Abstract
ABSTRACT In the late-eighth century, the East-Syrian Patriarch Timothy I participated in a debate with the ‘Abbāsid Caliph al-Mahdī. During their discussion, Timothy responded to a question about how he understood the Prophet Muḥammad. His answer is now well known to scholars. ‘He walked in the path of the prophets and trod in the track of the lovers of God’. What, exactly, Timothy meant by this eloquent response is interpreted by scholars in a variety of ways. In this article, I examine these interpretations and introduce new evidence that gives us a better idea of what Timothy meant when he answered al-Mahdī's question. I argue that Timothy's response was more than a politically expedient reply; he drew upon a worldview formed by sacred literature, liturgy and piety in order to affirm Muḥammad as a prophet within a Christian framework.
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