There is a story told about Moses who was passing with Khidr through a country. Khidr was the Murshid of Moses when Moses was being prepared for prophetship. Moses's first lesson of discipline was to keep quiet under all circumstances. While they were walking through the beauty of nature both teacher and pupil were quiet. The teacher was exalted in seeing the beauty of nature, and the pupil also felt it.

So they arrived on the bank of a fiver, where Moses saw a little child drowning, and the mother crying aloud for she could not help. Here Moses could not keep his lips closed. He had to break that discipline and say: "Master, save him! The child is drowning!" Khidr said: "Quiet!", and Moses was quiet. But the heart of Moses was restless, he did not know what to think: "Can the Master be so thoughtless, so inconsiderate, so cruel, or is the Master powerless?" He could not understand which was which. He did not dare to think such a thought, and yet it made him feel very uncomfortable.

As they went further they saw a boat sinking. Moses said: "Master, that boat is sinking, it is going down!" The Master again ordered him to be quiet; so then Moses was quiet, but he was still more uncomfortable. When they arrived home he said: "Master, I thought that you would have saved that little innocent child from drowning, and that you would have saved the boat which was going down in the water - but you did nothing. I cannot understand, but I should like to have an explanation." The Master said: "What you saw, I also saw. We both saw. So there was no use in your telling me, because I saw. You did not need to tell me what was happening, for I knew. If I had thought that it was better to interfere, I could have done it. Why did you take the trouble to tell me, and spoil your vow of silence?'

He continued: "The child who was drowning was meant to bring about a conflict between two nations, and thousands and thousands of lives were going to be destroyed in that conflict. When he was drowned this averted the other danger which was to come." Moses looked at him with great surprise. Then Khidr said: "The boat that was sinking was the boat of pirates. It was sailing in order to wreck a large ship full of pilgrims, and then to take what was left in the ship and bring it home. Do you think that you and I can be judge of it? The Judge is behind. He knows what He is doing, He knows his work. When you were told to be quiet, your work was to keep your lips closed and to see everything, as I was doing, silently, in reverence."