This precise article is in response to Ali Sina's article "Samaritans and Moses?" at following location:
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/samaritans.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ali Sina:
In the Bible (Exodus 32) there is a story about Israelites worshiping a calf when Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten
Commandments from God. When he returned he was angered and ordered “everyone to put on his sword and kill his
brothers, his friends, and his neighbors” (Ex.32:27). In this story the culprits are the Israelites and Aaron the brother of Moses
who let himself to be influenced by them. This incident is reported in the Quran in following verse.
He [Allah] said, "We have tempted thy people since thou didst leave them. The Samaritan (in Arabic Samiri) has led them into
error." Then Moses returned ... ... and we cast them [(gold) ornaments], as the Samaritan also threw them, into the fire." (Then
he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has
forgotten.") ... Moses said, "And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?" ...
– Quran 20:85-88, 95
My Response:
Sina does it again. The foot in the mouth trick rampant on his site. Is he into comparative religions now? An ex-muslim atheist
into comparative religion? So Sina is comparing the bible to the Quran as regards the story above. I wonder where Sina gets
his daily bread… maybe I should not be wondering any more. Sina is moronic stooge of evangelists and this shows how overly
moronic his sponsors are especially allowing this sorry excuse for a thinker to write this article. He has already classified the
God of Christians as a narcissist and the God of Islam as the same and he also called both the books rampant with
contradictions. Now he is using one contradiction-riddled book to prove another wrong. I don’t actually see the point here. You
want to see contradiction Sina? Then knock yourself out. My article here is sufficient to give you so much to eat for you to
suffer indigestion. Just don’t run away after reading the first few paragraphs as you are accustomed to.
"Did Jesus Escape Crucifixion?"
Ali Sina:
In the Quranic version the culprit is the Samaritan who mislead the Jews into worshiping the bull. But in the original story of the
Bible there is no mention of any Samaritan.
My Response:
So is Sina trying to tell us with absolute reference to the bible, that the bible is right as regards this issue? Let me show where
this becomes a total farce and a no-contest between the bible and Quran. Sina is a goof and he has once again goofed up.
His interpretation of verses is not only erroneous as regards meaning of words in and out of context; Sina cannot even
represent names correctly. ‘Dr” Ali Sina, idiocy exemplified. That is laughable.
Pickthall – Chapter 20 Ta ha
He said: Lo! We have tried thy folk in thine absence, and As-Samiri hath misled them. (85) Then Moses went back unto his
folk, angry and sad. He said: O my people! Hath not your Lord promised you a fair promise? Did the time appointed then
appear too long for you, or did ye wish that wrath from your Lord should come upon you, that ye broke tryst with me? (86)
They said: We broke not tryst with thee of our own will, but we were laden with burdens of ornaments of the folk, then cast
them (in the fire), for thus As-Samiri proposed. (87) Then he produced for them a calf, which gave forth a lowing sound. And
they cried: This is your God and the God of Moses, but he hath forgotten. (88) See they not, then, that it returneth no saying
unto them and possesseth for them neither hurt nor use? (89)
Dr Mohsin– Chapter 20 Ta ha
(Allâh) said: "Verily! we have tried your people in your absence, and As-Samiri has led them astray." (85) Then Mûsa (Moses)
returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said: "O my people! Did not your Lord promise you a fair promise?
Did then the promise seem to you long in coming? Or did you desire that wrath should descend from your Lord on you, that
you broke your promise to me (i.e disbelieving in Allâh and worshipping the calf)?" (86) They said: "We broke not the promise
to you, of our own will, but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh)] people, then we
cast them (into the fire), and that was what As-Samiri suggested." (87) Then he took out (of the fire) for them (a statue of) a
calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your ilâh (god), and the ilâh (god) of Mûsa (Moses), but [Mûsa (Moses)] has
forgotten (his god).'" (88) Did they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to
harm them or to do them good?
