The Enemies of Judeo-Sufism Were the Enemies of the Rambam and his family...

Today it is no surprise that there are some backwards members of various segments of the Jewish community who will - acting on their own ignorance of Judaism - accuse Judeo-Sufis of `avodah zarah, or otherwise being part of some bizarre Shabbtaist or Frankist agenda. Their general accusations are nothing new, as these were the same caliber of attacks leveled against the son and grandsons of the Rambam.

David ben Joshua (ca. 1335-1415), last known of the Maimonideans was similarly fascinated by Sufism and integrated it in the same manner as his predecessor. His Judeo-Sufi work Al-Murshid ila-l-Tafarrud (The Guide to Detachment), embodies the most all-encompassing synthesis of Rabbinical belief with Sufism.

Despite Abraham Maimonides’ political and religious prestige, the pietist movement, like many revivalist trends in religious history, met with virulent opinion. The pietists were accused of introdcing “false ideas,” “unlawful changes,” and “gentile (sufi) customs,” and they were even denounced to the Muslim authorities.2

By this time persecution against the movement had grown. The very same brand of opponent – “who attempt to refute those with real understanding” – who leveled accusations and proposed banning Moses ben Maimon, had now continued in opposition to his family legacy; working in collusion with “Islaamic” authorities of Egypt to have the Maimonides Synagogue closed. This persecution eventually culminated in the exile of David ben Avraham (1222-1300) from Egypt, and the gradual disappearance of this Judeo-Sufi pietist movement from Judaism.2 In spite of this, however, the intellectual legacy of the Maimonides family, and certainly of Maimonides himself, remains unscathed and unimaginably influential in the current era.


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1. Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach, Medieval Islamic Civilization: L-Z. pp 547

2. Ibid. pp. 547

Judeo-Sufi Rabbis and Recommended Reading

Rabbi Ya`qov Yosef, disciple of the Besht, quotes Rabbeinu Bahya on Muhammad the Chassid

The full eBook that this selection is from can be purchased here: http://www.hashlamah.org/ebooks.php

In an anecdote about a pious person, a chasid, one of the early masters of the Chasidic movement, in eighteenth-century Eastern Europe, Rabbi Ya`qov Yosef of Polonnoy writes in Hebrew of the chasid with the following saying:

It was told of a pious man (chasid) that he met some people returning from a great battle with an enemy. He said to them, ‘You are returning, praised be God, from a smaller battle, carrying your booty. Now prepare yourself for the greater battle.’ They asked, ‘What is that greater battle?’ and he answered, ‘The battle against the instinct and its armies.1

This “chasid” was none other than Muhammad himself, though it is highly unlikely that Rabbi Jacob of Polonnoy had any idea that he was in fact quoting a very famous hadith, popular amongst both Mutasawwuf and Islamic literates alike. There is no question, however, that Rabbeinu Bahya was aware of the identity of this chassid of whom he wrote.

In the same way, today readers of Hebrew and English-from-Hebrew translations of Bahya ibn Paqudah’s works might be just as surprised to know that this term for “battle” in this hadeeth was “jihad” and that this was the same Arabic term employed throughout Bahya’s works for both the external and great internal struggle (jihadu-l-akbar), the struggle against the self, or as Rabbi Ya`qov termed it, the “instinct” (“jahada-n-nafsa” in the original hadeeth). While there is absolutely no dispute that Bahya had much larger implications than mere “holy war” the Mutasawwufin would similarly claim that - as this source originates with Muhammad - that Muhammad neither meant by “jihad” physical struggle, but struggle against “the instinct and its armies.”

But if Muhammad was well acquainted with Jewish tradition, and if he saw himself as somehow implementing it, to an extent, amongst the Arabs, then the natural and problematic question is why would this not be clear amongst Islamic Orthodoxy today, or in the past. Todd Lawson, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto offers a poignant observation:

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons such material has been ignored in the context of this problem has to do with what we now know are unsuitable categories - especially in the case of Islam - of 'orthodoxy' and 'heterodxy' as methodological guides in religious studies. In the past, in many scholarly circles, it was felt that 'real (cf. orthodox) Islam', which was naturally the most populous Islam, is what we should be studying. Whatever the 'real Islam' might be, we now know that the majoritarian version of Islam, that is to say Sunni Islam, represents a consolidation of doctrines and positions that were worked out over time and in discussion, sometimes heated, sometimes not, with alternative views of what 'real Islam' was.2

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1. Diane Lobel, A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue, 2; ix
2. Todd Lawson, The Crucifxion and the Qur'an: A Study in the History of Muslim Thought, 6-7

The Qur'an asks: Why ask Muhammad when you have the Torah?

