AL-KHIDR

Arabic, contraction of al-Khadir, the Green One.

A legendary Islamic figure endowed with inmortal life who became a popular saint especially among sailors and Sufis (mystics).

The cycle of myths and stories surrounding al-Khidr originated in a vague narrative in the Quran (18:60-82) that describes the long and arduous journey of Musa (moses) and his servant to the meeting of the two seas. in the course of their travels they lose a fish they had taken with them; a man of God appears offering to help them in their search for the fish but performs seemingly senseless deeds alonh the way -he sinks a boat, kills a young man, then restores a wall in a city hostile to them. Musa questions what the man has done and received a satisfactory explanation for everything, but by questioning Musa forfeits his patronage.

Modern scholars have detected similarities between the Quranic original and three earlier sources; the Babylonian epic of Gilgamesh who goes in search of an ancestor endowed with eternal life, the Roman d´Alexandre in which Alexander´s cook discovers for him the fountain of life and the Jewish legend concerned Elijah who never tasted death. Atab commentators elaborated and embellished the Quranic story and named the "man of God" Khidr, claiming that he turned green as he dived into the spring of life though variant interpretation identify Khidr with the vegetable world.

On a popular level Khidr has been given a name most frequently Balya ibn Malkan, many different genealogies, and dates that have made him a comtemporary of Abraham or Alexander. Khidr´s inmortality and ability to assume a variety of local characteristics probably account for his widespread popularity among Arabs, Turks, Persians and other Muslims, despite orthodox Islamic opposition. In Syria, Khidr became partially identified with St. George who according to a local tradition is of Syrian birth; in India and Pakistan, Khidr is identified with a water deity (Khwadja Khidr) specializing in the protection of mariners and river travellers; and in Sufi circles he is associated with their founders who were often endowed with holiness and sainthood.