Yusuf Ali. – Chapter 20 Ta ha
(Allah) said: "We have tested thy people in thy absence: Samiri has led them astray." (85) So Moses returned to his people in
state of indignation and sorrow. He said: "O my people! did not your Lord make a handsome promise to you? Did then the
promise seem to you long (in coming)? Or did ye desire that Wrath should descend from your Lord on you, and so ye broke
your promise to me?" (86) They said: "We broke not the promise to thee, as far as lay in our power: but we were made to
carry the weight of the ornaments of the (whole) people, and we threw them (into the fire), and that was what Samiri
suggested. (87) "Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf: it seemed to low: so they said: `This
is your god and the god, of Moses but (Moses) has forgotten!' " (88) Could they not see that it could not return them a word
(for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good? (89)
Sina-type Translation: – Chapter 20 Ta ha
Ali Sina:
He [Allah] said, "We have tempted thy people since thou didst leave them. The Samaritan (in Arabic Samiri) has led them into
error." Then Moses returned ... ... and we cast them [(gold) ornaments], as the Samaritan also threw them, into the fire." (Then
he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has
forgotten.") ... Moses said, "And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?" ...
– Quran 20:85-88, 95
My Response:
Do you see the stupidity of this sorry excuse for a debater? He is (They are) nonsensical and quite whimsical. In which
translation being used by Muslims has the word Samiri been translated as Samaritan. There is no translation of a name. A
name remains as it is. This is distortion of the truth as Samiri was the name of a person who waylaid the Israelites in the
absence of Moses PBUH, into worshipping a golden calf. Samiri is not representative of the group: Samaritans.
Sina is a liar and so it is expected that the interpretation given by him and his goons to hoodwink the masses is probably
doctored by the “Dr” of division, father of fibs, to suit his own stupid ends. The idiot doesn’t even know that whatever language
in use for a translation, a name of person is never translated into what you feel to be the meaning. He has contorted and
distorted meanings, that too of a name, to suit his evil designs.
All he has done is to show how stupid he can get and how stupid his site, his followers and of course his evangelist sponsors
are to back a man/men with IQ(s) rivaling that of a garden snail. Plain stupidity, that’s what it is.
Ali Sina:
Muslims claim that the Bible is corrupted. But the fact is that when Moses was alive, there were no Samaritans at all. According
to 1 King 16:24 Samaria was a hill belonging to Shemer that was purchased by King Omri where he founded the city of
Samaria about 870 B.C. The Samaritans as a distinct people only emerged after the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
and the resettlement of the area under king Sargon II after 722 B.C.
Moses lived 1400 years B.C. That is five to seven century before anyone could be called Samaritan (Sameri). Therefore the
explanation of the Quran that Samaritans led the Jews to worship a calf cannot be correct. At the time of Moses Samaria did
not exist and no one could be the citizen of a city that did not exist.
One wonders where Muhammad got the idea of Samaritans leading Israelites to idolatry? The answer to this confusion can be
found in another similar story of calf-worshiping narrated in the (1 King 12:26-33). This episode happened during the time of
Jeroboam. This was a time when the Jews were split into two kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern
kingdom of the Judah; Jerusalem being the major center of the worship for all the Jews was in Judah. Holy towns attract
pilgrims, promote commerce and generate income. Jeroboam who was the king of the Israel, thought that not having a holy
place of worship in his kingdom is weakening his position. So he decided to build a temple in Samaria, the seat of the Northern
Kingdom, adorning it with the statutes of two golden calves to rival Jerusalem as the center of worship.
Biblical Scholars like Richard Elliot Friedman believe that the first story of the Jews worshiping the golden calf during the time
of Moses to which Quran is alluding, actually did never happen. They believe that this story was fabricated by the writers of
the Bible who were the high priests and the custodians of the temple of God in Jerusalem, to discredit Jerobeam and his
temple in the Northern Kingdom. They invented the story of Moses and the golden calf, claiming that it provoked the wrath and
punishment of God during the time of Moses. This did certainly send a strong message to the Jews that the temple erected by
Jerobeam is unacceptable by God. Most probably the calves adorning the temple of Israel were symbolic and were not
intended to be worshiped. Yet the story of the calf-worshiping-Jews, provoking the wrath of God, in the time of Moses had its
intended effect. Emergence of a new temple in the North would not have only undermined the importance of Jerusalem as the
sole religious center for all the Jews, but it would have also separated religiously a nation already split politically.
