576 Mohammad's Journey to Syria. [No. 7. 



Mohammad's Journey to Syria and Professor Fleischer's opinion 

 thereon. — By Dr. A. Sprenger. 



It has been stated by me in the Zeitschr. d. deutsch, MorgenL 

 Gesellsch, Vol. III. p. 454, and in my Life of Mohammad, p. 79, 

 that BaAyra, whom ancient Christian writers call Sergius, accom- 

 panied Mohammad from Bostra to Makkah on his return from a 

 journey which he made, when twelve years of age, with his uncle 

 Abu 7'alib. Professor Wiistenfeld in Vol. IV. p. 188 of the same 

 journal denies the correctness of this statement. Professor Fleischer, 

 who in a subsequent number, Vol. VI. p, 458, acts as arbitrator be- 

 tween us, allows that Wiistenfeld partly misunderstood the text to 

 which I referred as authority, but, as it behoves an arbitrator, he puts me 

 in the wrong as well, and decides that Ba^yra did not go to Makkah. 

 As the subject is of interest, I insert here the original records with 

 literal translations. But in order to render it easier for the reader to 

 understand the question, I may mention that it hinges on this. We 

 are told that BaAyra warned Ami Talib, the uncle and guardian of 

 Mohammad, against the dangers which awaited his nephew in Syria, and 

 upon this Abu Talib caused Mohammad to " return to Makkah with 

 him," &Z* jj^l <x*/o &<>j The dispute is whether the pronoun " with 

 him" refers to BaAyra or to Abu Talib, or in other words did Abu 

 Talib take his nephew himself back to Makkah, or did he send him 

 back in charge of BaAyra? Professor Fleischer is of the former, I 

 am of the latter opinion. It will be seen from the perusal of the 

 original records that the question may be simplified by dividing it, viz. 

 Has Abu 2alib himself taken Mohammad back to Makkah? or has he 

 proceeded on his journey and attended to his mercantile affairs and sent 

 him back ? and if the latter, in whose charge has he sent him ? 



I. Tirmidzy in his Sonan edit. Dilly, A. H. 1266, p. 601, has the 

 following tradition. 



