Islam Critiqued is intrigued by an individual; who is al samiri?

In answer to the video "The Lowing Calf: Mystical Background to Surah 20"

The samiri was thus the instigator and builder of the golden calf. When a person is given a designation ending with the letter "i" it is a known literary device aimed at creating a laqb/association, between that person and an entity, abstract or concrete such as a tribe, location, profession, mindframe or behavior.

The root s-m-r means to spend the night in conversation, with a negative connotation. This fits the Quranic context and the deceptive behavior ascribed to the samiri. See for example 23:67 where the word is used in a similar sense. Al samiri is thus associating a specific behavior to a person.

A person from Samerah is also called samiri, not because people from that location have an implicit connection with the meaning of the root but because following the arabization of the Hebrew Shomiron (Samaria in English) into Samerah, the only possible triliteral root of the word becomes s-m-r.

The association of samiri with samerah in certain Quran commentaries is purely arbitrary and devoid of contextual support. Going back to ibn Abbas, the commentators have had various opinions as regards the samiri's ethnicity; some have said he was an Egyptian immigrant from Kirman, others that he was from Bajarma. The fact is there is no indication the Quran makes reference to ethnicity by calling the person "al-samiri".

The parallel between samiri and a deceitful behavior, which happens to be the meaning of the root word as well as the description of the person in the direct context, is the more obvious intent. By speaking of the samiri, the Quran, in accordance with its self proclaimed function of being the muhaymin/guardian of the truth, is interested in exposing the reality of the golden calf incident to the Israelites that have unjustly and convolutedly blamed Aaron for it. It does so by describing the machinations that led to it, by a misleading individual that literally and in accordance with the meaning of the word, would hold conversations in the dark, away from Aaron's sight. The Quran is not even interested in the actual name of the individual, rather his behavior which it ascribes to him as a label.

Aaron had been given the responsibility of watching over the community in Moses' absence, the samiri had to conspire in secret, casting his suggestions, spreading rumours and falsehoods. He eventually deceived a portion of people that became bold and numerous enough to confront Aaron and those with him, with the latter fearing it was too late to react forcefully against them without risking the implosion of the whole community.

It seems, from his confrontation with Moses, that al samiri was seeking attention from the community and envied Moses' status as a hero, a prophet and leader. He seized the opportunity during Moses' absence to try and supplant him as a leader and prophet. The Israelites' decision to get rid of their precious ornaments was key in initiating his deception.

Jewish tradition agrees with this in so far as the foreigners that had left Egypt with them began spreading the word around that Moses would never return and that they should consequently choose another leader to be their intermediary with God. When the Israelites, at Aaron's behest, began gathering their precious ornaments, it was these same foreigners that began "through their knowledge of magic", as their tradition asserts, to make the melting pot assume the form of a golden calf.

In the Quran however, in light of what is said about the samiri, Aaron had no hand in contributing to the sin, neither from close or far. He was neither a passive and silent witness, nor the one to have fashioned the idol with his hands as in the Torah account. He was a prophet who never committed shirk in his life 6:84-90 and who was thus part of the righteous among Moses' people 7:159. The Israelites refused listening to his repeated and persistent calls to abandon the worship of the idol and had almost slain him for that so he finally stepped back along with those opposed to the practice, fearing not only for his life but for the cohesion of a community under his responsibility, that had just been forcibly pulled out of the crooked path of idolatry

20:99"Thus do We relate to you (some) of the news of what has gone before; and indeed We have given to you a Reminder from Ourselves".

As stated above, Harun, who was left to watch over them in Moses' absence, pleaded with them to renounce idolatry 20:90. While some came back to their senses and remorsefully asked God's forgiveness (not forgiven yet) 7:148-9 others violently resisted and refused to desist until Moses' return 7:150,20:91. 

Following his return and wrathful scolding, Moses announced 2 punishments, starting with the instigator, condemned to be a social outcast and who would himself have to warn people not to interact with him. The samiri himself admitted that his deed was no mistake, rather was premeditated, wilfully executed, conforming to his deepest inner desires

20:96"My soul commended me".

The same phrase is used by Jacob when he accused his sons of deliberately getting rid of Joseph 12:18,83. This brazen statement conforms to his attitude as wanting to present himself as an alternate leader, knowledgeable, aware of his conduct and justified for his behavior. He could not be left among the Israelites anymore and risk further corrupting the people. Moses might not have applied the Biblical capital punishment for idolatry as it is an ordinance to the Jews only. 