Hosea echoed his disapproval of the northern temple in the following terms.
Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from
Israel! This calf - a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. -- Hosea 8:5-6
This is a warning to the Jews of 700 B.C. living in Samaria. It has nothing to do with the story of Moses and the Golden calf.
Muhammad must have heard these two stories. But he confused the two and placed the Samaritans in a wrong context. Quran
further continues:
“Moses said: "Get thee gone! but thy (punishment) in this life will be that thou wilt say, 'touch me not'; and moreover (for a
future penalty) thou hast a promise that will not fail: Now look at thy god, of whom thou hast become a devoted worshipper: We
will certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it broadcast” (Qur'an 20:97)
It is interesting to note that in this verse the Quran alludes to the fact that the Samaritans were regarded as untouchables
(thou wilt say, ‘touch me not’) by the Jews. In fact the Israelites looked down at Samarians and considered them “untouchable”
(Najis) because of their idolatry. But this stigma was not placed on the Samaritans by Moses. There were no Samaritans in the
time of Moses. They earned this designation by the Jews centuries later.
Ali Sina
My Response:
The rest of this article is a non starter. Ali Sina, got the names wrong and interpreted a name to suit a meaning. Subsequent
paragraphs of the article are based on this fib and as such, if the fib is proved, his article is false. When are his articles ever
true anyway?
I challenge Sina once again to prove me wrong!
Ends ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to the Section of Zuher
Send Email to Zuher
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/samaritans.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ali Sina:
In the Bible (Exodus 32) there is a story about Israelites worshiping a calf when Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten
Commandments from God. When he returned he was angered and ordered “everyone to put on his sword and kill his
brothers, his friends, and his neighbors” (Ex.32:27). In this story the culprits are the Israelites and Aaron the brother of Moses
who let himself to be influenced by them. This incident is reported in the Quran in following verse.
He [Allah] said, "We have tempted thy people since thou didst leave them. The Samaritan (in Arabic Samiri) has led them into
error." Then Moses returned ... ... and we cast them [(gold) ornaments], as the Samaritan also threw them, into the fire." (Then
he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has
forgotten.") ... Moses said, "And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?" ...
– Quran 20:85-88, 95
My Response:
Sina does it again. The foot in the mouth trick rampant on his site. Is he into comparative religions now? An ex-muslim atheist
into comparative religion? So Sina is comparing the bible to the Quran as regards the story above. I wonder where Sina gets
his daily bread… maybe I should not be wondering any more. Sina is moronic stooge of evangelists and this shows how overly
moronic his sponsors are especially allowing this sorry excuse for a thinker to write this article. He has already classified the
God of Christians as a narcissist and the God of Islam as the same and he also called both the books rampant with
contradictions. Now he is using one contradiction-riddled book to prove another wrong. I don’t actually see the point here. You
want to see contradiction Sina? Then knock yourself out. My article here is sufficient to give you so much to eat for you to
suffer indigestion. Just don’t run away after reading the first few paragraphs as you are accustomed to.
"Did Jesus Escape Crucifixion?"
Ali Sina:
In the Quranic version the culprit is the Samaritan who mislead the Jews into worshiping the bull. But in the original story of the
Bible there is no mention of any Samaritan.
My Response:
So is Sina trying to tell us with absolute reference to the bible, that the bible is right as regards this issue? Let me show where
this becomes a total farce and a no-contest between the bible and Quran. Sina is a goof and he has once again goofed up.
His interpretation of verses is not only erroneous as regards meaning of words in and out of context; Sina cannot even
represent names correctly. ‘Dr” Ali Sina, idiocy exemplified. That is laughable.
