Abu Isa al-Isfahani

Abu Isa al-Isfahani was a Jewish pretender to the title of Messiah. The encyclopaedia's entry, signed by S. M. Stern, places him under the Umayyad 'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan, or according to others under Marwan II. The most noteworthy of his doctrines was his acknowledgment that Islam and Christianity were valid for non-Jews. ¹

He was killed in a battle against the Muslims. His sect, called the Isawiyya, survived into the tenth century. The article cites al-Biruni, Ibn Hazm, al-Shahrastani and al-Maqrizi, and H. Graetz's history of the Jews. ¹