So when they reached the Junction…

61. ﴾So when they reached the Junction where the two met, they forgot their fish, so it took its course through the sea and left.

62. So when they had passed [a distance], Moses said to his lad, “Bring us our lunch, we verily have found fatigue from this journey of ours.”

63. He [his lad] said, “Did you see when we took shelter at the rock? I forgot the fish, and none but Satan made me forget to remember it. And it took its course through the sea in a strange way.”﴿

Joshua pbuh is the successor of Moses pbuh and he is the one who led the children of Israel to enter the Holy Land after the death of Moses pbuh:

In the Quran:

23. ﴾Two men from those who fear said unto those upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace, “Enter upon them from the gate, for if you enter by it, you will be the ones who overcome. So rely on Allah if you were believers.”﴿

-Surat Al-Maeda (The Table Spread) 5.

And one of these two men is Joshua bin Noon pbuh and he is the finest of the two because he led the children of Israel to enter the Holy Land after Moses pbuh and he is the successor of Moses pbuh.

And in the narrations:

Abu Abdullah pbuh said,

Moses pbuh bequeathed to Joshua bin Noon.^[1]

Salim said that Ammar Al-Sabati said that he asked Abu Abdullah pbuh what the ranks of the Imams were,

so he pbuh said, “Like the rank of Thul Qarnain, and like the rank of Joshua, and like the rank of Asif, the companion of Solomon.” Ammar asked, “And by what do you rule?” So he pbuh said, “By the ruling of Allah, the ruling of the progeny of David, and the ruling of Muhammad pbuhap. And the Holy Spirit is the one who lets us receive it.”^[2]

Ibn Mahboob narrated that Abu Hamza said that Abu Jafar pbuh said,

When the Prince of Believers pbuh passed away, Al-Hassan bin Ali pbuh stood in the mosque of Kufah, he praised Allah and prayed upon the Prophet pbuh and then said, “O people, this night a man has passed away whom no one has preceded from the earlier ones and no one will reach from the latter ones, as he was the possessor of the banner of the Messenger of Allah. Gabriel was on his right, and Michael was on his left. He does not falter until Allah grants him the opening. I swear by Allah that he left nothing but seven hundred dirhams which was in excess beyond his giving. He wanted to buy a servant with it for his family. And I swear by Allah that he passed away in the night in which Joshua bin Noon, the successor of Moses, passed away in.”^[3]

In a long narration from Ali bin Ibrahim from his father from Al-Hassan bin Mahboob from Muhammad bin Al-Futheil from Abu Hamza from Imam Abu Jafar pbuh,

that he pbuh said, “Allah swt has entrusted Adam pbuh with not going near this tree, so when the time came in which Allah knew that he would eat from it, he [Adam] forgot and ate from it. And this is the saying of Allah swt, ﴾And we verily have entrusted Adam before, but he forgot and we did not find him to be of intense ability﴿, so when Adam pbuh ate from the tree, he was brought down to the earth”...until he pbuh said, “So when the Torah descended upon Moses pbuh, he gave the good tidings of Muhammad pbuhap, and there were prophets between Joseph and Moses. And the successor of Moses, Joshua bin Noon pbuh, and he is his lad that Allah swt has mentioned in His book.”^[4]

In the Torah:

Book of Deuteronomy, Congress for Eastern Churches

31 And the Lord said unto Moses, “Behold, here are your days, they have approached so that you die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge.” And Moses and Joshua went, and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation.

24. And the Lord appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

25. And the Lord said unto Moses, “Here you are, lying with your fathers…”

34 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,

2. And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,

3. And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.

4. And the Lord said unto him, “This is the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto your seed. I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.”

5. So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

6. And his burial was in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knows of his sepulchre unto this day.

7. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

8. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were completed.

9. And Joshua bin Noon was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him and the children of Israel listened to him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

10. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,

11. In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land.

12. And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

Book of Joshua, Congress for Eastern Churches

1 And after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke unto Joshua bin Noon, the servant of Moses, saying,

2. “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross over this Jordan, you, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, that is to the children of Israel.

3. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.

4. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the setting of the sun, shall be your coast.