Pickthall – Chapter 20 Ta ha
He said: Lo! We have tried thy folk in thine absence, and As-Samiri hath misled them. (85) Then Moses went back unto his
folk, angry and sad. He said: O my people! Hath not your Lord promised you a fair promise? Did the time appointed then
appear too long for you, or did ye wish that wrath from your Lord should come upon you, that ye broke tryst with me? (86)
They said: We broke not tryst with thee of our own will, but we were laden with burdens of ornaments of the folk, then cast
them (in the fire), for thus As-Samiri proposed. (87) Then he produced for them a calf, which gave forth a lowing sound. And
they cried: This is your God and the God of Moses, but he hath forgotten. (88) See they not, then, that it returneth no saying
unto them and possesseth for them neither hurt nor use? (89)
Dr Mohsin– Chapter 20 Ta ha
(Allâh) said: "Verily! we have tried your people in your absence, and As-Samiri has led them astray." (85) Then Mûsa (Moses)
returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said: "O my people! Did not your Lord promise you a fair promise?
Did then the promise seem to you long in coming? Or did you desire that wrath should descend from your Lord on you, that
you broke your promise to me (i.e disbelieving in Allâh and worshipping the calf)?" (86) They said: "We broke not the promise
to you, of our own will, but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh)] people, then we
cast them (into the fire), and that was what As-Samiri suggested." (87) Then he took out (of the fire) for them (a statue of) a
calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your ilâh (god), and the ilâh (god) of Mûsa (Moses), but [Mûsa (Moses)] has
forgotten (his god).'" (88) Did they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to
harm them or to do them good?
Yusuf Ali. – Chapter 20 Ta ha
(Allah) said: "We have tested thy people in thy absence: Samiri has led them astray." (85) So Moses returned to his people in
state of indignation and sorrow. He said: "O my people! did not your Lord make a handsome promise to you? Did then the
promise seem to you long (in coming)? Or did ye desire that Wrath should descend from your Lord on you, and so ye broke
your promise to me?" (86) They said: "We broke not the promise to thee, as far as lay in our power: but we were made to
carry the weight of the ornaments of the (whole) people, and we threw them (into the fire), and that was what Samiri
suggested. (87) "Then he brought out (of the fire) before the (people) the image of a calf: it seemed to low: so they said: `This
is your god and the god, of Moses but (Moses) has forgotten!' " (88) Could they not see that it could not return them a word
(for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good? (89)
Sina-type Translation: – Chapter 20 Ta ha
Ali Sina:
He [Allah] said, "We have tempted thy people since thou didst leave them. The Samaritan (in Arabic Samiri) has led them into
error." Then Moses returned ... ... and we cast them [(gold) ornaments], as the Samaritan also threw them, into the fire." (Then
he brought out for them a Calf, a mere body that lowed; and they said, "This is your god, and the god of Moses, whom he has
forgotten.") ... Moses said, "And thou, Samaritan, what was thy business?" ...
– Quran 20:85-88, 95
My Response:
Do you see the stupidity of this sorry excuse for a debater? He is (They are) nonsensical and quite whimsical. In which
translation being used by Muslims has the word Samiri been translated as Samaritan. There is no translation of a name. A
name remains as it is. This is distortion of the truth as Samiri was the name of a person who waylaid the Israelites in the
absence of Moses PBUH, into worshipping a golden calf. Samiri is not representative of the group: Samaritans.
Sina is a liar and so it is expected that the interpretation given by him and his goons to hoodwink the masses is probably
doctored by the “Dr” of division, father of fibs, to suit his own stupid ends. The idiot doesn’t even know that whatever language
in use for a translation, a name of person is never translated into what you feel to be the meaning. He has contorted and
distorted meanings, that too of a name, to suit his evil designs.
All he has done is to show how stupid he can get and how stupid his site, his followers and of course his evangelist sponsors
are to back a man/men with IQ(s) rivaling that of a garden snail. Plain stupidity, that’s what it is.
