The Samaritan theology of the 11th – 18th centuries is a blank spot in the history of religion. It is still waiting for its discoverer. Religious and philosophical constructions scattered across dozens of handwritten sources contain information about Samaritan beliefs that have not been described. These constructions, when compared with each other, can shed light on the evolution of the Samaritan doctrine during the Arab rule in the Middle East. This article is devoted to the eschatological theory of Munajja ibn Sadaqa al-Samiri – a prominent 12th –13th century theologian and jurist, author of the monumental “Book of Distinctions”, widely circulated among Samaritans. Munajj's first part describes the community's legal differences with Rabbinic Judaism and Samaritan views on the posthumous existence of human souls. According to Munajja, the human being, who represents the unity of a body created by nature and emanating from the anima mundi soul, returns to its natural form after death in order to receive its reward for committed deeds. In an anti-Peripatetic vein, Munajja insists on the omnipotence of the Maker, capable of performing both universal and specific actions – and, consequently, re-creating bodies on the eve of Judgement Day. Separately, he brings out textual arguments from the Samaritan Pentateuch in favour of the corporeal nature of resurrection: out of the twelve passages he quotes, four were adopted by later tradition and reproduced in the eschatological treatise of Isaac ibn Amram (19th century). Munajja himself wrote a lengthy commentary on chapter 32 of the Book of Deuteronomy, which was legalized by Abu al-Hasan al-Suri (11th century), as eschatological evidence containing important teachings on anthropology and ontology.
Key words: Samaritans, ʼAbu al-Hasan al-Suri, Munajja ibn Sadaqah, Samaritan Pentateuch, eschatology, anthropology, resurrection, body, soul
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662-2025-3-33-45
About the author
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Faris O. Nofal – PhD (Philosophy), Research Fellow, Department of Philosophy of Islamic World, Institute of Philosophy RAS; 12/1 Goncharnaya St., Moscow, 109240, Russia; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |