Are We Samarians? Are We Guiding Those Around Us According to Our Own Views?

Author: Berk KÖKSAL
Date: September 22, 2026
Place: Mersin

The main purpose of this article is to contemplate the verses together with other relevant verses and to explore, in a sincere and deep way, what bearing witness to the oneness of GOD means for human life in terms of knowledge, justice, truthfulness, and submission.

The question of this article is not only what the Samarian did. The harder question is this: Do I place my own perception, interpretation, or religious opinion ahead of GOD’s guidance—and then direct the people around me according to it?

1. “I Saw What They Could Not See”: When Does Personal Perception Become Religious Authority?

Verse

20:96

Arabic: قَالَ بَصُرْتُ بِمَا لَمْ يَبْصُرُوا۟ بِهِۦ فَقَبَضْتُ قَبْضَةً مِّنْ أَثَرِ ٱلرَّسُولِ فَنَبَذْتُهَا وَكَذَٰلِكَ سَوَّلَتْ لِى نَفْسِى

English: He said, “I saw what they could not see. I grabbed a fistful (of dust) from the place where the messenger stood, and used it (to mix into the golden calf). This is what my mind inspired me to do.”*

Turkish: Dedi ki: “Ben onların göremediklerini gördüm. Elçinin durduğu yerden bir avuç (toz) aldım ve onu (altın buzağının içine karıştırmak için) kullandım. Zihnimin yapmam için ilham ettiği şey bu.”*

Source: kuranteyit.com

Reflection on the Verse

The sentence that stops me most in the Samarian’s defense is, “I saw what they could not see.” At first it sounds like a claim of special perception: I noticed what others missed. Yet the verse ends with an equally important statement: “This is what my mind inspired me to do” (20:96).

That distinction is crucial. A powerful inner impression is not automatically guidance from GOD. Seeing a connection that others do not see does not make that connection binding upon them. Feeling convinced does not turn an interpretation into revelation.

The danger grows when a private perception becomes a public religious direction. The Samarian did not merely hold an unusual opinion; his perception was translated into an action that reshaped the direction of a community.

So 20:96 becomes a mirror for me. Whenever I am tempted to say, “I see something others do not,” I need another question immediately after it: What has GOD actually authorized me to say?

2. How Can One Person’s View Mislead a Community?

Verse

20:85 — He said, “We have put your people to the test after you left, but the Samarian misled them.”

Reflection on the Verse

The report given to Moses is brief and severe: the Samarian misled the people (20:85). This means personal error can become collective error when influence is involved.

“I am only sharing my opinion” is not always a complete moral defense. If people regard me as knowledgeable, trustworthy, spiritually insightful, or authoritative, my confidence may be taken as evidence. My words can affect decisions far beyond my own life.

The greater my influence, the greater my obligation to distinguish clearly between what the scripture says and what I infer from it. A person who speaks about GOD should be more cautious, not less, because others may build their beliefs around that speech.

The verse makes me ask whether I want people to become dependent on my certainty or capable of testing what I say against GOD’s guidance.

3. “This Is What the Samarian Suggested”: The Line Between Suggestion and Direction

Verse

20:87 — They said, “We did not break our agreement with you on purpose. But we were loaded down with jewelry, and decided to throw our loads in. This is what the Samarian suggested.”

Reflection on the Verse

The people describe their action by saying, “This is what the Samarian suggested” (20:87). Influence does not always arrive as an order. Sometimes it arrives as an attractive suggestion, a clever interpretation, or a confident possibility.

A person can shape a group without ever saying, “You must obey me.” If the group already trusts him, a suggestion can function like a command.

This also means the followers are not passive objects. They accepted the suggestion. A healthy community therefore needs a culture in which people can ask, “What is the evidence? Is this GOD’s instruction, or someone’s interpretation?”

Religious maturity requires both responsible speech and responsible listening.

4. Impressive Is Not the Same as True

Verse

20:88 — He produced for them a sculpted calf, complete with a calf’s sound.* They said, “This is your god, and the god of Moses.” Thus, he forgot.

20:89 — Could they not see that it neither responded to them, nor possessed any power to harm them, or benefit them?

Reflection on the Verse

The calf was not merely an object; it produced a sound and therefore carried an appearance of significance (20:88). Yet the next verse strips away the spectacle: it could not answer, harm, or benefit them (20:89).