5. There shall not any man that shall stand in your face all the days of your life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you, nor forsake you.

6. Be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shall you divide for an inheritance the land, which I swear unto their fathers to give them.

7. Indeed be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you thrive wherever you go.

8. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; rather you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.

9. Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you whither-soever you go.”

10. Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,

11. “Pass through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for within three days you shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your Allah gave you to possess.”

12. And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, spoke Joshua, saying,

13. “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your Allah has given you rest, and has given you this land.’

14. Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan, but you shall pass before your brothers armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them.

15. That is until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He has given you, and you shall possess the land which Moses the servant of the Lord has given you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising.”

16. And they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and whither-soever you send us, we will go.

17. As we listened to Moses in all things, so will we listen to you. Verily the Lord your God is to be with you, as He was with Moses.

18. Whosoever he be that rebels against your command, and will not listen to your words in all that you command him, he shall be killed. Verily be strong and of a good courage.”

Therefore, Joshua pbuh is the successor of Moses pbuh and he is infallible, although,

﴾He [his lad] said, “Did you see when we took shelter at the rock? I forgot the fish, and none but Satan made me forget to remember it.﴿,

so his forgetting about the fish is fixed in the Quran, but this forgetting does not remove him from the circle of infallibility because forgetting, even if it had occurred due to the defect of the darkness (Satan) which is present in the page of Joshua pbuh, it had definitely fallen within the will and desire of Allah. And when the will and desire of Allah was to make Joshua pbuh infallible, this forgetting would have no negative effect. Rather it would be just the opposite. Allah swt, He who replaces faults with virtues by His Magnanimity and Generosity, wished to reverse this incident which occurred because of Satan (meaning the darkness) to good, blessings, and a virtuous result which would lead to this forgetting being a reason to know the Virtuous Servant and reach him, and this was the objective which Moses pbuh was requesting,

21. ﴾And Allah is predominant in His commands, but most people do not know﴿.

-Surat Yusuf (Joseph) 12.

As for what some people imagine, that the infallible would absolutely not omit or forget, then this is simply refuted because this saying of theirs means that the infallible is light with no darkness within, and that is false because the light with no darkness within is Allah swt (the Ultimate Divinity). So it remains that the infallible is light and a defect of darkness, which is the identity of his existence, and it has an effect on his movement. And since it is darkness, its effect would be forgetting, omitting, and so on of that which happens to the created. But in this sincere servant (the infallible), the existence of these things is as little as possible and perhaps barely mentionable in some situations, but it stays existent and it can happen as in the incident of Joshua’s pbuh forgetting.

And this darkness which caused the forgetting is what has been expressed by Joseph pbuh and Joshua pbuh to be Satan,

42. ﴾And he said to the one, among them two, whom he thought would survive, “Mention me in the presence of your lord.” But Satan made him forget mentioning his Lord, so he [Joseph] stayed in prison for few years.﴿

-Surat Yusuf (Joseph) 12.

63. ﴾He [his lad] said, “Did you see when we took shelter at the rock? I forgot the fish, and none but Satan made me forget to remember it. And it took its course through the sea in a strange way”﴿

-Surat Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18.

and Satan here means evil (and the defect of darkness) and it does not mean Iblis as some imagine, Allah forbid, as Iblis has no power over Joshua pbuh and his movement, because Joshua is protected from this malicious one reaching him and misleading him from the straight path,

27. ﴾Except unto every messenger whom He has chosen and then He makes a guard to go before him and a guard behind him.

28. That He may know that they verily delivered the messages of their Lord. And He surrounded all that they have, and He keeps count of all things.﴿

-Surat Al-Jinn (The Jinn) 72.

Therefore, the infallible is infallible by other than himself-by Allah swt-and it is not that he is infallible by himself or that he made himself infallible as they imagine. Therefore the infallible is the one who holds fast to Allah to refrain from what is prohibited by Allah, so Allah is the one who makes him infallible because he is poor, incomplete, and his identity is darkness; so it is not possible that he suffice himself neither initially not permanently and substantially. Therefore, at any given time this defect of darkness has an effect on this sincere human being, but its effect is miniscule and is faced by the light which dominates the page of existence of this sincere servant, so it [the defect of darkness] does not have an effect which takes this servant out of guidance or which causes him to enter into misguidance.

