Bahira the monk meets the young Muhammad at Bostra
c. c. 582
Place: bostra
32.518, 36.481 · On the map
TRADITIONAL. Only Islamic-era sources (Ibn Ishaq) and the later Christian Bahira legend (9th c. onward) tell the story. Neither is contemporary.
Unverified. The file is the uploader's claim only.
Ibn Ishaq tells how a Christian monk at Bostra recognized signs of prophethood in the boy Muhammad on a caravan journey with his uncle. A later Christian legend turned Bahira (Sergius) into Muhammad's teacher, so the same figure serves opposite purposes in Muslim and Christian tradition.
People named here
- Bahira
- Muhammad
- Abu Talib
Where scholars disagree
For
- Barbara Roggema — The Legend of Sergius Baḥīrā (2009): studies the Christian version as apologetic and apocalyptic literature
Against
No names on this side.
Links
Place
In
Tradition places Bahira's monastery at Bostra.
located_at
traditional
Conflict and authority
Out
Bahira recognizes the boy Muhammad (traditional); the later Christian legend reverses the roles.
recognized
traditional
Sources
- Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, trans. A. Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad (OUP 1955) — insider tradition, compiled c. 750, recension of Ibn Hisham d. 833
Internet Archive (lending record). Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Barbara Roggema, The Legend of Sergius Baḥīrā: Eastern Christian Apologetics and Apocalyptic in Response to Islam (2009)
Brill. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Wikipedia: Bahira
Wikipedia contributors (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-11-11.