innocent person without Nafs? Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr! (74)He said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me? (75)He said: "If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me. (76)

The Story of killing the Boy

فَانطَلَقَا

(Then they both proceeded,) means, after the first incident,

حَتَّىٰ إِذَا لَقِيَا غُلَامًا فَقَتَلَهُ

(till they met a boy, and he (Khidr) killed him.) It has been stated previously that this boy was playing with other boys in one of the towns, and that Al-Khidr deliberately singled him out. He was the finest and most handsome of them all, and Al-Khidr killed him. When Musa, peace be upon him, saw that he denounced him even more fervently than in the first case, and said hastily:

 أَقَتَلْتَ نَفْسًا زَكِيَّةً

(Have you killed an innocent person?) meaning, a young person who had not yet committed any sin or done anything wrong, yet you killed him

بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ

(without Nafs) with no reason for killing him.

 لَّقَدْ جِئْتَ شَيْئًا نُّكْرًا

(Verily, you have committed a thing Nukr!) meaning, something that is clearly evil.

قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكَ إِنَّكَ لَن تَسْتَطِيعَ مَعِيَ صَبْرًا

(He said: "Did I not tell you that you can have no patience with me?") Once again, Al-Khidr reiterates the condition set in the first place, so Musa says to him:

إِن سَأَلْتُكَ عَن شَيْءٍ بَعْدَهَا

(If I ask you anything after this,) meaning, 'if I object to anything else you do after this,'

فَلَا تُصَاحِبْنِي ۖ قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِن لَّدُنِّي عُذْرًا

(keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.) 'you have accepted my apology twice.' Ibn Jarir narrated from Ibn 'Abbas that Ubayy bin Ka'b said: "Whenever the Prophet ﷺ mentioned anyone, he would pray for himself first. One day he said:

رَحْمَةُ اللهِ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلَى مُوسَى لَوْ لَبِثَ مَعَ صَاحِبِهِ لَأَبْصَرَ الْعَجَبَ، وَلَكِنَّهُ قَالَ:

إِن سَأَلْتُكَ عَن شَيْءٍ بَعْدَهَا فَلَا تُصَاحِبْنِي ۖ قَدْ بَلَغْتَ مِن لَّدُنِّي عُذْرًا

(May the mercy of Allah be upon us and upon Musa. If he had stayed with his companion he would have seen wonders, but he said, ('If I ask you anything after this, keep me not in your company, you have received an excuse from me.'))"