Overview

From the eighth century onwards, Christians living under Islam have produced numerous apologetic and polemical works, aimed at proving the continuing validity of Christianity. Among these is the Legend of Sergius Baḥīrā, which survives in two Syriac and two Arabic versions, and appears here in edition and translation. Being a counterhistory of Islam, it reshapes early Muslim traditions about a monk recognizing Muḥammad as the final Prophet by turning this monk into Muhammad’s tutor and co-author of the Qur’an. In response to Muslim triumphalist propaganda, it portrays Islam’s political power as predestined but finite and unrelated to its religious message. This feature sets the legend apart from similar Christian accounts of the origin of Islam, East and West, which are reviewed in this study as well.

Full Product Details

Author:   Barbara Roggema
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   9
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 4.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   1.108kg
ISBN:  

9789004167308

ISBN 10:   9004167307
Pages:   592
Publication Date:   23 December 2008
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock  
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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION PART I: THE LEGEND OF SERGIUS BAHIRA IN LIGHT OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS VIS-A-VIS ISLAM Chapter One: Muslim-Christian Confrontation and Counterhistory Chapter Two: The Islamic Bahira Chapter Three: The Apocalypse of Bahira Chapter Four: Bahira's Teachings Breaking Crosses God's Word and His Spirit- Bahira's Christology Protection and recognition - Bahira and Q 5:82 The Physics of Heaven Chapter Five: The Qur'an against Islam Chapter Six: The legend outside the Legend Bahira the Source Bahira the Heretic Bahira the False Witness Bahira the Victim Jewish Traditions about Bahira Bahira the Forecaster Chapter Seven: Concluding Discussion PART II: TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS Chapter Eight: The Recensions and the Manuscript Tradition Some Characteristics of the Recensions Textual Genealogy Manuscripts Conspectus Siglorum Methodological Considerations Chapter Nine: The East-Syrian Recension Chapter Ten: The West-Syrian Recension Chapter Eleven: The Short Arabic Recension Chapter Twelve: The Long Arabic Recension BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF SCRIPTURAL VERSES GENERAL INDEX

Reviews

[...] the value of the publication lies in the thoroughness of Roggema's edition of the Legend of Bahira, which is the outcome of an outstanding scholarly effort. Alexandros Tsakos in JOAS 20 (2011), 301-302.

[...] the value of the publication lies in the thoroughness of Roggema's edition of the Legend of Ba ira, which is the outcome of an outstanding scholarly effort. Alexandros Tsakos in JOAS 20 (2011), 301-302.

Author Information

Barbara Roggema (Ph. D 2007, University of Groningen) has taught Arabic, Islam and Middle Eastern History in the Netherlands and Italy and is currenty research fellow at the Department of Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham, UK.

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