Once we strip away the centuries of explaining the clear words of the Qur'an away, we read that Muhammad told people NOT to come to him and ask about matters which the Torah had already instructed us on:

"And why do they come to you for a decision while they have the Torah, in which is the Decision of God; yet even after that, they turn away. For they are not Believers (Mu'minin/Ma'minim)." (5.43)

وَكَيْفَ يُحَكِّمُونَكَ وَعِنْدَهُمُ التَّوْرَاةُ فِيهَا حُكْمُ اللَّهِ ثُمَّ يَتَوَلَّوْنَ مِنْ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ ۚ وَمَا أُولَٰئِكَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Accepting the words of the Qur'an would revolutionize the Islamic world. Thus, the Torah tells us that "Everything that I command you, you shall keep and observe; do not add to it, and do not subtract from it." (Deuteronomy 13:1) Al-hamdulillah, Muhammad understood this and it is reflected in the Qur'an which accepts the Torah, does not abrogate it, nor the commandments therein for Jews, but does not mandate the 613 mitzvot upon those who have not embraced willing the Yoke of the Torah. This was the position on Muhammad of such individuals as Rabbi Natanyel ibn al-Fayyumi, leader of the Jewish community of Yemen and the `Issuniyyah Jews.

Sunni Hadith on Muhammad paying respect to the Sefer Torah and professing belief in it

Abu Dawud narrated in his collection that Ibn Umar said:

A group of Jewish people invited the messenger of Allah to a house. When he came, they asked him: O Abu Qasim, one of our men committed adultery with a woman, what is your judgment against him? So they placed a pillow and asked the messenger of Allah to set on it. Then the messenger of Allah proceeded to say: bring me the Torah. When they brought it, he removed the pillow from underneath him and placed the Torah on it and said: I believe in you and in the one who revealed you, then said: bring me one of you who have the most knowledge. So they brought him a young man who told him the story of the stoning. (Book 38.4434)

وقال أبو داود: حدثنا أحمد بن سعيدالهمداني، حدثنا ابن وهب، حدثنا هشام بن سعد أن زيد بن أسلم حدثه عن ابن عمر قال: أتى نفر من اليهود فدعوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى القف، فأتاهم في بيت المدارس، فقالوا: ياأبا القاسم، إن رجلاً منا زنى بامرأة فاحكم. قال: ووضعوا لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وسادة فجلس عليها، ثم قال «ائتوني بالتوراة، فأتي بها، فنزع الوسادة من تحته ووضع التوراة عليها، وقال «آمنت بك وبمن أنزلك» ثم قال «ائتوني بأعلمكم» فأتي بفتى شاب ثم ذكر قصة الرجم نحو حديث مالك عن نافع.

How is this hadith viewed in the Ummah? Naturally it is rejected, as it is dissimilar and theological embarrassment to the mainstream dogma. The issue is pinpointed with a transmitter Hishām ibn Sa’ad Al-Madanī. Hāfith Ibn Hajr says about him in his Taqrīb, that he was "Honest" though had "mistakes, and delved into Shi'ism." Thus, once again, we find that even those who we were not Shi`ah themselves found Jewish Muhammad traditions from amongst the school of the Ahl al-Bayt. While many of the most anti-Jewish polemicists in Islamicate scholarship seem to detest him, Abu Zura’ah said, "His status is honesty" and Al-`Ijlī said, "His hadīth are permitted, and are Hasan Al-Hadīth." (Entry 7294 of Tahrīr Taqrīb published by Mu’assasat al-Risālah 1997)

The Shi`i Imam al-Mahdi will pray in Hebrew

Reported to us Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Saeed al Uqdah who said: It was narrated to us from Ali ibn al-Hasan al-Taymali who narrated to us from al-Hasan and Muhammad the sons of Ali ibnu Yusuf, from Sa’daan ibn Muslim, from Rajaal, from al-Mufadhaal ibn Umar from Abu Abdullah (Ja`far al-Sadiq, the sixth Shi`i Imam) that:

