al-Khidr

Al-Khidr, 'the Green One,' is a figure of Islamic tradition identified with an unnamed servant of God in Surah 18:65–82. In that passage Moses seeks him out at the meeting of two seas and asks to learn from him. Khidr warns Moses he will not be patient, then damages a boat, kills a boy, and rebuilds a wall without pay. Each act shocks Moses, and Khidr then explains the hidden reasons.

The Quran does not name him; the name and further stories come from hadith and commentators. Later tradition made him immortal, having drunk from the water of life, and a guide who appears to the devout. Scholars connect the Quranic story with the Alexander romance, in which a cook finds the spring of life when a dried fish revives, and with older Near Eastern tales.

Khidr was identified or paired with the prophet Elijah, and in some places with Saint George. Sufi teachers claimed to meet him. Some commentators named him as the man in Surah 2:259 who slept a hundred years beside a ruined town, though most named Uzair (Ezra).