قَالَ هَذَا فِرَاقُ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنِكَ سَأُنَبِّئُكَ بِتَأْوِيلِ مَا لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ عَلَيْهِ صَبْرًا ﴿۷۸﴾ أَمَّا السَّفِينَةُ فَكَانَتْ لِمَسَاكِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ فِي الْبَحْرِ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَعِيبَهَا وَكَانَ وَرَاءَهُمْ مَلِكٌ يَأْخُذُ كُلَّ سَفِينَةٍ غَصْبًا ﴿۷۹﴾

﴾78﴿ Qaala haazaa firaaqu bainee wa bainik; sa unabbi'uka bi ta'weeli maa lam tastati' 'alaihi sabraa
﴾79﴿ Ammas safeenatu fakaanat limasaakeena ya'maloona fil bahri fa arattu an a'eebahaa wa kaana waraaa' ahum malikuny yaakhuzu kulla safeenatin ghasbaa

﴾78﴿ He said, This is the point of separation between me and you. I will soon inform you of the interpretation of that which you could not have patience with
﴾79﴿ As for the ship, it belonged to poor people who worked at sea, so I intended to damage it because there was a king ahead of them who would seize every sound ship by force

[78] This is the speech of Khidr (peace be upon him), in accordance with the condition Musa (peace be upon him) had set.
And Khidr (peace be upon him) gives the explanations in a way that no one assumes he actually committed actions contrary to the Shari‘ah.
This indicates that when people accuse a person of wrongdoing, it is obligatory upon him to clear himself of such suspicions.
Subtle point: Some commentators have pointed out that Musa (peace be upon him) was not reflecting on his own past experiences—meaning, he had forgotten. Otherwise, he would not have objected.
For example, the salvation of the ship despite being damaged was like the salvation of Musa (peace be upon him) from drowning when his mother placed him in a box and cast him into the river.
And the case of killing was similar to when Musa (peace be upon him) had killed the Copt.
And building the wall without taking a wage was like when Musa (peace be upon him) watered the flocks of Shu‘ayb’s daughters without asking for payment.
[79] The conclusion is that creating a flaw in the ship brought many benefits, because if it had been intact, the oppressive king would have seized it for forced labor, and the livelihood of these poor people would have been ruined—and these poor ones were monotheists as well.
This indicates that protecting the property of the poor from oppressors is necessary, and it is the tradition of the Prophets (peace be upon them).
It also shows that for a greater benefit, it is worthwhile to endure a minor loss.
Likewise, it is proof that a miskīn (poor person) is one who may have some wealth, but it is below the required threshold (niṣāb), or he may have a source of income, but it only suffices for his basic needs.
In (kulla safīnah) (every ship), what is meant is every sound, intact ship.