“When the Imam Mahdi calls out, he will pray to God in Hebrew.” (al-Numayni, Kitab Al-Ghayba)

Palestinian Muslims are Talmūdically Gerei Tōshav

The Torah does NOT support the idea that only Jews can live in Eretz Yisrael and it COMMANDS many times that the ger tōshav be respected and protected therein. Avōdah Zarah 64b indicates that a one fulfilling the Noachid commandments, and thus a Muslim, should be considered a ger tōshav. Oppressing Palestinians in any way is a violation of the Torah and thus Judaism.

Avōdah Zarah 65a indicates that gerei tōshav need not be formalized before a Beyt Dīn, but can be informal; lest anyone try to suggest that their status as gerei tōshav needs to be formally professed before rabbis. In either event, we know that the tenants of the Qur'ān mandate the Noachid laws and thus, by professing Islām, they are professing to be gerei tōshav, and secondarily, 65a makes it clear that this is not even an issue. Simply by professing to follow the tenants of the Qur'ān, the Palestinian Muslim is Talmūdically granted the status of ger tōshav.

It is time for Israel to truly become a Jewish State and recognize the rights of the gerei tōshav.

A good starting place for Judeo-Sufi studies...

Rabbeinu Bachya ibn Paqudah's Duties of the Hearts. Known in Arabic as Al-Hidayah ila Fara'id al-Qulub. In the Hebrew translation from the Judeo-Arabic, it is known as Chovot ha'Levavot, a text studied in Orthodox Yeshivot still today.

http://www.amazon.com/Direction-Duties-Littman-Library-Civilization/dp/1904113230

The next book, Al-Bustan al-`Uqul (The Garden of Intellectual-Reasonings) is Rabbi Natanyel ibn al-Fayyumi. Like rabbeinu Bachya, he was a Neo-Platonist, influenced by the Ikhwan as-Safa and was also the head of the Jews of Yemen the generation before the Rambam. The Epistle to Yemen was to this man's son, one of several significant reasons arguing for its lack of total historicity...

http://www.amazon.com/Bustan-al-Ukul-Nathanael-ben-Fayyumi/dp/0543712834/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1284477209&sr=1-1-fkmr0

The son of the Rambam, Avraham ben Maimonides, authored the Kitaab Kifayat al-`Abideen, (Comprehensive Guide to the Servants), a book which famously praised the Sufis of Islaam and called for the readoption of their ancient Jewish practices by the Egyptian Jewish community which he led. This is actually a very bad translation and not even the whole book. This was translated from the HEBREW translation from the Judeo-Arabic, and as i said, it is not even the whole thing. But the Judeo-Arabic translation is very long out of print. i have a copy that my son is scanning in, but it's not ready yet (still a lot to scan).

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Serving-Torah-Classics-Library/dp/1583309810/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284477257&sr=1-1

`Ovadyah ben Avraham ben Maimonides wrote an excellent Judeo-Sufi Treatise on the Pool, in Judeo-Arabic: Al-Mawalah al-Hawdiyyah

http://www.amazon.com/Treatise-Pool-Al-Mawala-Al-Hawdiyya/dp/0900860871/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1284477473&sr=1-1-spell

Natan'el Ibn Al-Fayyumi, Leader of the Jews of Yemen (ca. 1090-1165)

"Nothing prevents God from sending into His world whomsoever He wishes, since the world of holiness sends forth emanations unceasingly... Even before the revelation of the Law he sent prophets to the nations... and again after its revelation nothing prevented Him from sending to them whom He wishes so that the world might not remain without religion... Muhammad was a prophet to them but not to those who preceded them in the knowledge of God. He permitted to every people something He forbade to others. He sends a prophet to every people (Qur'aan 14.4) according to their language."

