The monk Bahira at Busra

When the Prophet was twelve, his uncle Abu Talib took him on a trading journey to al-Sham until they reached Busra. There the monk Bahira came out to them, recognised the boy by his attributes and by the seal of prophethood, and asked his uncle to send him back for fear of the Jews. So he sent him with some of his servants to Mecca ^{1 2 3 4}.

The author says this was when the Prophet ﷺ was twelve years old. It is also said to have been twelve years, two months and ten days, as Ibn al-Jawzi said ^{1 5}. The caravan reached Busra, which is counted among the towns of al-Sham and is the capital of Hawran. At that time it was the capital of the Arab lands that were under Roman rule ¹.

In Busra there was a monk known as Bahira, whose name was Jirjis. When the caravan arrived, he came out to them and hosted them generously, though he had not come out to them before. He recognised the boy by his description ^{2 3}. He took the boy's hand and said that he was the master of the worlds, whom God would send as a mercy to the worlds. Abu Talib asked him how he knew this. He mentioned the stones and trees prostrating when they came into view from the pass of al-Aqaba, the seal of prophethood at the bottom of the boy's shoulder blade, the size of an apple, and what they find in their books ^{2 3}.

The monk asked Abu Talib to send the boy back and not bring him to al-Sham, for fear for him from the Jews. So his uncle sent him with some of his servants to Mecca ^{2 4}.

• The author points out the error in what al-Tirmidhi and others report, that he sent Bilal with him, referring to Zad al-Ma'ad ^{2 6}.
• The year given on this card is derived from his age and from the Year of the Elephant.