The Enigmatic Rise and Fall of Abu Isa: A False Messiah's Tale

Yitzhak ben Yaakov Ovadia Abu Isa was a humble Jewish tailor from Isfahan in southern Persia. Living in the 8th century CE, about 1,200 years ago, Yitzhak wasn’t educated and couldn’t read or write.

Abu Isa suffered from leprosy, but one morning he awoke to find the disease had vanished. This miraculous turn of events filled him with spiritual elation, and he began sharing visions seen in dreams and waking moments. He predicted the imminent arrival of the messiah and spoke of signs that would precede his coming: five emissaries would announce the arrival, with the last being the messiah himself. Eventually, he proclaimed himself the fifth emissary.

Naive followers flocked around him, adopting bizarre and stringent decrees. He banned divorce, prohibited the consumption of meat and wine, and interpreted the verse "Seven times a day I praise you" to mean that one must pray seven times daily. He also asserted that both the New Testament and the Quran were sacred texts warranting study.

As his follower base swelled, Abu Isa formed an army and rebelled against Persian domination. When a Persian military unit was dispatched to quell his uprising, Abu Isa drew a large circle in the sand surrounding his camp, swearing to his followers that none inside would be harmed. The Persians, fearing sorcery, dared not enter the circle. This purported "miracle" only grew his legend, and his followers multiplied.

However, his delusions persisted, hindering his rational decision-making. He led his followers into battle once more against a formidable Persian force, relying on visions and false promises. He quickly fell in battle, but his devotees refused to believe in his demise, insisting he was merely in hiding, preparing for a triumphant return.

For two hundred years, Abu Isa’s sect persisted. They believed their leader wandered the desert, teaching travelers his beliefs, akin to Abraham. Authorities, uneasy with the "Isawites," imposed edicts on the broader Jewish community because of them. Maimonides, in his "Letter to Yemen," recounts: “You must know that in the early days of Ishmael’s reign, a man from beyond the river claimed to be the messiah, leading ten thousand Israelites astray. He had been a leper, but awoke healed, his plans unfulfilled, leaving Israel beleaguered under Isfahan’s oppressive rule.”

Maimonides wrote this to guide the Jews of Yemen, advising skepticism toward self-proclaimed messiahs, especially those altering Jewish law and Torah. Such false messiahs only bring distress, with Abu Isa serving as an early exemplar. Subsequent false prophets, too, led to suffering and severe decrees upon Israel.

Indeed, as Abu Isa's followers searched in vain for their vanished leader, another false messiah, named Sharya from Syria, arose. He also claimed messianic status, gathered many foolish followers, promising to lead them in redeeming Eretz Yisrael and rebuilding the Temple. Many Jews from diverse lands followed him until the Spanish Caliph Yazid summoned him, questioning his audacity to revolt against mighty empires. Sharya, sensing imminent danger, dismissed his actions as mere jokes, leading Yazid to release him. Sharya continued his antics, but unlike Abu Isa, he was a radical liberal, invalidating many Talmudic commandments.

The Jews of Tadmor asked Rabbeinu Natronai Gaon whether it was permissible to accept Sharya’s followers or marry into them. Rabbeinu Natronai replied they were indeed Jews who should not be spurned, but welcomed—provided they repented and pledged to live as their fellow Jews.