Samiri or the Samiri (Arabic: السامري‎, translit.
as-Sāmirī) is a phrase used by the Quran to refer to a rebellious follower of Moses
who created the golden calf and attempted to lead the Hebrews into idolatry.
According to the twentieth chapter of the Quran, Samiri created the calf while Moses
was away for 40 days on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments.
In contrast to account given in the Hebrew Bible, the Quran does not blame Aaron for
the calf’s creation and instead praises him for trying to stop the worship of it.
== In the Quran == In Ta-Ha, the Quran’s twentieth surah, Moses
is informed that Samiri has led his people astray in Moses’ absence.
He returns to his people to berate them, and is informed of what Samiri has done.
They said, ‘We did not fail our tryst with you of our own accord, but we were laden with
the weight of the people’s ornaments, and we cast them [into the fire] and so did the
Samiri throw.’
Then he produced for them a calf —a [lifeless] body with a low— and they said, This is
your god and the god of Musa (Moses), so he forgot!
Did they not see that it did not answer them, nor could it bring them any benefit or harm?
Haroun (Aaron) had certainly told them earlier, ‘O my people!
You are only being tested by it.
Indeed your Lord is the All-beneficent.
So follow me and obey my command!’[Moses] said, “And what is your case, O Samiri?”
He said, “I saw what they did not see, so I took a handful [of dust] from the track
of the messenger and threw it, thus did my soul entice me.”
[Moses] said, “Then go.
And indeed, it is [decreed] for you in [this] life to say, 'No contact.’
And indeed, you have an appointment [in the Hereafter] you will not fail to keep.
And look at your 'god’ to which you remained devoted.
We will surely burn it and blow it [i.e., its ashes] into the sea with a blast.
[Quran 20:95]
== In Islamic tradition == The Quran’s statement that Samiri’s calf
made a "lowing" sound has resulted in much speculation.
A number of Islamic traditions say that the calf was made with dust trodden upon by the
horse of the angel Gabriel, which had mystical properties.
Some traditions say that the calf could also move, a property granted to it by the dust
of the “horse of life”.
Other traditions suggest that Samiri made the sound himself, or that it was only the
wind.
Still others say that the calf was formed by Allah himself, as a test for the Hebrew
people.Later traditions expand upon the fate of those who worshiped the calf.
Works by al-Tabari include a story in which Moses orders his people to drink from the
water into which the calf had been flung; those guilty of worshiping it were revealed
when they turned a golden hue.
Moses ordered his people to kill them, resulting in thousands of casualties, but the carnage
stopped after Moses begged Allah to stop the violence.Samiri's punishment has been interpreted
as total social isolation by most scholars.
== Identity == Scholars of Islam have linked Samiri to various
individuals mentioned in the Bible.
Due to the fact that as-Samiri can mean the Samaritan, some believe that his character
is a reference to the worship of the golden calves built by Jeroboam of Samaria, conflating
the two idol-worshiping incidents into one.
However, recent research reveal that the Samaritans are the direct descendants of the Joseph tribes,
Ephraim and Manasseh and that until the 17th century C.E., they possessed a high priesthood
descending directly from Aaron through Eleazar and Phinehas.Samiri has also been linked to
the rebel Hebrew leader Zimri on the basis of their similar names and a shared theme
of rebellion against Moses’ authority.
Others link him to the Mesopotamian city of Samarra and suggest that he came from a cow-worshiping
people, giving his name as Musa bin Zafar.
There is no consensus among Islamic scholars on which, if any, of these identifications
is correct.
== In the Baha'i Faith == The Bahá'í Faith portrays Samiri as a magician
who led people away from the “knowledge and justice” of Moses to ignorance.
He is mentioned in the “Kitáb-i-Íqán”, the primary theological work of the Baha'i
religion.
== See also == Moses in Islam
Aaron Golden calf
== References ==