Mediator of Heaven and Earth: Al-Khidr in the South Asian Environment

This article deals with aspects characterizing the figure of al-Khidr, the mysterious saint-prophet that is mentioned in many hagiographies all over the Muslim world, and its impact on the composite religious culture of the South Asian environment. Khidr is as present in popular culture in the different land- and seascapes of the Subcontinent as he is as a spiritual leader, between the transcendent and the immanent, among the saints of both Sufi and Hindu affiliation, wherever the presence of water and water courses allows for his symbolical presence.