Works of Abul Baraa Muhamad Amreeki

All the praises is for Allah the Lord of the Worlds and peace and blessings be upon His Chosen Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and his companions all of them.

By the Student of Knowledge, Shaykh Abdurrahman Murad هداه الله

The Story of Bahira – FACT NOT fiction
Written by Sh. Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him

I read an article for Ustadth Abdur-Ra’oof Al-Masri, entitled: “The Myth of Bahira the Monk”.
In that article he wrote: “This story has not been related by any companion or Ta’biee nor has it been affirmed in the two Saheeh that the Prophet, may Allah praise him, ever met Bahira — even in his young age. In fact, the Prophet, may Allah praise him, never referred afterwards to this incident in his later life, not even partially. The story has not even been narrated in many books of Seerah.”

In short, this is the summary of what the writer has used to dismiss this story; his proof is that the narration has not been conveyed authentically. This assumption is incorrect!
This narration is absolutely authentic and it has been narrated on the authority of Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, may Allah be pleased with him, and from the Ta’biee Abu Mijliz Lahiq bin Humaid, may Allah have mercy on him.
It also is found in many sources, of which At-Tirmidthi (4/496), Da’laail an-No’bo’yah (1/53) Al-Hakim (12/615) and Ibn Asaakir (1/188) to name a few.

Since this story can be confirmed; thus, the conclusion of Ustaadth Abdur-Ra’oof “The false story of Bahira was produced in the 2nd or 3rd Hijri century and it has not been narrated by trustworthy narrators” can easily be dismissed.

Besides this, Ustadth Abdur-Ra’oof Al-Masri, mentions a few doubts, that must be countered:
a. The Prophet, may Allah praise him, never spoke about this incident even indirectly afterwards.
Response: This is easily countered as the Seerah of the Prophet, may Allah praise him, is not a self-biography, but instead what the companions had documented about him.

b. Bahira was an actual monk who lived in the fourth century; thus, it is impossible that the Prophet, may Allah praise him, would have met him as the Prophet lived in the 6th century.
Response: In the authentic narrations the name ‘Bahira’ was never given to the monk that the Prophet, may Allah praise him, had met. So to tie so much significance to the name of this monk is inappropriate. The name ‘Bahira’ has actually only been mentioned in weak narrations, one of which contains al-Waqidi who is a known liar, and in the narration of Muhammad bin Ishaq which he gives without a chain of narration. Some of the historians, such as al-Masoodi, actually mention that the monk that the Prophet, may Allah praise him, met was ‘Jirjees’ and not ‘Bahira’.
Furthermore, the claim that ‘Bahira’ lived in the 4th century is actually a ‘claim’, with no evidence to back it. I have also revisited the works that Ustaadth Abdur-Raoof has used to indicate this, but there is no actual mention of his claim in them.

(This article is only partially translated, as the source article is extensively long…anyone who wants further details can refer to the original)

Source article: http://www.alalbany.net/4911

May Allah grant us success in this life and in the next. Ameen

When the Messenger of Allâh (Peace be upon him) was twelve years old, he went with his uncle Abu Talib on a business journey to Syria. When they reached Busra (which was a part of Syria, in the vicinity of Howran under the Roman domain) they met a monk called Bahira (his real name was Georges), who showed great kindness, and entertained them lavishly. He had never been in the habit of receiving or entertaining them before. He readily enough recognized the Prophet (Peace be upon him) and said while taking his hand:
“This is the master of all humans. Allâh will send him with a Message which will be a mercy to all beings.” Abu Talib asked: “How do you know that?” He replied: “When you appeared from the direction of ‘Aqabah, all stones and trees prostrated themselves, which they never do except for a Prophet. I can recognize him also by the seal of Prophethood which is below his shoulder, like an apple. We have got to learn this from our books.”
He also asked Abu Talib to send the boy back to Makkah and not to take him to Syria for fear of the Jews. Abu Talib obeyed and sent him back to Makkah with some of his men servants. (Source: Raheeq al-Makhtum)

The interesting thing is that some today believe that this story from the Seerah would actually diminish the honor of our Prophet, may Allah praise him…when in fact it doesn’t! Due to this ‘notion’ they seek to render it as false.