THE STORY OF AN EARLY CHRISTIAN: BAHEERAH THE MONK

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had many champions among the early Christians, and they, having read about the emergence of a new prophet in their religious books, were quite supportive of him.

The first of these Christians was a monk called Baheerah, who the Prophet met as a boy of twelve. This was when the Prophet was travelling with his uncle Abu Taalib, in a merchant caravan heading to Ash-Shaam. The caravan stopped near Baheerah’s house for the travelers to rest.

Baheerah had studied ancient scriptures and religious texts from which he had learnt of the coming of a final prophet. He was convinced that this prophet would appear in his own lifetime, and his anticipation increased every time a caravan of Arab merchants passed by where he lived. Therefore, he was struck and awed at the arrival of a caravan from Mecca which, to his amazement, was shaded by a cloud hovering closely above them. The cloud moved as the caravan moved, and did not go any further when they stopped. It appeared as though it were providing shade for one person or all those in the caravan. When he also noticed that a tree lowered its branches over the caravan to provide further shade, he immediately realized that there must be someone extraordinary in the caravan.

Baheerah invited all the travelers from the caravan to a meal in his house, but none of their features had the traits of the awaited prophet. He inquired if there was anyone who had not joined the meal. It was then that he received news that a young boy, Muhammad, had been left outside to guard the caravan. Baheerah could not wait to see the boy, and when he did, he realized that this was the awaited prophet who carried all the signs that he was supposed to have, as described in the religious books that Baheerah had studied. When the caravan was going to leave, Baheerah told Abu Taalib, the uncle of the Prophet to take the boy back to Mecca as soon as possible, in order to guard him against those who might try to harm him.

Here was a Christian monk who did not forge facts or hide them, but was honest enough to know and acknowledge the truth of what he had seen: that the last prophet had indeed been born but had not yet embarked on his mission.

Peace be upon those who acknowledge the truth from their Lord.