Chalcedonian Christology in the Qur’an Part I: The Verdant One in Surah XVIII

This is the beginning of a brief series of blogs in which I will be presenting and elaborating upon my perspective concerning the Holy Qur’an as a component of private revelation granted to a Christian Saint, namely the Seal of the Messengers, with particular emphasis on its relationship and relevance to Chalcedonian Christology. Before proceeding into this discussion, however, it is necessary to first establish and define the principles and framework of Chalcedonian Christology, as this will serve as the foundational context through which the subsequent analysis will be approached.

“Following, therefore, the holy fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son [of God], our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, the same of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and the same consubstantial with us according to the manhood; like us in all things except sin; begotten before the ages from the Father according to the Godhead, and in these last days, the same, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer, according to the manhood.”

— Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, Definition of Faith, Session IV, October VIII, AD 451

We observe here several declarations of direct relevance to the thesis presently under consideration. First and foremost, the Definition affirms that Jesus the Nazarene is truly the Son of God, truly Lord and Sovereign Christ, and truly heightened in every manly and divinely perfection. Following this, it declares that Jesus is truly God and truly Man, possessing a Rational Human Animative Principle together with a truly Material and Fleshly body. It then proceeds to affirm His homousian nature with both God Proper (the Father, as it were) and with us humanfolk. It is likewise evident that the homousian nature of Jesus is coinhering with that of the Father, whereas, in relation to us, it is truly distinctive. Furthermore, the Definition proclaims that He was like us (accidentally speaking) in all things except sin, inasmuch as He was conceived with neither sin nor concupiscence, if either were even possible for God. It subsequently declares that, through the mode of filial generation, or divine introspection, He was born of God Proper before beforeness itself. Thereafter, it affirms that He was born of a Galilean Virgin by the name of Mary, who bore Him who is God within Her maternal womb, that He might take the flesh of man as His own. For the purposes of the present discussion, however, our attention will be confined to only one aspect of this declaration. Specifically, we shall examine the Pre-Incarnate Nature of this same Christ.

Within the Holy Qur'an, an individual identified only as "a servant from among Our servants" is mentioned on a single occasion, namely in Surah al-Kahf (18:60–82). Subsequent tradition, particularly within the Tasawwuf, came to identify this individual as Al-Khidr, or "the Verdant One." This Verdant One makes his appearance during the Great Wandering of the Israelites before the Archprophet of the Law, Moses. According to the narrative, when the Israelites asked Moses who was the smartest to have ever lived, Moses replied that it was himself. Upon hearing this response, God commanded Moses to journey to the place where the two seas were parted, for God had prepared a lesson for him. Following the sign involving a saltwater fish, the Verdant One appears before Moses and proceeds to lead him through a series of events that, at first appearance, seem tragic or incomprehensible. Through these events, he instructs Moses that he does not truly comprehend the fullness of the mysteries of God. Having established the narrative context, I shall now quote the passage itself and proceed to its analysis.

“And when Moses said to his young companion: ‘I will not cease until I reach the meeting point of the two seas, or I continue for a long period of time.’ So when they reached the meeting point between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its way into the sea, slipping away. Then, when they had passed beyond it, he said to his young companion: ‘Bring us our meal; indeed, we have encountered from this journey of ours exhaustion.’ He said: ‘Do you see? When we took refuge at the rock, indeed I forgot the fish—and none made me forget it except Satan—that I should mention it; and it took its way into the sea in a wondrous manner.’ He said: ‘That is what we were seeking.’ So they returned, following back upon their tracks. So they found a servant from among Our servants, whom We had given mercy from Us, and We had taught him knowledge from Us. Moses said to him: ‘May I follow you upon the condition that you teach me from what you have been taught of right guidance?’He said: ‘Indeed, you will never be able to have patience with me. And how can you have patience concerning what you have not encompassed in knowledge?’ He said: ‘You will find me, if God wills, patient, and I will not disobey you in any command.’ He said: ‘Then if you follow me, do not ask me about anything until I bring its mention to you.’ So they set out until, when they boarded the ship, he damaged it. Moses said: ‘Have you damaged it in order to drown its people? Truly, you have done a terrible thing.’ He said: ‘Did I not say that you would never be able to have patience with me?’ He said: ‘Do not seize me for what I forgot, and do not impose upon me difficulty in my matter.’ So they continued until, when they met a boy, he killed him. He said: ‘Have you killed a pure soul without [it having killed] another soul? Truly, you have done a detestable thing.’ He said: ‘Did I not tell you that you would never be able to have patience with me?’ He said: ‘If I ask you about anything after this, then do not accompany me. You have reached from me an excuse.’ So they continued until, when they came to the people of a town, they asked its people for food, but they refused to offer them hospitality. Then they found in it a wall wanting to collapse, and he repaired it. Moses said: ‘If you wished, you could have taken payment for it.’ He said: ‘This is the separation between me and you. I will inform you of the interpretation of that over which you were unable to have patience. As for the ship, it belonged to poor people working upon the sea, so I intended to damage it because there was behind them a king taking every ship by force. And as for the boy, his parents were believers, and we feared that he would burden them with rebellion and disbelief. So we desired that their Lord would replace for them one better than him in purity and nearer in affection. And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the city, and beneath it was a treasure belonging to them, and their father had been righteous. So your Lord desired that they reach their maturity and extract their treasure, as a mercy from your Lord. And I did not do it of my own will. That is the interpretation of that over which you were unable to have patience.’”

