Some scholars have connected Al Khidr to the Green Knight from the Arthurian legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which survived in only one medieval copy–the Pearl Manuscript (seen below, as well as images from modern copies of the book). In 1974 Alice Lasater first “noted extensive parallels between a well-known popular Islamic folk figure, al-Khidr (the Green One), and the Green Knight. Both the Arthurian Green Knight and Al-Khidr serve as teachers to holy men (Gawain/Moses), who thrice tested their faith and obedience. It has been suggested that the character of the Green Knight was brought to Europe with the Crusaders and blended with Celtic and Arthurian imagery.”

Al Khidr is said to have reached the Fountain of Life alongside Prophet Elijah (Ilyas). The two are among the five immortal (Khidr, Ilyas, Mahdi, Isa, Idris) and meet in Jerusalem each year to fast during Ramadan. The holiday Hıdırellez is “an annual festival, held to herald the new spring and brings good fortune to those who celebrate… typically held on the 5-6 May. Hidirellez celebrates the day the Prophets Hizir (Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah) met on Earth. Ceremonies performed to honor Hizir, believed to be a healer and Ilyas, believed to be a bringer of water involve fire, feasting and dancing.” According to UNESCO, “Every year in February communities in Iraq honour Alkhidr, a holy figure who, according to ancient beliefs, grants worshippers their wishes particularly those in need. In northern Iraq, during the last three days of the month, families gather on a hill where the sanctuary of Alkhidr is thought to be.” A related holiday is Dita e Verës, celebrated on March 14th in Albania. “According by the legend, the origin of Dita e Verës can be traced back to the temple of Zana Malit, Muse of the Mountain, built near the city of Elbasan. Zana e Çermenikës was the goddess of nature and would come out of her temple only on the day of March 14, which at that time marked the beginning of the summer.” In some parts of Albania is celebrated on May 6th as Dita e Shëngjergjit or St. George’s Day. Below is are images of Hidirlik Tower (“a place of Khidr”) in Antalya, Turkey.

Carl Jung (1875 – 1961) wrote on Islam and Khidr in Concerning Rebirth, part of his Collected Works. Jung wrote, “Khidr may well represent the self. His qualities signalize him as such: he is said to have been born in a cave, so in darkness. He is the ‘Long-lived One,’ who continually renews himself, like Elijah. Like Osiris, he is dismembered at the end of time, by the Antichrist, but is able to restore himself to life. He is a counsellor, a Paraclete… Khidr represents not only the higher wisdom but also a corresponding way of acting, which is beyond human reason.” In her paper The Obsession with Life, Sara Sviri cites Jung in Concerning Rebirth, where he wrote about Khidr, “he appears in the Eighteenth Sura of the Koran. This entire Sura is taken up with a rebirth mystery. The cave is the place of rebirth, that secret cavity in which one is shut up in order to be incubated and renewed. The Koran says of it: ‘You might have seen the rising sun decline to the right of their cavern, and as it set, go past them on the left while they [the Seven Sleepers] stayed in the middle.’ The middle is the centre where the jewel reposes, where the incubation or the sacrificial rite or the transformation takes place.” Jung is referencing 18:17. Below are images of the Seven Sleepers from a 16th century Falnama and a 16th century Qisas al-Anbiya.

In his work Where the Two Seas Meet, H. Talat Halman writes that, “Meher Baba reported that on the night St. Francis received his stigmata at Alvernia, al-Khidr visited him and gave him the ‘touch of grace’ that made him a perfect master.” Below is are retablos of St. Francis from NM Estate Auctions and Alpaca Warehouse.