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Bahira (, ) or Georges is the name in tradition of a Christian monk who is said to have foretold Muhammad's prophethood when they met while Muhammad was accompanying his uncle Abu Talib on a trading trip.Abel, A. " Baḥīrā". Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second edition. Brill. Brill Online, 2007 1986.Watt, W. Montgomery (1964). , p. 1-2. Oxford University Press. There are several versions of the story, with elements that contradict each other. A few of these accounts have been questioned by some modern historians, while others have found substantial information asserting to its historical accuracy. Most contemporary and classical Islamic historians accept the story as true, some of whom include Imam Ibn Isḥāq (d. 150/767-8) (Sīrah, p. 73), Imam Ibn Saʿd (d. 230/845) (al-Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, 1:97,122), Imam Abū Nuʿaym (d. 430/1038) (Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah, p. 168), Imam Bayhaqī (d. 458/1066) (Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah, 2:24), Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr (d. 463/1071) (al-Istīʿāb, 1:34), Imam Nawawī (d. 676/1277) (Tahdhīb al-Asmāʾ, 1:24), Ḥāfiẓ Mizzī (d. 742/1341) (Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, 1:189), Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350) (Hidāyat al-Ḥayārā, 2:407; Zād al-Maʿād, 1:75), Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (d. 774/1373) (al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, 2:229, 283), Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (d. 852/1149) (al-Iṣābah, 1:475; Fatḥ al-Bārī, 8:716), Ḥāfiẓ Sakhāwī (d. 902/1497) (al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasanah, p. 122), Ḥāfiẓ Suyūṭī (d. 911/1505) (al-Khaṣāʾiṣ, 1:141), Shāh Walī Allah Muḥaddith Dehlawī (d. 1176/1762) (Qurrat al-ʿAynayn, p. 106 as cited in al-Yawāqīt al-Gāliyah, 4:373), Mawlānā Rashīd Aḥmad Gangohī (d. 1323/1905). At least one Muslim scholar has been quoted as rejecting this account, namely al-Dhahabi.
In another version of the story recorded by al-Tabari, Bahira is more emphatic in his foretelling of Muhammad's destiny, calling him the apostle of the Lord of the Worlds after witnessing trees and stones bowing down to him. In this version, it is the Byzantine Empire, not the Jews, who Bahira fears will threaten Muhammad's life. He advises Abu Talib to take Muhammad home as soon as possible, and Abu Talib arranges for Abu Bakr and Bilal ibn Rabah to accompany Muhammad safely to Mecca. Bahira's foresight soon becomes reality as seven people from the Byzantine Empire show up with the aim of assassinating Muhammad. This version of the story is also documented by al-Tirmidhi and several other biographers of Muhammad.
According to a variation documented by al-Suhayli, possibly derived from al-Zuhri's, it is a Jewish rabbi, not a Christian monk, who meets the young Muhammad on the journey and foretells his future as a prophet. The meeting happens not in Bosra but in Tayma, a city before Syria. As in Ibn Ishaq's account, the figure advises Abu Talib to take Muhammad back home quickly, fearing that the Jews will murder him if he reaches Syria.
To add a spiritual touch to the marriage of Muhammad and Khadija, many of his biographers narrate that he took another trade trip later in his life and met another monk. Some sources call the monk Nastur or Nastura. The narratives generally show this trade trip as being done by Muhammad for Khadija, and he is joined by her slave, named Maysara. The allegedly al-Zuhri's account says that the destination is Hubasha, while Ibn Ishaq's says that it is Syria. The monk sees Muhammad sitting under a tree that only prophets use, and he asks Maysara if Muhammad has redness in his eyes. Maysara confirms, and the monk concludes that Muhammad is the imminent prophet. In a version by al-Baladhuri and Ibn Habib, the monk's conclusion about Muhammad's prophethood results from seeing him create unlimited food. The story continues with the monk buying Muhammad's goods at a high price and two angels covering Muhammad from the blazing sun on their way back. When they return to Medina, Maysara tells Khadija about his experience, which makes her propose marriage to Muhammad. In Ibn Gani's Tafsir, however, it is Abu Bakr who goes with Muhammad on the trip and is told by the monk that the place under the tree where Muhammad sits is only lastly occupied by Jesus.
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Imam Abu Nu'aym (d. 430/1038) includes the incident in his work "Dalā'il al-Nubuwwah," emphasizing its significance in indicating Muhammad's future role as a prophet. Similarly, Imam Al-Bayhaqi (d. 458/1066) narrates the event in his own "Dalā'il al-Nubuwwah," suggesting its acceptance among early Islamic historians. Furthermore, Hafiz Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373) discusses the encounter in "Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah," noting Bahira's recognition of Muhammad's prophetic signs.
John of Damascus (d. 749), an early Christian theologian, references an interaction between Muhammad and a monk, possibly Bahira, in his critique of Islam. Although his intent was polemical, his acknowledgment of the encounter is one of the earliest from non-Islamic perspective.Bahkou, Abjar. “The Monk Encounters the Prophet—The Story of the Encounter between Monk Bahīra and Muhammad as It Is Recorded in the Syriac Manuscript of Mardin 259/2.” Journal of Cultural and Religious Studies, David Publishing Company, 2015.
The essential outline of the story of Bahīra in the Christian sources remains the same in all textual traditions. There are shorter and longer recensions with many variations. The Christian Bahīra was preserved in both the Syriac and the Arabic languages. Much evidence in the text points to the Syriac version as the earliest.4 It is evident that throughout the centuries, copyists have changed and interpolated v arious elements to enhance their apologetic position at the time. While the story of Bahīra in Islamic sources consists of one part,5 in the Christian sources, it consists of three parts. The three parts belong to different periods, but are tied together to form a single tradition after the ninth century. According to this written tradition, an itinerant monk, (Išu’yhab, in Syriac, the Arabic version called himMurhib)6 whose long journey led him to monk Bahīra, tells the whole story. Išu’yhab encountered Bahīra for eight days, after which Bahīra died.
Some medieval Muslim hadith critics, although in minority, have argued for dismissal of the story, mainly al-Dhahabi, who argued:
Historian Patricia Crone, following her examination of the Bahira material, came to the conclusion that "what the sources offer are fifteen equally fictitious versions of an event that never took place." Historian Richard A. Gabriel likewise labelled the stories of Bahira as "non-historical". Orientalist W. M. Watt regards the Islamic account of Bahira as "only a story", "based on primitive ideas", and the kind of story "one expects to find among people who look upon all writing as akin to magic". Historian Maxime Rodinson considers the motives behind the creation of the stories of Bahira to be apologetic. Historian Alford T. Welch has expressed a similar view.
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