Nar as-samum

InIslam,Nār as samūm(Arabic:نار السموم,meaning "fire of poison"; also spelledSimoomorSemum;from therootس م مs-m-m,سم"to poison" ) refers to a type of infernal fire or hot wind. The term is related to atype of stormin the deserts of theArabian Peninsula.According to theQuran,the damned will be tormented insamūmanddemonsare said to be created fromsamūm.

Etymology

The termSamūmderives from the roots-m-mسم,which means "to poison". It is also used of referring to ahot, dusty desert wind.^[2]^[3]

InTalmudicand post-Talmudic literature andBedouinsbeliefs, the wind of Samum became associated with ademon.^[4]Johann Gottfried Eichhornrelates the term to thethree days of darknessinExodus.^[5]Accordingly, the darkness comes just with the tempest of Samum.^[6]^[7]

In Islamic traditions, it is usually interpreted as a kind of fire, which penetrates through the skin of human body in contrast tomarijin min nar.However, both fires became usually associated with dangerous spirits.^[8]

Quran andtafsīr

TheQuranuses the termsamūmthree times. According toSurah 15:27,al-Jannwas created from the fires ofsamūm(nār as samūm). Surah56:42states that "the people of the left hand" (the damned) will suffer fromsamūm.Surah 52:27states thatGodprotects from the fires ofsamūm.^[9]

According to Quranicexegesis(tafsīr),samūmis the source from whichIblīs(Satan) and his angels (shayāṭīn) were created.^[10]According toibn Abbas,the angels were created from "light"(Nūr), Iblīs and his demons from "poisonous fire" (samūm), and thedjinnfrom a "composition of fire" (mārijin min nār).^[9]^[11]^[12]

The exact nature is subject to much discussion.Tabari(839–923) offers many interpretations for the nature ofsamūm.According to one meaning it is "hot wind which kills" and in another "the flame of the fire of the hot wind" and yet in another he relates it to "night-wind" in opposition toharur(day-wind). Further, he states, some holdsamūmto be the hell-fire (nar jahannama).

On the authority ofAbu Ubaidah,samūmis the fire that "penetrates the pores due to its fineness in the day-time as well as at night." Abu Sãlih is reported as saying thatsamūmissmokeless firelocated between the heavens andthe veil.Tabari concludes, it is theheart of a flameand not wind, as others indicated.^[13]

According toIbn Abbas,thesamūmis "the worst hot fire which kills". On the authority of'Amir ibn Dinar,samūmis the fire of the sun.^[14]Cosmographics in the medieval age of Islamusually depicted the sun setting on the gates of hell, and deriving its heat from the fires of hell (i.e.nār as-samūm) during night. On day time, the sun emits the fire of hell over earth.^[15]^: 42Mostmufassirūnrepeat the mentioned interpretations, but usually more briefly.^[16]

Adaptations in later religious traditions

The name of theMidrashicsatanic figureSamaelis linguistically related to the termsamūm.^[4]^[17]^[18]InPirke De-Rabbi Eliezer,he is a twelve-wingedseraphwho refused to prostrate himself beforeAdam.^[19]His depiction might have been influenced by the Islamic portrayal ofIbliswho is similarly imagined as an angel related tosamūmwho refused to bow down before Adam.^[20]

Likewise,Manichaeansrelate their concept of the Devil, who is also called "Iblīs al-Qadīm" (Iblis without beginning),^[21]to the pestilential winds (samūm) in one of the five Kingdoms of darkness.^[22]

According to nineteenth-century OrientalistJoseph von Hammer-Purgstall,Ottoman-eralegends identify the hot "red wind"Samumas adiv(demon) who assisted Satan in his plots against theprophet Solomon.^[23]