A claim may be emotionally powerful, mysterious, popular, or visually impressive and still fail the basic test of truth. Charisma is not guidance. Excitement is not proof. A dramatic religious experience is not automatically authorization from GOD.

The question in 20:89 is almost painfully simple: could they not see? The verse invites a movement from fascination to examination.

Whenever something captures my religious imagination, I should ask what it actually leads me toward. Does it lead me to GOD, justice, truthfulness, humility, and responsibility—or merely to the person or system producing the effect?

5. Why Do We Persist After a Warning Arrives?

Verse

20:90 — And Aaron had told them, “O my people, this is a test for you. Your only Lord is the Most Gracious, so follow me, and obey my commands.”

20:91 — They said, “We will continue to worship it, until Moses comes back.”

Reflection on the Verse

Aaron had already told them that the calf was a test and that their only Lord was the Most Gracious (20:90). Yet they said they would continue worshiping it until Moses returned (20:91).

At that point the problem is no longer lack of warning. The warning has arrived. What remains is attachment.

Once we have invested our identity in an idea, correction becomes expensive. To change our view may also mean admitting that we were wrong, perhaps publicly. If others followed us, the ego has even more to lose.

This is one reason religious repentance requires courage. Loyalty to truth must be greater than loyalty to my own previous statements.

6. Following Opinion Without Guidance from GOD

Verse

28:50 — If they fail to respond to you, then know that they follow only their own opinions. Who is farther astray than those who follow their own opinions, without guidance from GOD? GOD does not guide such wicked people.

Reflection on the Verse

28:50 gives one of the clearest standards for this entire reflection: the danger is not having an opinion; the danger is following one’s opinion without guidance from GOD.

Human beings must think. The Quran repeatedly treats hearing, seeing, reasoning, and examination as responsibilities. But thinking is not meant to make the self sovereign. It is meant to help us recognize and submit to truth.

I therefore need to ask whether I allow revelation to correct me, or whether I use revelation merely to decorate a conclusion I already prefer.

The Samarian pattern begins when my interpretation and GOD’s guidance are quietly placed on the same level.

7. Can the Ego Turn an Interpretation into a God?

Verse

45:23 — Have you noted the one whose god is his ego? Consequently, GOD sends him astray, despite his knowledge, seals his hearing and his mind, and places a veil on his eyes. Who then can guide him, after such a decision by GOD? Would you not take heed?

Reflection on the Verse

45:23 speaks about the person whose god is his ego. That does not have to appear as crude vanity. Ego can take the form of intellectual self-certainty: “I know,” “I understand,” “I see what others cannot see.”

The frightening part of the verse is that knowledge by itself does not guarantee safety. A person may possess knowledge and still be sent astray when the ego becomes the final authority.

Knowledge can become a servant of the ego. Instead of searching for truth, we start searching for arguments that protect our position.

The safer posture is not ignorance but submission: to know as much as we can while remaining willing to abandon our own interpretation when it conflicts with clearer guidance.

8. Knowledge, Guidance, and Enlightening Scripture

Verse

31:20 — Do you not see that GOD has committed in your service everything in the heavens and the earth, and has showered you with His blessings— obvious and hidden? Yet, some people argue about GOD without knowledge, without guidance, and without the enlightening scripture.

Reflection on the Verse

31:20 places three deficiencies together: arguing about GOD without knowledge, without guidance, and without enlightening scripture.

This is a powerful discipline for religious thought. Something may feel logical to me and still lack knowledge. I may possess information while my direction is controlled by desire. I may have a theory that exceeds what the scripture actually authorizes.

“I feel this strongly” is not enough. “It makes sense to me” is not enough. “People around me agree” is not enough.

Before guiding others, I need to ask: Do I know this? Does it genuinely follow GOD’s guidance? Does the scripture support what I am presenting as religious truth?

9. Unverified Information Is Not a Foundation for Guidance

Verse

17:36 — You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them.

Reflection on the Verse

17:36 commands us not to accept information unless we verify it for ourselves. Hearing, eyesight, and the brain are responsibilities.

That principle makes blind religious trust difficult to defend. Love for a teacher does not remove the duty to verify. Sincerity does not transform an unsupported claim into truth. Strong conviction does not substitute for evidence.

