The Bahira legend

This is a legend in which some Christians claim that the monk Bahira taught Muhammad the creed and that he was the one who composed the Qur'an. Shakib Arslan presents what the orientalist Carra de Vaux said about it: that it survives in writing in Arabic, and that he found nothing in it that deserved consideration. He notes that some priests in Syria still believe it, and says that Carra de Vaux recorded what was said about Bahira, that he was a monk from Antioch. Arslan is content to convey Carra de Vaux's assessment without judging it himself. This presents a description of an old debate; it is not a historical verdict on the legend. ¹

What is not recorded here needs a further source.