Is the story of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with Bahira the monk authentic?
The story of Bahira the monk was reported with a chain of transmission in several books, and the narration is considered hasan gharib (good and uncommon). Although its narrators are trustworthy, its narration was solely by Abdur-Rahman ibn Ghazwan. Al-Dhahabi considered the hadith to be munkar jiddan (very repudiated) and parts of it batil (false), because it contained matters that did not occur or did not fit the historical context, such as the presence of Bilal before the prophethood, and the mention of the cloud along with the shade of the tree. Despite this, Al-Dhahabi did not definitively rule the story false in its entirety, as it is famous among biographers. The core of the Prophet's journey with his uncle and Bahira's warning can be relied upon, and other narrations in the Seerah can be used for corroboration.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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