If others listen to me, my duty becomes even heavier. An unverified idea can travel through my confidence into another person’s life.

One protection against the Samarian pattern is therefore the humility to say, “I do not know,” when I cannot verify what I am claiming.

10. Investigate Before You Direct Others

Verse

49:6 — O you who believe, if a wicked person brings any news to you, you shall first investigate, lest you commit injustice towards some people, out of ignorance, then become sorry and remorseful for what you have done.

Reflection on the Verse

49:6 links investigation directly to justice. Failure to investigate can lead us to wrong people out of ignorance and then regret what we have done.

Religious misinformation is not merely an intellectual mistake. It can damage reputations, divide communities, produce accusations, and distort moral judgment.

If my words influence how others see a person or a group, I carry a responsibility to investigate before speaking.

The discipline of verification is therefore part of worship. It protects both truth and people from the arrogance of premature certainty.

11. Healthy Following: Examine All Words

Verse

39:18 — They are the ones who examine all words, then follow the best. These are the ones whom GOD has guided; these are the ones who possess intelligence.

Reflection on the Verse

39:18 describes the guided as people who examine all words and then follow the best. That is the opposite of blind dependence.

A healthy religious teacher should want listeners to examine what is being said. A healthy listener should not confuse loyalty to a person with loyalty to truth.

If my teaching becomes threatened by questions, something has gone wrong. Truth should not require intellectual captivity.

The goal is not to build people around myself but to help create people who can hear, compare, think, and follow what is best because GOD guides them.

12. The Surrounding Culture Is Not the Measure of Truth Either

Verse

5:104 — When they are told, “Come to what GOD has revealed, and to the messenger,” they say, “What we found our parents doing is sufficient for us.” What if their parents knew nothing, and were not guided?

Reflection on the Verse

The Samarian story shows one person influencing a group. 5:104 shows the reverse danger: the group influencing the individual. People say that what they found their parents doing is sufficient for them.

So neither the charismatic individual nor inherited consensus is the final measure. Sometimes the ego says, “I alone see the truth.” Sometimes comfort says, “Everyone around me does this.”

Both can become substitutes for guidance.

The Quran pushes us toward a more demanding freedom: to seek GOD’s guidance without turning either ourselves or our environment into an unquestionable authority.

13. Why Attach Ourselves to What Cannot Guide?

Verse

7:148 — During his absence, Moses’ people made from their jewelry the statue of a calf, complete with the sound of a calf.* Did they not see that it could not speak to them, or guide them in any path? They worshiped it, and thus turned wicked.

7:149 — Finally, when they regretted their action, and realized that they had gone astray, they said, “Unless our Lord redeems us with His mercy, and forgives us, we will be losers.”

Reflection on the Verse

7:148 makes the weakness of the calf explicit: it could not speak to them or guide them in any path. Yet they worshiped it. In the next verse they realized they had gone astray and turned to their Lord for mercy (7:149).

The criterion of guidance matters. A religious idea may give identity, emotion, or belonging while still failing to guide toward truth.

The next verse also preserves hope. Recognition of error is not the end. Repentance remains possible.

Religious maturity is therefore not the claim that I never become attached to a wrong idea. It is the willingness to release it when its falsehood becomes clear.

14. The Outer Idol and the Inner Idol

Verse

2:51 — Yet, when we summoned Moses for forty nights, you worshiped the calf in his absence, and turned wicked.*

2:54 — Recall that Moses said to his people, “O my people, you have wronged your souls by worshiping the calf. You must repent to your Creator. You shall kill your egos. This is better for you in the sight of your Creator.” He did redeem you. He is the Redeemer, Most Merciful.

Reflection on the Verse

2:51 shows the outward calf. 2:54 turns the attention inward: by worshiping the calf they had wronged their souls, and they were told to kill their egos.

This connection is profound. The outer idol may be sustained by an inner idol. Why do I resist correction? Why do I want others to accept my interpretation? Why can I not say, “I was wrong”?

Ego may be the hidden structure behind outward religious distortion.

To destroy idols while leaving the sovereignty of the self untouched is incomplete. Submission requires admitting that truth is greater than my reputation, my interpretation, and my desire to be followed.

