As-Samiri ( Arabic: السامري ), Samaritan - in the Koran : a man who tempted the people of Musa ( Moses ) with the help of the Golden Calf . The word al-Samiri is found in the Qur'an three times.
| As Samiri | |
|---|---|
| Arab. السامري | |
| personal information | |
| Birth name | Musa ibn Zafar |
| Quranic character | |
| Category | sinner |
| Quran Mentions | 3 times: Ta Ha 20:85 , Ta Ha 20:87 , Ta Ha 20:95 . |
| Related characters | Musa , Harun |
| Developments | worship of the golden calf |
History
The story of al-Samiri is mentioned twice in the Qur'an. The first story tells of the sin of the Israelites and Harun ( Aaron ), which corresponds to the book of Exodus (chap. 32) with the addition that the calf cast from metal “mumbled” ( kuvar ) [1] . In the second story, al-Samiri is presented as the tempter of the Israelites in the same situation [2] . By order of al-Samiri, the Israelites threw their ornaments into the fire, and he made a mooing calf out of them, which was respected by the people despite the fact that Harun discouraged them from doing this. When the prophet Musa asked al-Samiri about what had happened, he began to make excuses, saying that he “saw what they did not see,” that is, “traces of the messenger.” Muslim tradition understands the expression “footprints of a messenger” from the footprints of the horses of the angel Djibril’s horse. Musa announced his punishment: “In this life you have to say:“ Do not touch. ” And then a time will come that you cannot escape ” [3] [4] .
The Muslim tradition did not doubt that al-Samiri was a Samaritan, known in the Jewish and Christian traditions. At-Tabari in Jami al-Bayan (XVI, 152) and al-Zamahshari in tafsir al-Kashshaf (II, 549) wrote that al-Samiri was a prominent Israeli from the Samir tribe whose name was Musa ibn Zafar; his religion was different from the religion of other Jews . Scientists widely discussed the issue of how the “Samaritan” could participate in the history of the Golden Calf, while the biblical Samaritans appeared much later. Goldzier believed that al-Samiri was a representative of the Samaritans, who lived separately from non-Samaritans, worried about their purity. The fact that the Samaritans are extremely reluctant to marry representatives of other groups is explained by the punishment for inciting the Israelites to worship the Golden Calf [4] .
Other versions have been put forward. Shpaer suggested that al-Samiri was connected with the Talmudic tale of Zimri ibn Salu, who came into intimacy with the Moabite . Schwarzbaum suggested that the story of the golden calves of King Jeroboam (one of which, according to the Talmudic tradition “mumbled”) merged with the story of Musa. Schwarzbaum also sees in the history of al-Samiri the remains of the Agasfer folk motif, which roams the world and drives people away from itself [4] .
The meaning of the Quranic tale of the Golden Calf is that the guilty of sin (al-Samiri) will be punished and must atone for his guilt [4] .
Notes
- ↑ al-A'raf 7: 148-157
- ↑ Ta Ha 20: 83-98
- ↑ Ta Ha 20:97
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1995 .
Literature
- al-Sāmirī / Heller, B. and Rippin, A. // Encyclopaedia of Islam . 2 ed . - Leiden: EJ Brill , 1995.- T. 8. - P. 1046. (pl.)
- Tafsir tradition on Kurgan, XX, 83-98; I. Goldziher, La Misdsa, in R. Afr., Cclxviii (1908), 23-8;
- B. Speyer, Die biblischen Erzdhlungen im Qpran, Grafenhainichen 1931, 329-33;
- AS Yahuda, A contribution to Qur ^ dn and hadith interpretation, in S. L6winger and J. Somogyi (eds.), Ignace Goldziher memorial volume, i, Budapest 1948, 286-90;
- H. Schwartzbaum, Biblical and extra-biblical legends in Islamic folk literature, Beitrage zur Sprach- und Kulturgeschichte des Orients, Bd. 30, Walldorf-Hessen 1982, 14-7.