Isma'il ibn Ayyash

إسماعيل بن عياش

Isma'il ibn Ayyash al-Ansi of Hims, the hadith-master of second-century Syria; in al-Baladhuri: Abd al-Malik ibn Salih wrote consulting him on the people of Cyprus, and he answered that they are 'a humbled, conquered folk whom the Byzantines master over their own lives and women — so it is our duty to defend and protect them' and to keep them on their covenant and dhimma, citing Habib ibn Maslama's own treaty-letter to Taqlis — that an enemy overpowering them while the Muslims are occupied does not break their treaty — and recalling that al-Walid ibn Yazid's exile of them to Syria was denounced by the Muslims and abhorred by the jurists, while Yazid ibn al-Walid's returning them was approved as justice.

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At a glance

Era: The Early Abbasid Caliphate
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Overview

Isma'il ibn Ayyash al-Ansi al-Himsi, a hadith scholar of the Levant in the second century AH. ¹

A ruling on Cyprus

Al-Baladhuri says that Abd al-Malik ibn Salih wrote to him asking for a legal opinion on the people of Cyprus. He replied that they were humbled and subdued, whom the Romans overpowered in their persons and their women; that it was incumbent on the Muslims to protect and defend them, and to maintain them in their covenant and protection. He cited the letter of Habib ibn Maslama to the people of Tiflis, and the fact that al-Walid ibn Yazid had exiled them to Syria, which the Muslims found repugnant and the jurists found grave, so Yazid ibn al-Walid returned them. ¹

See the consultation of jurists on Cyprus.

Connections

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Participated in: The Jurists' Consultation on Cyprus

People and things also explored

Dhimma (the covenant of protection)· Abd al-Malik ibn Salih· Abu Ishaq al-Fazari· al-Layth ibn Sa'd· Malik ibn Anas· Sufyan ibn Uyayna· The Jurists' Consultation on Cyprus

Sources

Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition) , p.213

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Isma'il ibn Ayyash”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/ismail-ibn-ayyash/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Dhimma (the covenant of protection)

Dhimma in al-Baladhuri is the written covenant of security granted to treaty peoples of the Book: its formula in the Prophet's letter to Najran runs 'they have God's protection and the protection of His messenger over their persons, religion, lands, wealth, absent and present', and its stipulated terms in the Najran peace include that they not be seduced from their religion or its ranks, nor levied nor tithed, and in the letter's text that no bishop be removed from his bishopric, no monk from his monasticism, no right of theirs or their images — crucifixes and icons — be altered, and no army tread their land, while whoever of them took usury the Prophet's protection was quit of him; the letter of the people of Maqna grants 'God's protection and His messenger's' with security and pardon for every blood; and the dhimma was renewed under the caliphs — Abu Bakr wrote to the people of Najran on the model of the Prophet's letter, and Uthman called them 'a people who have a dhimma' when he remitted two hundred of their hullas.