Ali Sina:
Muslims claim that the Bible is corrupted. But the fact is that when Moses was alive, there were no Samaritans at all. According
to 1 King 16:24 Samaria was a hill belonging to Shemer that was purchased by King Omri where he founded the city of
Samaria about 870 B.C. The Samaritans as a distinct people only emerged after the exile of the Northern Kingdom of Israel
and the resettlement of the area under king Sargon II after 722 B.C.
Moses lived 1400 years B.C. That is five to seven century before anyone could be called Samaritan (Sameri). Therefore the
explanation of the Quran that Samaritans led the Jews to worship a calf cannot be correct. At the time of Moses Samaria did
not exist and no one could be the citizen of a city that did not exist.
One wonders where Muhammad got the idea of Samaritans leading Israelites to idolatry? The answer to this confusion can be
found in another similar story of calf-worshiping narrated in the (1 King 12:26-33). This episode happened during the time of
Jeroboam. This was a time when the Jews were split into two kingdoms, the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern
kingdom of the Judah; Jerusalem being the major center of the worship for all the Jews was in Judah. Holy towns attract
pilgrims, promote commerce and generate income. Jeroboam who was the king of the Israel, thought that not having a holy
place of worship in his kingdom is weakening his position. So he decided to build a temple in Samaria, the seat of the Northern
Kingdom, adorning it with the statutes of two golden calves to rival Jerusalem as the center of worship.
Biblical Scholars like Richard Elliot Friedman believe that the first story of the Jews worshiping the golden calf during the time
of Moses to which Quran is alluding, actually did never happen. They believe that this story was fabricated by the writers of
the Bible who were the high priests and the custodians of the temple of God in Jerusalem, to discredit Jerobeam and his
temple in the Northern Kingdom. They invented the story of Moses and the golden calf, claiming that it provoked the wrath and
punishment of God during the time of Moses. This did certainly send a strong message to the Jews that the temple erected by
Jerobeam is unacceptable by God. Most probably the calves adorning the temple of Israel were symbolic and were not
intended to be worshiped. Yet the story of the calf-worshiping-Jews, provoking the wrath of God, in the time of Moses had its
intended effect. Emergence of a new temple in the North would not have only undermined the importance of Jerusalem as the
sole religious center for all the Jews, but it would have also separated religiously a nation already split politically.
Hosea echoed his disapproval of the northern temple in the following terms.
Throw out your calf-idol, O Samaria! My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of purity? They are from
Israel! This calf - a craftsman has made it; it is not God. It will be broken in pieces, that calf of Samaria. -- Hosea 8:5-6
This is a warning to the Jews of 700 B.C. living in Samaria. It has nothing to do with the story of Moses and the Golden calf.
Muhammad must have heard these two stories. But he confused the two and placed the Samaritans in a wrong context. Quran
further continues:
“Moses said: "Get thee gone! but thy (punishment) in this life will be that thou wilt say, 'touch me not'; and moreover (for a
future penalty) thou hast a promise that will not fail: Now look at thy god, of whom thou hast become a devoted worshipper: We
will certainly (melt) it in a blazing fire and scatter it broadcast” (Qur'an 20:97)
It is interesting to note that in this verse the Quran alludes to the fact that the Samaritans were regarded as untouchables
(thou wilt say, ‘touch me not’) by the Jews. In fact the Israelites looked down at Samarians and considered them “untouchable”
(Najis) because of their idolatry. But this stigma was not placed on the Samaritans by Moses. There were no Samaritans in the
time of Moses. They earned this designation by the Jews centuries later.
Ali Sina
My Response:
The rest of this article is a non starter. Ali Sina, got the names wrong and interpreted a name to suit a meaning. Subsequent
paragraphs of the article are based on this fib and as such, if the fib is proved, his article is false. When are his articles ever
true anyway?
I challenge Sina once again to prove me wrong!
Ends ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to the Section of Zuher
Send Email to Zuher
| Answering FaithFreedom.org |
| Rebuttal to Ali Sina's article "Samaritans and Moses" |
| By Zuher |