stones there are indeed some from which rivers gush forth; and of them there are indeed some that cleave asunder and water issueth from them; and of them there are indeed some that fall down through fear of God; _whereas your hearts are not impressed, nor do they grow soft, nor do they become humble._ But God is not heedless of that which ye do: _He only reserveth you unto your time._ (ii. 63-69.) _Remember_ when Moses said to his young man _Joshua the son of Nun, who served him and acquired knowledge from him_, I will not cease _to go forward_ until I reach the place where the two seas (_the Sea of Greece and the Sea of Persia_) meet, or travel for a long space of time. And when they reached the place where they (_the two seas_) met they forgot their fish: _Joshua forgot to take it up, on their departure; and Moses forgot to remind him_; and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, _God withholding the water from it_. And when they had passed beyond _that place, and proceeded until the time of the morning-meal on the following day_, [Moses] said unto his young man, Bring us our morning-meal: we have experienced fatigue from this our journey. He replied, What thinkest thou? When we repaired to the rock to rest _at that place_, I forgot the fish, and none made me forget to mention it but the devil; and it made its way in the sea in a wonderful manner.—_Moses_ said, That (_namely our loss of the fish_) is what we were desiring; _for it is a sign unto us of our finding him whom we seek_. And they returned by the way that they had come, following the footsteps, _and came to the rock_. And they found one of Our servants (_namely El-Khiḍr_[306]) unto whom We had granted mercy from Us (_that is the gift of prophecy in the opinion of some, and the rank of a saint according to another opinion which most of the learned hold_), and whom We had taught knowledge from Us respecting things unseen.—_El-Bukháree hath related a tradition stating that Moses performed the office of a preacher among the children of Israel, and was asked who was the most knowing of men; to which he answered, I:—whereupon God blamed him for this, because he did not refer the knowledge thereof to Him. And God said unto him by revelation, Verily I have a servant at the place where the two seas meet, and he is more knowing than thou. Moses said, O my Lord, and how shall I meet with him? He answered, Thou shalt take with thee a fish, and put it into a measuring-vessel, and where thou shalt lose the fish, there is he. So he took a fish, and put it into a vessel. Then he departed, and Joshua the son of Nun departed with him, until they came to the rock, where they laid down their heads and slept. And the fish became agitated in the vessel, and escaped from it, and fell into the sea, and it made its way in the sea by a hollow passage, God withholding the water from the fish so that it became like a vault over it: and