وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَى لِفَتَاهُ لَا أَبْرَحُ حَتَّى أَبْلُغَ مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا ﴿۶۰﴾ فَلَمَّا بَلَغَا مَجْمَعَ بَيْنِهِمَا نَسِيَا حُوتَهُمَا فَاتَّخَذَ سَبِيلَهُ فِي الْبَحْرِ سَرَبًا ﴿۶۱﴾

﴾60﴿ Wa iz qaalaa Moosaa lifataahu laaa abrahu hattaaa ablugha majma'al bahrayni aw amdiya huqubaa
﴾61﴿ Falammaa balaghaa majma'a bainihimaa nasiyaa hootahumaa fattakhaza sabeelahoo fil bahri sarabaa

﴾60﴿ And [mention] when Moses said to his servant, I will not cease traveling until I reach the junction of the two seas, or I will continue for a long period
﴾61﴿ So when they reached the junction of the two seas, they forgot their fish, and it took its course into the sea, slipping away

[60] From this verse up to verse 82, begins the third section of the Sūrah, in which the doubt of those who use miraculous events as proof for calling upon Khidr (peace be upon him) or others besides Allah is answered.
Some people claim, based on Khidr’s extraordinary actions, that he has power over things, knowledge of the unseen, and thus say: “Yā Khidr, help me!” They present such events as justification for this practice.
The essence of the reply is: Khidr (peace be upon him) was a servant in need of Allah’s mercy, and the knowledge he had was only partial and limited.
The miraculous acts mentioned were not from his own will, as proven by his own words: (وَمَا فَعَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَمْرِي) – “I did not do them on my own command.” This confirms that he had no independent power—everything was by Allah’s command and wisdom.
In this incident, there are also examples of how people were saved from harm, and these are mentioned within the story.
This journey of Mūsā (peace be upon him) was for the sake of seeking knowledge, and it was by Allah’s command. Allah even showed him the location of Khidr and instructed him to benefit from him. The full account is recorded in detail in authentic hadith.
In verse 60, the statement points to the lesson that no one should ever feel free from the need for knowledge, or be careless in seeking to increase it.
(لِفَتَاهُ) – “his young servant” – refers to Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn, and this shows that a companion or assistant on a journey is valuable, especially a young learner.
(لَا أَبْرَحُ حَتَّى) – “I will not give up until…” – this indicates the necessity of persistent effort in seeking knowledge. If one doesn’t find it in one place, he should move to another.
(مَجْمَعَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ) – “the meeting point of the two seas” – has several interpretations:
1. The strongest view is that it refers to Tangier, located between Spain and Morocco.
The two seas are the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. This area is also called the Strait of Gibraltar (Jabal Ṭāriq).
2. Another view is that it refers to the meeting of the Roman Sea and the Persian Sea, but the first opinion is more widely accepted and suitable.
(أَوْ أَمْضِيَ حُقُبًا) – “or I will journey for ages” – ḥuqb means a long period of time. The correct opinion is that it does not have a fixed measure.
This also indicates that traveling in search of knowledge is an act of worship.
[61] (نَسِيَا حُوتَهُمَا) – “They both forgot their fish” – refers to the fish they had taken along in their provision basket to use as food when needed during their journey.
This shows that when traveling in search of knowledge, it is advisable to carry provisions.
Mūsā (peace be upon him) had been informed through revelation that the place where the fish disappears would be the spot where he would meet Khidr (peace be upon him).
When Mūsā (peace be upon him) fell asleep and Yūshaʿ (his young companion) was awake, the fish suddenly jumped out of the basket, and miraculously, the sea opened up like a tunnel, and the fish swam through it and disappeared.
The verb (نَسِيَا) – “they both forgot” – is applied to both, though the forgetfulness was actually on Yūshaʿ’s part (as he forgot to inform Mūsā), and on Mūsā’s part, it was forgetting to ask about the fish. This indicates that forgetfulness (nisyān) does not contradict prophethood, as even prophets may forget matters not related to conveying revelation.
This event also contains a subtle proof of Allah’s power to resurrect the dead, as the dead fish came back to life and swam away.
There is also a beautiful metaphorical indication: “Where a dead fish comes to life, there is the place where true knowledge (spiritual life) will be found.”