Abdallah Ibn Maymun Al Qaddah

Abd Allah ibn Maymun, known as Maymun al-Qaddah, from Qawzah al-Abbas near Ahvaz, according to Ibn al-Nadim. ² The reports that follow come from two critical sources and need to be compared with other sources.

Ibn al-Nadim relates from Ibn Rizam that Maymun and his son were Daysanites, and that Maymun professed to follow Abu al-Khattab Muhammad ibn Abi Zaynab, who taught the divinity of Ali. Abd Allah would show sleight of hand, and claimed that the earth was folded up for him. He then moved to the camp of Mukarram, was raided and fled, and went to Basra, where he stayed with people of the sons of Aqil ibn Abi Talib; he was raided again and fled to Salamiyya near Homs, bought estates there, and sent missionaries to the countryside of Kufa. ²

Ibn al-Jawzi mentions a leader of them known as Ubayd Allah ibn Maymun, also called Ibn Daysan al-Qaddah al-Ahwazi, and says that most of his trickery was in showing asceticism and piety, and that the earth was folded for him. He used to send his trusted followers to the regions with birds, and ordered them to write to him with news of distant places, and then he related this to the people. ³

What is not covered here: the view of the Isma'ili sources about him, which is required for balance and needs a source.