Muhammad, Prophet and Statesman
W. Montgomery Watt
Oxford University Press
Under the blazing sun of a summer day in Syria towards the year 600 a caravan of Arab merchants with loaded camels was moving slowly southwards. They had come from Mecca, some forty days’ march to the south, with Arabian frankincense, Indian spices and silks, and other luxury goods. They had sold or bartered these in the markets of Syria, presumably in Damascus ; and now, laden with other wares, they were setting out for home.
Near Bostra on the flank of the Jebel-ed-Druze they passed the cell of a Christian hermit, the monk Bahira. Most of the men in the caravan had frequently passed the cell, but the monk had paid no attention to them. This day, however, he invited them to a feast. They left the youngest member of the party to keep an eye on the camels and the loads, and went to be the monk’s guests. The monk was not content, however ... | 