— Holy Qur’an, Recitation of the Seal of the Messengers, Surah al-Kahf v. 18:60-82, 618 AD

There’s a few portions I want to highlight because of their significance. First and foremost, the term ʿAbd min ʿibādinā is extremely significant. The declaration that the Verdant One is the servant amongst all of Our (God’s) servants. Servant of Servants is itself a divine title, indicative of Him being the Highest amongst the servants. But the two most important statements are the two graces which are innate to the Verdant One. The structure is important: ʿabd (servant) is defined by two divine gifts: raḥmah from ʿind Allāh (mercy from God’s presence), and ʿilm from ladun Allāh (knowledge from God’s own immediacy). Raḥmatan min ʿindinā has an important literal meaning. It comes from the root ر-ح-م (r-ḥ-m), the same root associated with compassion, mercy, tenderness, however, the most significant of these is the closest to the actual word used, that being raḥim, or womb. This makes the Verdant One the Mercy-Womb from God’s presence. It being from His presence makes this significant, since it distinguishes it from temporal / created mercy. For all other forms of mercy, the word encompass is used, that is to say, to fill in, or to pervade, whereas in this instance, the word used is the same word which would be used for the origin of something therein, indicating that the Verdant One originated as this Mercy-Womb from God’s presence. This is further solidified by the next words “min ʿindinā”, which literally translate to “from Our existence / self”, the word ʿind referring to indwelling. If we compare min Allāh = from God and min ʿind Allāh = from God’s self / essence / existence. The second expression carries a stronger sense of direct attribution. It implies something proceeding from the divine presence itself, not something occurring through a creative act. Therefore, the Verdant One’s first grace is His very identity, a Servant amongst Servants who is Himself a special Mercy-Womb originating directly from God’s essence. The Servant is not a wise man who became compassionate. His very existence is the result of a divine bestowal. The mercy is not given, because He is this mercy. Following this, we see the second grace, an even more unusual grace. We see the term ʿilman min ladunnā, a very unusual phrase, since its literal meaning seems to be an indication of omnipotence. ʿilm itself is hard to pinpoint, since technically, it means knowledge, but when modified with the rest of the sentence, it cannot mean simple information, and in fact, seems to indicate true perception of all things, and knowledge of all realities (since this term is exclusively used for God in the text, except this one instance). The most important word is ladun. Unlike the normal Arabic word ʿinda (“with/near”), ladun means to directly proceed from the essence of, that is to say, that this perfect omnipotent understanding of all realities which the Verdant One possesses directly proceeds from the intrinsic and most essential aspect of God, His nature. This shows that the Verdant One perfectly coinheres with the mind of God, or perhaps is the Mind Himself. Broadly speaking, what’s most significant about these unique attributes of the Verdant One, is that they are treated differently from infused cognitive knowledge from God, since Moses himself was already a Prophet who recieved revelation from God, yet the Qur’an presents him as encountering someone who is in Himself knowledge which Moses could not possess. The issue is not that Moses lacks revelation, it’s that the Verdant One is Revelation Himself.