15. Justice Even Against Myself

Verse

4:135 — O you who believe, you shall be absolutely equitable, and observe GOD, when you serve as witnesses, even against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether the accused is rich or poor, GOD takes care of both. Therefore, do not be biased by your personal wishes. If you deviate or disregard (this commandment), then GOD is fully Cognizant of everything you do.

Reflection on the Verse

4:135 brings justice all the way into the self. We must be equitable even when testimony goes against ourselves, and we must not be biased by personal wishes.

This may be one of the strongest safeguards against becoming a Samarian figure. Can I testify against my own interpretation when the evidence requires it? Can I correct a teaching I previously gave? Can I admit that another person’s reading is better supported?

The ego fears such honesty because it may cost status. But observing GOD must be more important than protecting a public image.

Religious trustworthiness is not the absence of error. It is the refusal to hide error when it becomes visible.

16. Leaders Can Mislead; Followers Cannot Escape Responsibility

Verse

33:67 — They will also say, “Our Lord, we have obeyed our masters and leaders, but they led us astray.

33:68 — “Our Lord, give them double the retribution, and curse them a tremendous curse.”

Reflection on the Verse

33:67-68 portrays people blaming the masters and leaders they obeyed because those leaders led them astray. The scene makes leadership frighteningly serious, but it does not turn followers into beings without agency.

The Samarian influenced; the people followed. Responsibility exists on both sides.

A healthy community should not be built on “Tell us what to believe.” The person who teaches should direct people toward GOD’s words rather than personal dependence, and listeners should remain responsible for what they accept.

If my opinion conflicts with a clear verse, those who listen to me should be free to leave my opinion behind. The goal is not loyalty to me. The goal is loyalty to truth.

17. The Danger of Creating Religious Authority GOD Never Authorized

Verse

42:21 — They follow idols who decree for them religious laws never authorized by GOD. If it were not for the predetermined decision, they would have been judged immediately. Indeed, the transgressors have incurred a painful retribution.*

9:31 — They have set up their religious leaders and scholars as lords,* instead of GOD. Others deified the Messiah, son of Mary. They were all commanded to worship only one god. There is no god except He. Be He glorified, high above having any partners.

Reflection on the Verse

42:21 warns about religious laws never authorized by GOD. 9:31 warns that religious leaders and scholars can be set up as lords instead of GOD.

This makes the Samarian story larger than one historical episode. Human interpretation can gradually become religious law. A respected opinion can harden into an unquestionable rule. A teacher can become a reference whose words are treated as though they carry divine authority.

Learning from scholars is one thing. Giving them the authority that belongs to GOD is another. The same limit applies to me: my interpretation must remain an interpretation unless the scripture clearly establishes the claim.

The Samarian pattern can exist wherever human authority quietly rises to the level of divine authority.

18. Not Controlling People, but Inviting with Wisdom

Verse

28:56 — You cannot guide the ones you love GOD is the only One who guides in accordance with His will, and in accordance with His knowledge of those who deserve the guidance.

16:125 — You shall invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom and kind enlightenment, and debate with them in the best possible manner. Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His path, and He knows best who are the guided ones.

Reflection on the Verse

28:56 says that even the one you love cannot be guided by your own power; GOD alone guides. 16:125 still gives us a responsibility: invite to the path of your Lord with wisdom, kind enlightenment, and the best manner of debate.

Together these verses define a healthy boundary. I can explain, remind, invite, and present evidence. I cannot own another person’s heart.

The opposite of the Samarian posture is not silence. It is humble invitation.

Instead of “Follow me because I see what others do not,” the believer can say, “Let us look together at what GOD has revealed.” Instead of creating dependence, he encourages examination. Instead of controlling, he invites.

My task is not to become the guide. Guidance belongs to GOD.

19. Arabic Word Roots: From “I Saw” to “My Mind Inspired Me”

Verse

20:96 — He said, “I saw what they could not see. I grabbed a fistful (of dust) from the place where the messenger stood, and used it (to mix into the golden calf). This is what my mind inspired me to do.”*

Reflection on the Verse

The Arabic structure of 20:96 deepens the reflection.

بَصُرْتُ — b-ṣ-r (ب ص ر): the field of seeing, perceiving, and discerning. The Samarian begins with a claim of perception: “I saw.” The verse makes us consider that seeing something does not settle how it should be interpreted.

