Rejection of Samaritan Religion

 

باسمك اللهم

اللهم صلى على محمد وآل محمد

In the now academically discredited book Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World by Patricia Crone and Michael Cook: “the tendency on the Hagarene side is clearly towards the Samaritan scriptural position. The way in which the great Judaic prophets scarcely figure in the Koran is perhaps the Islamic residue of this doctrine. The Samaritan scriptural position had something to offer the Hagarenes on two levels. Specifically, it deleted the scriptural basis of the Davidic component of Judaic messianism – neither the legitimacy of the Davidic monarchy nor the sanctity of Jerusalem are attested to in the Pentateuch” (p.15)

But this theory would only truly hold water if the “great Judaic prophets” did not figure in Islam or the Koran at all. That they do figure in the Quran, however “scarcely” in the perspective of the authors of this book first published in 1977, is manifest proof that Islam is closer to the position of orthodox Judaism than to Samaritanism.

The Samaritans are a misguided sect which rejects the Jewish prophets and scriptures after Joshua son of Nun على نبينا وعليه الصلوات والتسليمات. Almost equally alarming, they reject the Davidic Covenant, the sanctity of Jerusalem, Mount Zion and the Temple Mount, and disbelieve in those great Prophets and Apostles that appear in the Jewish Scriptures and are affirmed in the Quran, namely, Samuel, Kings David and Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Job and Ezra عليهم السلام

And in my humble opinion, the Quran also speaks of the post-exilic Jewish prophet Ezekiel عليه السلام by describing his Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (2:259).

Contrary to the claim of these two authors, King David and his son King Solomon feature quite prominently in the Quran, which strongly disproves any Samaritan influence on Islam. Likewise, the Quran and Islam strongly recognizes the sanctity and holiness of Jerusalem and the Temple of Solomon. On the other hand, Mount Gerizim, the holiest site for the Samaritans and their false alternative to Jerusalem, has no significance in Islam. In the beginning of Surat Bani Israel, Allah Most High refers to the holy site of the Temple in Jerusalem as Masjid al-Aqsa, and again simply as “the Masjid” (17:7) which was tragically destroyed twice, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans. In Islam, Jerusalem or more specifically, the Temple Mount, is the third holiest place after Masjid al-Haram or the Ka’bah in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina. Muslims are encouraged to offer a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and pray at the Temple Mount.

According to the New Testament, in the account of Jesus’s encounter with a Samaritan woman, the latter said: “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:20-22)

Apparently from this passage, Jesus Christ عليه السلام refuted the Samaritan belief regarding the controversy on whether to worship at Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem and said “salvation is from the Jews”. And the Quran has tacitly acknowledged this truth when it extols Jesus as a true prophet and the Messiah.