Popular Culture

The 2008Turkish Horror film Semum,is named after this type of fire. The movie relies on the interpretation of Iblis by ibn Abbas,^[1]which depicts Iblis and his tribe asangels dispelled from the presence of God,after they refused to prostrate themselves before Adam. In contrast to Islamic aggadic tradition, these angels/devils are named after the fire of their origin (samūm).^[1]The author argues that the meaning of the Quranic termsamūmlies in "torment" and these demons "torment the sinners in hell".^[1]

References

^^a ^b ^c ^dErdağı, Deniz Özkan (2024-02-01)."Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in" Semum "".SN Social Sciences.4(2).doi:10.1007/s43545-024-00832-w.ISSN 2662-9283.
^John PenriceA Dictionary and Glossary of the Koran: With Grammatical References and Explanations of the TextBiblo & Tannen Publishers 1969ISBN 978-0-819-60252-7page 72
^Rashid al-DinRashid al-Din's History of India: Collected Essays with Facsimiles and IndicesWalter de Gruyter 1965ISBN 978-3-111-71602-2
^^a ^bLöwinger, Adolf (1924). "Der Windgeist Keteb".Mitteilungen zur jüdischen Volkskunde.26/27: 157–170.JSTOR 41459639.
^William JenksGenesis-JudgesJ.B. Lippincott & Company, 1859 Pennsylvania State University Digit. 2010 p. 250
^Marcus Moritz KalischShemot: ExodusLongman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855 Harvard University Digit. 22. Nov. 2006 p. 169
^Worrell, William H. (1918). "The Demon of Noonday and Some Related Ideas".Journal of the American Oriental Society.38:160–166.doi:10.2307/592600.JSTOR 592600.
^Mehmet Yavuz SekerA Map of the Divine Subtle Faculty: The Concept of the Heart in the Works of Ghazali, Said Nursi, and Fethullah GulenTughra Books, 07.04.2015ISBN 9781597848770part 4
^^a ^bErdağı, D. Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in “Semum”. SN Soc Sci 4, 27 (2024).https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00832-w
^Reynolds, Gabriel Said. "Angels".Encyclopaedia of Islam.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204.
^Tabari, Muhammad ibn Yarir al- Tabari, TabariThe History of al-Tabari Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the FloodUNY Press, 23.03.1989ISBN 9780887065637p. 252
^Mahmoud M. AyoubThe Qur'an and Its Interpreters: Surah 1 and 2Islamic Book Trust 2012ISBN 978-9-675-06290-2page 74
^Peter J. Awn Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology BRILL 1983ISBN 9789004069060p. 31
^Racius, Egdunas (1999)."Islamic Exegesis on the jinn: Their origin, kinds and substance and their relation to other beings".Studia Orientalia Electronica.85:127–138.
^Christian Lange (2016).Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-50637-3.
^The SocietyStudia Orientalia, Band 851999 University of Michigan Digit. 23. Febr. 2008
^John Hamilton Warrack, John WarrackCarl Maria Von WeberCUP Archive 1976ISBN 978-0-521-29121-7page 214
^Johann Christian August Heyse(1853). "Samiël, Samum".Allgemeines verdeutschendes und erklärendes Fremdwörterbuch(in German). p. 797.
^Dulkin, Ryan S. "The Devil Within: A Rabbinic Traditions-History of the Samael Story in 'Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer'."Jewish Studies Quarterly,vol. 21, no. 2, 2014, pp. 153–175.,JSTOR 24751800.Accessed 6 Sept. 2021.
^David Mevorach Seidenberg (2015).Kabbalah and Ecology.Cambridge University Press. p. 65.ISBN 978-1-107-08133-8.
^Peter J. AwnSatan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblis in Sufi PsychologyBRILL 1983ISBN 9789004069060
^Jason David BeDuhn (2000).The Manichaean Body: In Discipline and Ritual.Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 74.ISBN 978-0801871078.
^Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall(1813)."XXI. Suleiman".Rosenöl, oder Sagen und Kunden des Morgenlandes(in German). Vol. 1. Stuttgart. p. 216.