This is infallibility in the upper worlds, that the light on the page of existence of the infallible is in an amount dominant over the defect of darkness in the page of his existence, so that the defect of darkness does not have an effect which takes him out of guidance or which causes him to enter into misguidance.

And for further clarification, I say, the page of existence of a person is darkness and light. So whenever a person knows, works, and becomes sincere, the light on the page of his existence increases and the darkness decreases until it becomes a defect. And its effect will be miniscule such that it does not take a person out of guidance nor cause him to enter into misguidance, and this is the infallibility.

It should be noted that Allah swt did not ascribe the forgetting to Joshua pbuh alone, but rather to Moses pbuh as well,

﴾So when they reached the Junction where the two met, they forgot their fish﴿,

and that is the truth. So if Joshua pbuh had forgotten considering that he is the one directly responsible for carrying the fish, then Moses pbuh is also responsible for this forgetting because he is the leader. Rather the responsiblity of Moses pbuh is greater, and ascribing the forgetting to him is more truthful and it is truth from the Truth.

And to complete the benefit, I convey this text from the book Enlightments from the Calls of the Messengers Vol 3 section 1):

42. ﴾(Joseph pbuh said to the prisoner)…Mention me in the presence of your lord (and the reason why Joseph considered reasoning is Satan). But Satan made him forget mentioning his Lord (so the result was) so he (Joseph) stayed in prison for few years﴿

-Surat Yusuf (Joseph) 12.

And this Satan (meaning evil) is the darkness which no creation is free from as the light which has no darkness within is Allah swt. And even though this darkness is minimal in the holy, light-possessing entities of the prophets, it does exist and has an effect on their movement pbut, and that is why they need infallibility from Allah.

27. ﴾Except unto every messenger whom He has chosen and then He makes a guard to go before him and a guard behind him.

28. That He may know that they verily delivered the messages of their Lord. He surrounds all that they have, and He keeps count of all things.﴿

-Surat Al-Jinn (The Jinn) 72.

If it was not for this darkness, they would not have needed infallibility. And whoever believes otherwise is placing them in the rank of Allah swt, praised is He above that which they associate with Him. This exaggeration in exalting them pbut, until some who are ignorant of the truth elevate them to the rank of being light with no darkness within, is shirk and whoever believes in this shirk has sinned. Also whoever disparages their infallibility, right, and rank is disbelieving in their right and has sinned. And Allah swt clarified the effect of this darkness in the journey of the prophets in many places, He swt said,

63. He [his lad] said, “Did you see when we took shelter at the rock? I forgot the fish, and none but Satan made me forget to remember it. And it took its course through the sea in a strange way.”

-Surat Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18.

And he who forgot and whom Satan made forget is the lad of Moses pbuh and he is Joshua bin Noon, a prophet from the prophets of the children of Israel and the successor of Moses pbuh who opened the Holy Land. Yet, it must be noted that Allah swt made the prophets the focus of His consideration, so even what occurs because of this darkness will eventually be a factor that makes them reach [their objective]:

﴾And it took its course through the sea in a strange way.﴿

So forgetting the fish became a factor which led them to the knowledgeable one pbuh,

64. ﴾He [Moses] said, “That was what we were seeking.” So they went back tracing their footsteps.﴿,

-Surat Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18.

or it makes them increase their knowledge,

24. ﴾He said, “He has wronged you in demanding your ewe in addition to his ewes and many partners are unjust to one another, except for those who believed and did good works, and they are few.” And David believed that We tested him, so he asked his Lord for forgiveness, he fell down bowing, and repented.﴿.

-Surat Sad (Sad) 38.

So after David pbuh learned from this incident that he must not speak until listening to both opponents, Allah swt said to him,

26. ﴾O David, We have made you a successor in the earth, so judge between the people by truth, and do not follow desire so it misleads you from the path of Allah. Those who stray from the path of Allah have severe torment by that which they have forgotten, on the Day of Reckoning.﴿.

-Surat Sad (Sad) 38.

❦❦❦