His name is not in the Qur'an, but you may know him: the young servant of Mûsâ (peace be upon him).
In the hadith of al-Khidr, the Prophet ﷺ names him: “his young servant, Yûsha' ibn Nûn”.
Together they carried a fish in a basket, all the way to the junction of the two seas.
According to Ibn 'Abbâs, quoted by Ibn Kathîr, this young servant later led the Children of Israel, after Mûsâ.
Mûsâ first recalled Allah's favor: He placed prophets among them, made them kings, gave them what no one else had.
“O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you,
and do not turn back, or you will become losers.”
They said: “O Mûsâ, in it is a people of great might. We will never enter it until they leave it.”
Two men among those who feared Allah, whom He had favored, said: “Enter upon them through the gate.
Once you enter it, you will prevail. And rely upon Allah, if you are believers.”
Who were these two men? According to Ibn 'Abbâs and others, quoted by Ibn Kathîr: Yûsha' ibn Nûn and Kâlib.
They said: “O Mûsâ, we will never enter it as long as they are in it.
So go, you and your Lord, and fight. We are staying right here.”
“You and your Lord”, they said. Not “our Lord”. Their refusal had reached their very faith.
He said: “My Lord, I have power only over myself and my brother. So separate us from the disobedient people.”
Allah said: “Then it is forbidden to them for forty years. They will wander through the land.
So do not grieve over the disobedient people.”
According to Ibn 'Abbâs, quoted by Ibn Kathîr, Mûsâ and Hârûn died during those years, with most of that generation.
The land was not taken from them for good. It was given to those who came next, ready to enter.
Allah had assigned them a land. All they had to do was enter it.
They refused. Forty years later, another leader would take them to its gates.
Two men, out of a whole people, said: enter, and rely on Allah.
Tonight, name one door you keep putting off, and take the first step tomorrow, relying on Allah.