El-Khaḍir/El-Khiḍr: Le Prophète-Sage dans la Tradition Musulmane by Irfan Omar (Casablanca: A. Retani Éditions La Croisée des Chemins, 2021), 202 pp., ISBN: 9789920769860, 18.00 €

Abstract

First Paragraph: In November 1654, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Mu’in al-Din Chishti in the city of Ajmer as was a common practice for the members of his dynasty. The journey is captured in a painting from his royal chronicle, The Padshahnama. As the emperor crosses a stream on the outskirts of the city, he encounters a mysterious figure standing on the surface of the water, clad in an emerald robe and turban, and offering a globe to the emperor. Although unnamed in the painting, this figure has been identified as al-Khiḍir (also rendered as al-Khaḍir and Khizr), literally “the Green One,” the traditional name given to Mūsā’s (Moses’) mysterious guide mentioned in the Qur’an (al-Kahf 18.60-82 ff.) and the subject of Irfan Omar’s welcome study of this important figure in Islam.