When life feels harsh, remember the boat, the boy, and the wall

I’m posting this because honestly, this story keeps me going every single time, especially when life feels like it’s just taking loss after loss, and I can’t see why something bad is happening. I think about this. It starts with Prophet Musa, peace be upon him. He was giving a talk to the Children of Israel, and someone asked him, “Who is the most knowledgeable person on earth?” Musa said, “I am.” Because naturally, he was a mighty prophet. But Allah wanted to teach him a lesson about humility and the hidden wisdom of God. So Allah told him there was a servant of His at the meeting point of two seas who knew more than Musa did. So Musa sets out on a long trip with a young servant boy carrying fish for food. They walk for ages until they reach the rock where the two seas meet. Right at that spot, the fish they were carrying comes back to life, slips out of the basket, and dives into the sea. That was the sign they were looking for. They go back and find this man, known as Al-Khidr. Musa asks to follow him. Khidr straight up tells him, “You won’t be able to be patient with me. I have knowledge Allah taught me that you don’t know, and you have knowledge He taught you that I don’t know.” But Musa insists, promising, “You’ll find me patient, and I won’t disobey your command.” Khidr agrees but sets one rule: “If you ask me about anything I do, we’ll part ways.” So they walk along the coast and get on a ship. The crew knows Khidr and lets them on for free out of respect. But then, out of nowhere, Khidr takes an axe or a tool and rips a huge hole right into the bottom planks of the boat. Water starts coming in. Musa is totally shocked. He blurts out, “Did you do this to drown the people on board? You’ve done a terrible thing!” Khidr calmly looks at him and says, “Didn’t I tell you that you’d never be able to be patient with me?” Musa catches himself, says sorry, and begs him not to be hard on him for forgetting. They leave the boat and keep walking. Along the way, they see a young boy playing with other kids. This boy is handsome and healthy. Khidr walks over, grabs him, and kills him. Just like that. Musa is horrified. He says, “Have you killed an innocent soul without him killing anyone? You’ve done a horrible thing!” Khidr again reminds him of their deal. Musa promises, this time more seriously, that if he asks again, Khidr can leave him for good. They get to a town. They’re exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. But the people of this town are incredibly stingy and unwelcoming. They refuse to give them any food or shelter. As they’re leaving the town, they see a wall that’s falling apart and about to collapse. Khidr, with his own hands, starts rebuilding this wall, straightening the bricks and plastering it until it’s strong and standing tall. Musa is baffled. He says, “We’re starving and these people treated us like dirt, and you fixed their wall for free? You could’ve at least taken payment for this so we could buy food!” Khidr stops and says, “This is where we part ways. But before you go, I’ll tell you the meaning of everything you couldn’t be patient with.” He says, “As for the boat, it belonged to poor people working at sea. I wanted to damage it because there was a tyrant king coming after them who was seizing every good ship by force. By making it defective, the king would look at it, think it’s worthless, and pass it by. They get to keep their boat, and they can easily fix that small hole later.” “As for the boy, his parents were sincere believers. But their son was destined to become a person of deep corruption and disbelief. And because they loved him so much, that love would’ve been their downfall. They would’ve been torn between their love for him and their faith in Allah, and eventually that love could’ve pulled them away from their deen completely. They would’ve compromised their faith just to keep him close. So Allah, in His mercy, took him before he could become that source of destruction. The loss broke their hearts at the moment, but it saved their souls for eternity. And Allah blessed them with a better child after him, one who would grow up righteous and bring them comfort instead of pain. They lost a son, but Allah gave them one who would actually lead them to Jannah rather than drag them away.” “As for the wall, it belonged to two orphaned boys in the city. Beneath it was buried a treasure that their righteous father had left for them. They were still young and weak, with no one to protect them or their wealth. If that wall had collapsed, the treasure would’ve been exposed for everyone to see. The people of that town were greedy and inhospitable, and they would’ve taken it without hesitation. The boys were too weak to defend what was rightfully theirs, so they would’ve lost everything their father worked so hard to leave behind. Allah, in His mercy, willed that the wall stay standing until the boys grew into strong mature men. Only then, when they could protect it, would they dig up the treasure and benefit from it as a blessing from Allah. If I had let it fall, it would’ve been stolen or destroyed before its time. Their inheritance would’ve been wasted, and the mercy Allah had stored for them would’ve been lost forever.” Whenever I’m going through a hard time, I look at it through this lens. I might be standing there asking Allah, “Why did You make a hole in my boat?” or “Why did You take this person away from me?” or “Why am I busting my back to fix a wall for people who don’t even appreciate me?” And the truth is, I’m just Musa in that moment. I only see the damage. I don’t see the tyrant king sailing up the coast. I don’t see the terrible future that was avoided. I don’t see the treasure buried under the rubble that will only be mine when I’m strong enough to handle it.