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Rebel of al-Mansur's era
Abu Isa
(also known as
Ovadiah
,
Ishaq ibn Ya'qub al-Isfahani
,
Isaac ben Jacob al-Isfahani
) was a self-proclaimed
Jewish prophet
sometime in the 8th century CE in
Persia
and the leader of a short-lived revolt. Proclaimed by some of his followers to be the
Messiah
, Abu Isa himself never made such claims or inferences. He seems to have allied himself with
Sunbadh
after the assassination of
Abu Muslim
in 755 CE. His forces fought Caliph
al-Mansur
's army at
Rayy
only to be defeated. Abu Isa fell in this battle.
Dating issues
[
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]
The dating of Abu Isa's career has been disputed since the Middle Ages. The two main sources for information of him are
Qirqisani
, a Jewish
Karaite
historian; and
Shahrastani
, who wrote an extensive guide to Jewish sects over the ages. Qirqisani places the events in the reign of the
Umayyad
Caliph
Abd al-Malik
(685 - 705 CE) while Shahrastani says it began under the reign of
Marwan II
(744 - 750) on through to
Al-Mansur
(d. 775). Qirqisani's dates place Abu Isa's uprising during Umayyad clashes with the
Byzantines
which would coincide with Messianic stories of the battle between
Gog and Magog
and place it early enough to influence
Karaism
; Shahrastani's would put the revolt at the end of the Umayyad Dynasty and thus at a pivotal point of upheaval in the
Muslim world
.
[1]
[2]
Both are plausible and there is no direct Isawite documentation.
The Turkish scholar Halil Ibrahim Bulut in 2004 has shown that Shahrastani's 'Abbasid date is more likely.
[3]
Beliefs
[
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]
Abu Isa believed that he was the last of five heralds from God announcing the imminent arrival of the
messiah
. Never did he claim to be the Messiah himself, but some of his followers felt that he would return after his death and bring the
End Times
. He made some minor alterations to the general set of
Rabbinic laws
and his followers became
ascetic
in their manners. The most radical of the Isawite beliefs was the acceptance of both
Jesus
and
Muhammad
as true prophets, but only to their own peoples.
- Other alterations included:
- Banning of the consumption of
wine
and
meat
at certain times;
- Sunnah
prayers
to 7 or 10 depending on the source
[4]
(in addition to the standard 3);
- Forbidding
divorce
, except in cases of adultery, in accordance with the opinion of the House of
Shammai
.
- Belief that Alnabi
[
clarification needed
]
is a collection of
Hakhams
;
[5]
The ban on meat is actually a
Talmudic
reference to not eating meat in exile, while the additional prayers are usually explained by noting
Psalm
119:164.
Miracles
[
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]
Two major
miracles
are attributed to Abu Isa.
[
citation needed
]
The first stems from his writings, as he was known to his followers as nothing but an illiterate tailor before he was touched with prophecy. He is said to have thus produced the works that outline the beliefs above and herald the coming of the
Messianic age
. The other is during the revolt itself when he defended his followers from the Caliphate's forces behind a line drawn on the ground with a
myrtle
branch, at which point he rode out and singlehandedly defeated the first assault by the Muslims.
[
citation needed
]
Possible connection to Shi'ism
[
edit
]
The arrival of Abu Isa comes at an interesting point in the history of the Jews and the Muslims. Regardless of the which dates are true, each could be seen as during the rise of the radical
Shi'a
movements in Islam.
[
citation needed
]
With the center of these movements being Iraq and later Persia, it should come as no surprise that the other
ahl al-kitab
or "People of the Book" might be influenced. Some Jews actually saw the coming of the Arabs as the
apocalypse
that would usher in the new age, but there are distinctive influences that can be noted in this movement from Shi'ism. The idea of the illiterate prophet is equated with the story of Muhammad and his receiving of the
Qur'an
while the idea of a chain of prophets is notably similar to the Imams and the foreseen coming of the
Mahdi
. Scholars disagree to what degree Shi'ism affected Abu Isa or whether Shi'ism was at the same time developing and incorporating Jewish elements
[1]
[2]
However, issues with this include that Shi'a reject the belief Muhammad was unlettered, Imams
are infallible
, that Shi'ism did not expect the immediate return of al-Mahdi, and that
Iraq
and
Iran
were not primarily Shi'a until a few centuries ago.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Israel Friedlaender Shiitic Elements in Jewish Sectarianism
Jewish Quarterly Review
Oct 1910
- ^
a
b
Steven Wasserstrom
Between Muslim and Jew
Princeton University Press 1995
- ^
Halil Ibrahim Bulut, "ISEVIYYE (Islam Dunyasinda Ortaya Cikan Ilk Yahudi Mezhebi)", Ekev Academic Review, 8.18 (Jan. 2004) 297-318
- ^
Israel Friedlaender Shiitic Elements in Jewish Sectarianism
Jewish Quarterly Review
Oct 1912
- ^
Bulut, 301-2
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Erder, Yoram (2009).
"Ab? ??s? al-I?fah?n?"
. In Fleet, Kate;
Kramer, Gudrun
; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John;
Rowson, Everett
(eds.).
Encyclopaedia of Islam
(3rd ed.). Brill Online.
ISSN
1873-9830
.
- Erder, Yoram (2010).
"Ab? ?Is? of Isfahan"
. In Stillman, Norman A. (ed.).
Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World
. Brill Online.
- Lassner, J. (1983).
"AB? ??S? E?FAH?N?"
.
Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 3
. pp. 324?325.
- Salim, Abdol-Amir; Lahouti, Hassan (2008).
"Ab? ??s? al-I?fah?n?"
. In
Madelung, Wilferd
;
Daftary, Farhad
(eds.).
Encyclopaedia Islamica Online
. Brill Online.
ISSN
1875-9831
.