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The grave of Nabi Samwil (AS) is held to lie within the hilltop maqam of al-Nabi Samwil (النبي صموئيل), north-west of al-Quds. The Palestinian village…
The grave of Nabi Samwil (AS) is held to lie within the hilltop maqam of al-Nabi Samwil (النبي صموئيل), north-west of al-Quds. The Palestinian village surrounding the site takes its name from the Prophet buried here. Nabi Samwil (AS) was a Prophet sent to Bani Isra’il after Nabi Musa (AS). Islamic tafsir identifies Nabi Samwil (AS) with the unnamed Prophet in Surah al-Baqarah whose people asked Allah to appoint a king to lead them after they had been driven from their homes. The Prophet who appointed Talut Mujahid, as cited in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, named this Prophet as Shamwil, or Nabi Samwil (AS). Nabi Samwil (AS) informed Bani Isra’il that Allah had chosen Talut as their king. When they objected because Talut lacked great wealth, Nabi Samwil (AS) answered that Allah had selected him and increased him in knowledge and physical strength. Nabi Samwil (AS) then gave the return of the Ark as a sign of Talut’s kingship. Talut led those who remained steadfast against Jalut’s army, and Nabi Dawud (AS) killed Jalut. Allah subsequently granted Nabi Dawud (AS) kingship and wisdom. The maqam above al-Quds The grave of Nabi Samwil (AS) is in a lower chamber beneath the mosque. The maqam occupies a high point overlooking the routes approaching al-Quds from the coastal plain, a position that also gave the hill military importance in several periods. A religious complex existed here in the Byzantine period, and the place was known during the early Muslim centuries as Dayr Samwil. Muslim geographers, including al-Muqaddasi and Yaqut al-Hamawi, recorded the site in their accounts of the country around Bayt al-Maqdis. From fortress to mosque The Crusaders established a fortified religious complex on the hill during the twelfth century. Under later Muslim rule, the site became a mosque associated with the grave of Nabi Samwil (AS). Its fabric carries Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman phases, while the underground grave chamber remains the centre of the maqam. The village of al-Nabi Samwil developed around the mosque and grave. Its Arabic name preserves the connection between Nabi Samwil (AS), the surrounding Palestinian community and the northern approaches to al-Quds.