The second punishment was thus directed to the community, with the divine order of slaying those that insisted in their sin up to Moses' return. This put the resolve and penitence of those that had desisted prior to Moses' return, to the test. The others were disgraced in this world, as well as inflicted with God's wrath, executed by the hand of their own people and family 2:51-4,7:152-3. This was obviously no straight forward task to accomplish. Besides the heavy emotional factor, it would have taken time to designate, apprehend, execute one's own people. It was a mercy from Allah upon Moses and the repentent sinners that the process was interrupted at some point. Allah summoned Moses and 70 elders of the community (a reoccuring theme in the Torah Ex24,Num11) to seek forgiveness. At that point of meeting, Allah demonstrates His anger at the deed of their people 7:155 but follows by declaring that His Will, in terms of what He does with His creatures is free from any constraints. He may remove His decreed punishment at any point, in accordance with His boundless mercy 

7:156"but My mercy encompasses all things. So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses". 

Here Allah explains to Moses and the 70 what is required of their people for the punishment to be suspended, and by extension, to interrupt their own trial of having to slaughter the apostates among their people. In the HB no reference is made of those that had repented prior to Moses' return, neither of the loving biblical God mercifully suspending the execution of the apostates, as eloquently found in the Quran. Instead God finishes off with a plague the remaining sinners that survived the sword of their brethren the day before.  At the golden calf incident, prior to Moses pleading for the community, God says 

Ex32:10"Now leave Me alone, and My anger will be kindled against them so that I will annihilate them, and I will make you into a great nation". 

Everyone besides Moses it seems, was implicated, from close or far with idolatry. God then reconsiders what He would have normally done, which is to wipe out everyone at once, leaving it to the Israelites themselves to purge their ranks from those more directly involved in the sin. 3000 apostates were slaughtered in a day, with many more marked for death pending execution. The second day, thinking enough was done to earn the remaining guilty forgiveness, Moses intercedes once more but is rejected, as the chapter ends with the statement that "the Lord struck the people with a plague, because they had made the calf that Aaron had made".

A similar situation occurs with the incidents of the scouts. The Israelites anger YHWH again, He decides to wipe everyone out, Moses intercedes, but only gets a delayed punishment. Instead of exterminating the whole nation right away, God decreed for them a 40 years desert wandering during which the land would be entirely prohibited to enter. The purpose was to eliminate the generation of guilty, making place for others that would in turn be tried with the privilege of entering the blessed land, together with those that had not shown distrust in God at the initial command Numb14:1-39. Through this 40 years "slow death" God caused a separation between the obedient and the defiant as reflected in Moses' prayer in the Quran 5:25. Although Moses accepted God's decree, understanding that the guilty only got what they deserved, it nevertheless grieved him to see them in that condition "grieve not for the iniquitous".

As a side note, the expression "aqtulu anfusaqum", Kill oneself does not necessarily mean suicide, but mostly the community killing members of the same community. The same for making oneself leave in 4:66 means making members of the same community leaver their houses or the territory or area where they are.

Interestingly, the HB states that those that sinned during the incident were never forgiven and consequently killed yet it is claimed that Aaron wasnt. Besides this, it is also stated that he was given the charge of the sanctuary and the office of priesthood Numbers18 yet he was the one, together with the foreigners among them, that allegedly made the calf that the idolaters requested. Talmudic scholars explain this by attributing his participation in the incident to his peace-loving character, constructing the idol in order to prevent dissension among the people and attempting to gain time until Moses' return. Why would anyone, let alone a prophet of God, think that reintroducing idol worship to a community that was in the process of abandoning it and whose hearts were deeply imbued with it, is a lesser harm than causing a separation between those prone to goodness (the vast majority according to the Bible) who would thus be clearly and unambiguously guided, and the guilty (a mere 1% of the whole) that persist in their wrongdoings despite all they had witnessed until now? This carried the risk of sinking the whole community back into idol worship.

Following the incident, Moses came back to his senses and picked up the tablets 7:154. They werent broken as in the HB account and hence no occasion for another 40 nights communion with God was necessary Ex34. At that second 40 nights communion with God, Moses would be taught how his people should make amends for their sin, through repentance and prayer. New tablets of the law will be handed to him Ex33:21,Ex34:1-28 and would later be preserved inside the Ark of the covenant 1Kings8:9.

At that point Aaron survives the divine wrath despite being the very builder of the idol as per the HB. Originaly the firstborn in a family was to serve as a priest, regardless of his tribal origin. But after the incident in which all Israelite tribes had been involved to different degrees, all were disqualified from this function, which was then given exclusively and as an everlasting ordinance to the only tribe that had no involvement in the sin, the Levites descendants from Aaron Ex27:21,28:1-43,Num3:12. Yet Aaron was was actively involved in the incident.