[Erdagı-2024-1] Erdağı, Deniz Özkan (2024-02-01)."Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in" Semum "".SN Social Sciences.4(2).doi:10.1007/s43545-024-00832-w.ISSN 2662-9283.

[2] John PenriceA Dictionary and Glossary of the Koran: With Grammatical References and Explanations of the TextBiblo & Tannen Publishers 1969ISBN 978-0-819-60252-7page 72

[3] Rashid al-DinRashid al-Din's History of India: Collected Essays with Facsimiles and IndicesWalter de Gruyter 1965ISBN 978-3-111-71602-2

[Löwinger_1924-4] Löwinger, Adolf (1924). "Der Windgeist Keteb".Mitteilungen zur jüdischen Volkskunde.26/27: 157–170.JSTOR 41459639.

[5] William JenksGenesis-JudgesJ.B. Lippincott & Company, 1859 Pennsylvania State University Digit. 2010 p. 250

[6] Marcus Moritz KalischShemot: ExodusLongman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855 Harvard University Digit. 22. Nov. 2006 p. 169

[7] Worrell, William H. (1918). "The Demon of Noonday and Some Related Ideas".Journal of the American Oriental Society.38:160–166.doi:10.2307/592600.JSTOR 592600.

[8] Mehmet Yavuz SekerA Map of the Divine Subtle Faculty: The Concept of the Heart in the Works of Ghazali, Said Nursi, and Fethullah GulenTughra Books, 07.04.2015ISBN 9781597848770part 4

[Erdağı-9] Erdağı, D. Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in “Semum”. SN Soc Sci 4, 27 (2024).https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00832-w

[10] Reynolds, Gabriel Said. "Angels".Encyclopaedia of Islam.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204.

[11] Tabari, Muhammad ibn Yarir al- Tabari, TabariThe History of al-Tabari Vol. 1: General Introduction and From the Creation to the FloodUNY Press, 23.03.1989ISBN 9780887065637p. 252

[12] Mahmoud M. AyoubThe Qur'an and Its Interpreters: Surah 1 and 2Islamic Book Trust 2012ISBN 978-9-675-06290-2page 74

[13] Peter J. Awn Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology BRILL 1983ISBN 9789004069060p. 31

[14] Racius, Egdunas (1999)."Islamic Exegesis on the jinn: Their origin, kinds and substance and their relation to other beings".Studia Orientalia Electronica.85:127–138.

[Lange-2016-15] Christian Lange (2016).Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-0-521-50637-3.

[16] The SocietyStudia Orientalia, Band 851999 University of Michigan Digit. 23. Febr. 2008

[17] John Hamilton Warrack, John WarrackCarl Maria Von WeberCUP Archive 1976ISBN 978-0-521-29121-7page 214

[Heyse1853-18] Johann Christian August Heyse(1853). "Samiël, Samum".Allgemeines verdeutschendes und erklärendes Fremdwörterbuch(in German). p. 797.

[19] Dulkin, Ryan S. "The Devil Within: A Rabbinic Traditions-History of the Samael Story in 'Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer'."Jewish Studies Quarterly,vol. 21, no. 2, 2014, pp. 153–175.,JSTOR 24751800.Accessed 6 Sept. 2021.

[Seidenberg2015-20] David Mevorach Seidenberg (2015).Kabbalah and Ecology.Cambridge University Press. p. 65.ISBN 978-1-107-08133-8.

[ReferenceB-21] Peter J. AwnSatan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblis in Sufi PsychologyBRILL 1983ISBN 9789004069060

[BeDuhn2000-22] Jason David BeDuhn (2000).The Manichaean Body: In Discipline and Ritual.Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 74.ISBN 978-0801871078.

[Purgstall1813-23] Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall(1813)."XXI. Suleiman".Rosenöl, oder Sagen und Kunden des Morgenlandes(in German). Vol. 1. Stuttgart. p. 216.

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Etymology

Quran andtafsīr

Adaptations in later religious traditions

Popular Culture

See also

References