Khidr

Khidr (Arabic: الخضر, romanized: al-Khiḍr) is a Qur'anic figure of Islam. He is described in Surah al-Kahf as a righteous servant of God possessing great wisdom or mystic knowledge. In various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions, Khidr is described as an angel, prophet, or wali (saint), who guards the sea, teaches secret knowledge and aids those in distress. He prominently figures as patron of the Islamic saint Ibn Arabi. The figure of al-Khidr has been syncretized over time with various other figures including Dūraoša and Sorūsh in Iran, Sargis the General and Saint George in Asia Minor and the Levant, Elijah in Judaism and among the Druze, John the Baptist in Armenia, Buddha in some medieval Islamic writings, and Jhulelal in Sindh and Punjab in South Asia. He is commemorated on the holiday of Hıdırellez. Though not mentioned by name in the Quran, he is named by Islamic scholars as the figure described in Quran 18:65–82 as a servant of God who has been given "knowledge" and who is accompanied and questioned by the prophet Musa (Moses) about the many seemingly unfair or inappropriate actions he (Khidr) takes (damaging a ship, killing a young man, repaying inhospitality by repairing a wall). At the end of the story Khidr explains the circumstances unknown to Moses that made each of the actions fair and appropriate.