قَبَضْتُ / قَبْضَةً — q-b-ḍ (ق ب ض): to seize, grasp, take a handful. Perception becomes action.

أَثَر — ʾ-th-r (أ ث ر): trace, mark, effect, what remains behind. Human beings can confuse the meaning they assign to a trace with what the trace actually proves.

رَسُول — r-s-l (ر س ل): the field of sending and messengerhood. The verse mentions a trace connected with the messenger, but the Samarian’s conclusion is not presented as a command from GOD.

نَبَذْتُ — n-b-dh (ن ب ذ): to cast or throw. An inner interpretation becomes an outward intervention.

سَوَّلَتْ — s-w-l (س و ل): the field of making something attractive or persuasive to the self. The mind may not only produce a desire; it may also produce a convincing justification for it.

نَفْس — n-f-s (ن ف س): self, soul, person. The closing movement of the verse returns responsibility to the inner self.

The sequence is revealing: perception → grasping → interpreting a trace → acting → the self making the action appear persuasive.

28:50 adds هَوَى — h-w-y (ه و ي), the field of desire and personal inclination; 20:85 brings ض ل ل (ḍ-l-l), straying and leading astray; and ه د ي (h-d-y) opens the field of guidance. The central conflict is therefore not between thinking and not thinking, but between the sovereignty of personal inclination and guidance from GOD.

Other Claims

Verse

20:96 — He said, “I saw what they could not see. I grabbed a fistful (of dust) from the place where the messenger stood, and used it (to mix into the golden calf). This is what my mind inspired me to do.”*

Reflection on the Verse

Different historical and traditional explanations have been offered regarding the identity of the Samarian, the detailed mechanism behind the “fistful” from the place of the messenger, and how the calf produced its sound. The note attached to 20:88 and 20:96 in Rashad Khalifa’s translation also offers an explanation involving dust taken from the place where GOD spoke to Moses and mixed with the molten gold.

The main reflection of this article, however, rests on what the verses state directly: the Samarian misled the people (20:85); they acted on his suggestion (20:87); the object possessed no power to answer, harm, or benefit them (20:89); Aaron had already identified it as a test (20:90); and the Samarian explained his action through what he claimed to see and what his own mind inspired him to do (20:96).

More detailed historical theories should therefore remain secondary to the clear moral issue in the text: how personal conviction can become collective religious direction.

Conclusion

Verse

28:50 — If they fail to respond to you, then know that they follow only their own opinions. Who is farther astray than those who follow their own opinions, without guidance from GOD? GOD does not guide such wicked people.

Reflection on the Verse

“Are we Samarians?” is an easy question if it is used to accuse someone else. It becomes difficult when I turn it toward myself.

Do I place my own view ahead of GOD’s guidance? When I say, “I see this differently,” have I actually verified that what I see rests on knowledge and scripture? When people trust me, do I enjoy their dependence on my certainty, or do I teach them to examine GOD’s words independently of me?

The Samarian story is disturbing because one person’s persuasive suggestion changed the religious direction of a community. Yet the Quran does not remove responsibility from the community. They too had to see, think, hear Aaron’s warning, and ask why they were devoting themselves to what could not guide them.

A healthy religious life therefore needs ethics on both sides. The speaker must not turn interpretation into revelation. The listener must not turn another human being into a substitute for personal responsibility before GOD.

28:50 provides the decisive measure: following personal opinion without guidance from GOD can lead far astray. 28:56 humbles me further: I cannot guide even the person I love. Guidance belongs to GOD. 16:125 defines what remains for me—to invite with wisdom, kind enlightenment, and the best possible manner.

My task is not to capture the direction of other people’s hearts. My task is to speak truthfully to the best of my knowledge, admit what I do not know, test my own words against revelation, correct myself when I am wrong, and direct people away from dependence on me and toward GOD.

Perhaps the way not to become a Samarian begins here: before saying “I see,” ask “What has GOD shown?” Before saying “Follow me,” be able to say, “Let us look at the verse together.”

Note

2:32 — They said, “Be You glorified, we have no knowledge, except that which You have taught us. You are the Omniscient, Most Wise.”

GOD knows best.

Source: kuranteyit.com