BARSISA

in Islamic legend, an ascetic who succumbed to the devil's temptations and denied God. Barsisa, a saintly recluse, is given care of a sick woman by her three brothers, who are going on a journey. At the devil's suggestion Barsisa seduces the woman. When he discovers that she has conceived, Barsisa kills her and buries her body to hide evidence of his sin. The devil, however, reveals the murder to the woman's brothers. Barsisa, panic-stricken, again succumbs to the devil, renouncing God in return for safety, only to be mocked by Satan, in the words of the Qur'an (59:16), I am free of thee; I fear God, the Lord of the Worlds. The legend of the recluse, who is nameless and is described variously as a Jewish ascetic or a Christian monk, appeared first in at-Tabari's commentary on the Qur'an in the early 10th century. By 985 an author stated that the recluse was called Barsisa, an Aramaic name meaning he of priestly regalia. Elements of the story are traced back to Coptic folklore, and the legend survived in the Islamic world in several forms. By the end of the 18th century, it had made its way to England, where it became the subject of Matthew Gregory Lewis' novel The Monk.