Barṣīṣā, a semi-historical Jewish ascetic about whom numerous legends and tales arose. He is described as one whose prayers and petitions were granted (mustajāb al-daʿwa), but then fell from grace. The cautionary tale about him is cited in com-mentaries on certain verses of the Qurʾān. In most Islamic sources his name appears alongside Balʿam Bāʿūr (q.v.) and Satan due to the similarity between their stories and their ill-fated outcomes. According to Muslim sources, Barṣīṣā was a pious Jewish ascetic who, having underg…