All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
It has been reported from a number of the early generations that the verse means that the Samiri saw the trace of the horse of Jibril, peace be upon him, took a handful of soil from the place where its hoof had stepped, and threw it into the calf. However, these details are not established in any authentic hadith from the Prophet ﷺ, and therefore the commentators differed regarding the interpretation of the verse. Even according to the majority interpretation, it does not necessarily mean that the Samiri saw Jibril in his original angelic form. He may have seen him in a form in which he appeared, or he may have seen only the horse and its trace. There is also no authentic evidence that the Samiri was the Antichrist.
Allah Almighty relates the words of the Samiri:
“He said: ‘What is your case, O Samiri?’ He said: ‘I perceived what they did not perceive, so I took a handful from the trace of the messenger and threw it, and thus my soul enticed me.’”
[Ta-Ha: 95–96]
It has been reported from a number of the Companions and Followers that “the messenger” here refers to Jibril, peace be upon him, and that the Samiri saw his horse and took something from the trace of its hoof.
It is reported from Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he said regarding the Samiri:
“He saw the trace of the horse of Jibril, peace be upon him, and took some soil from the trace of its hoof.”
A similar interpretation was reported from Mujahid, Qatadah, and others.
However, these details are not found in any authentic hadith traced back to the Prophet ﷺ. Rather, they are statements and reports found in works of Qur’anic exegesis, and for this reason the commentators did not unanimously agree upon them.
Even if we accept the view that “the messenger” refers to Jibril, peace be upon him, it does not necessarily follow that the Samiri saw him in his original angelic form.
Angels can appear in human forms, as Allah Almighty says about Jibril when He sent him to Maryam, peace be upon her:
“Then he appeared before her in the form of a well-proportioned man.”
[Maryam: 17]
It is also established in the Sunnah that Jibril, peace be upon him, came to the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions in the form of a man.
Accordingly, it is possible that Jibril appeared in a form that the Samiri could see. This does not mean that he saw Jibril in his original form.
This is another possibility mentioned in explaining the reports.
The narrations transmitted from some of the early generations focus on seeing the trace of Jibril’s horse and taking soil from the place of its hoof. This does not necessarily mean that the Samiri actually saw Jibril himself in his angelic form.
Thus, the report may be understood to mean that he saw the horse or its trace and knew of its connection to Jibril, without implying that he saw Jibril in his original form.
Yes. Some commentators gave an entirely different interpretation.
Abu Muslim al-Isfahani and those who agreed with him said that “the messenger” refers to Musa, peace be upon him, and that the Samiri’s words:
“So I took a handful from the trace of the messenger and threw it.”
mean that he took something from Musa’s guidance and law, then abandoned and rejected it.
According to this interpretation, the verse has nothing to do with Jibril or his horse at all.
Some commentators inclined toward this meaning, while others discussed and rejected it and preferred the interpretation transmitted from the early generations.
The Qur’an does not explicitly state that the messenger mentioned in the verse is Jibril, nor does it mention a horse or soil from the horse’s hoof.
Likewise, there is no authentic hadith from the Prophet ﷺ that decisively settles these details.
For this reason, the commentators expressed different views.
Some scholars considered that the safest approach in such details is to stop where the Qur’an stops and not state with certainty what has not been established by an authentic text.
What is certain is that the Samiri made the calf and misled the Children of Israel with it. He then told Musa, peace be upon him, what he had done and said:
“And thus my soul enticed me.”
[Ta-Ha: 96]
As for the remaining details, there is disagreement among the commentators.
There is no authentic evidence indicating that the Samiri was the Antichrist.
Some scholars mentioned similarities or possible allusions to the story of the Dajjal in the story of the Samiri, but this does not establish that they were the same person.
Among the verses some relied upon is Musa’s statement to the Samiri:
“And indeed, you have an appointed time that you will not fail to meet.”
[Ta-Ha: 97]
However, this verse cannot validly be used as evidence that the Samiri would remain alive until the end of time and become the Dajjal.
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, explained the appointed time by saying:
“Meaning: the Day of Resurrection… from which you will have no escape.”
Therefore, the verse contains no evidence that the Samiri remained alive until the time of the appearance of the Dajjal.
The well-known interpretation reported from a number of the early generations is that the Samiri saw the trace of the horse of Jibril, peace be upon him, and took a handful from it, but these details are not established through any authentic hadith from the Prophet ﷺ.
Even according to this interpretation, it does not necessarily mean that the Samiri saw Jibril in his original angelic form. He may have seen him in a form in which he appeared, or he may have seen only the horse and its trace.
Some commentators also held that “the messenger” refers to Musa, peace be upon him, and that the intended meaning of his trace was his law and guidance.
Therefore, the matter allows more than one interpretation, and it is better not to state with certainty details that revelation has not decisively settled.
As for the claim that the Samiri was the Antichrist, there is no authentic evidence for it, and the two should not be connected without proof.
And Allah knows best.