The Legend of Sergius Baḥīrā: Eastern Christian Apologetics and Apocalyptic in Response to Islam

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 Baa, ArA, 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 Mua, ammad as the final Prophet by turning this monk into Muhammada (TM)s tutor and co-author of the Qura (TM)an. In response to Muslim triumphalist propaganda, it portrays Islama (TM)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.