Ibn al-Fayyumi, the Bustan al-Ukul (ed. and trans. D. Levine; New York: Columbia University Press, 1908; repr. 1966), pp. 2 and el-Uqul: Gan ha'Sekhalim (Jerusalem: Halikhot Am Israel, AM 5744/1984)

Rabbeinu Aḅraham ben Rambam on the Jewish Origins of Sufi Practice

You are aware of the ways of the ancient saints of Israel, which are not of but little practise among our contemporaries, that have now become the practice of the Ṣūfīs of Islām, on account of the iniquities of Israel...

Aḅraham ben Maimonides, Kifāyat al-`Abidīn, Volume II, translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, (Baltimore, 1938), 266

Do not regard as unseemly our comparison of that to the behaviour of the Ṣūfīs, for the latter imitate the prophets and walk in their footsteps, not the prophets in theirs...

Ibid, 320

Observer then these wondrous traditions and sigh with regret over how they have been transferred from us and appeared amongst a nation other than ours whereas they have disappeared in our midst. My soul shall weep... because of the pride of Israel that was taken from them and bestowed upon the nations of the world...

Ibid, 322

The Qur'ān DOES NOT ABROGATE the Torah

"Oh People of the Book! You have no guidance [in life] until you maintain the observance of the Torah and the Gospel and that which has been revealed to you from your Lord; and certainly that which has been revealed to you [O Muhammad] from your Lord will make many of them [who do not observe the Torah or the Gospel's commandment to continue observing the Torah until Heaven and Earth pass away] to increase in rebellion and disbelief [in their aforementioned Scriptures]." - Qur'ān 5.68

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ حَتَّىٰ تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ ۗ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا ۖ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ

Poetry from Baḥya

And if you do not grant me grace and forgive my transgression,
to whom shall I lift my eye?
If a master does not have compassion upon his servant and
forgive his guilt
To whom can he cry other than his master?...
Whither shall I go away from your spirit, and whither shall I flee?
If I go up to heaven, there you are; if I go down to Sheol, there
you are.
Therefore, from you to you I shall turn (mimkha elekha asurah)
From before you to you I shall flee (minegdekha `alekha evraḥah)
From your judgment to your mercy I run
From your quality of judgment to your quality of mercy I shall take refuge.

- Baḥya ibn Paqudah

Rabbi `Oḅadyah Maimūnī on the Inner-Shayṭān

Know, o brother, how vigilant a man would be, if he were to know that he has an enemy who, not content with destroying and suppressing him, is resolved to seize his wife, raper her in his presence and kill his children. He would be ever-vigilant, even while eating and drinking, sleeping or waking, to ward off his enemy.

As for the course to be followed, you must install the intellect in the center "upon the throne of his kingdom (Duet. 17.18). Then appoint the soul as his minister, the principal organs as close commanders and the secondary organs as servants in waiting, having each member carry out that which you deem appropriate. In this way, you will condemn your enemy and bind him "in fetters" and you will 'give judgment against him". (Jer 39.7, 5)

Therefore be sure to learn all the artifices with which he defense himself. "Neither shall your eye pity him", (Duet.12.9) for to be merciful towards evildoers is (to show them) inclemency, as the Sage has said, "For the mercy of the evil is cruel", (Prov. 12.10),

Chapter 13

At prayer time, purify your niyyah (intention) and be thoroughly mindful of what you say. Beware not to harbor thoughts of anything else but the object of your devotion, lest the serpent's venom penetrate you at the moment of inattention and render your du`a (supplication) unacceptable and to no avail.

Consequently, as a preliminary to prayer, it is fitting to prepare oneself through the wuḍū (ablution) of one's hands and fee, restoring and arousing thereby the soul. Furthermore, always recite a preliminary Psalm so that you kavvanah (singular concentration) be engaged and avoid praying in ruined places lest you entertain foreign thoughts. ... pay no attention to people who content themselves at prayer time with concentrating on the first verse of the Shema' and the first paragraph [of the `Amīdah], for the Truth shall show the Path.

Chapter 14

The Rambam on his son, Rabbeinu Aḅraham

Aḅraham ben Maimonides was a Judeo-Ṣūfī, author of Kifāyat al-`Abidīn, the head of the Egyptian Jewish community, who readopted the ancient Jewish practice of Salāh and instituted it for Egyptian Jewry. The Rambam said the following of his son, lest any imagine the controversial views and practices of Aḅraham were disavowed by his father:

When I consider the current state of the world, only two things console me: my involvement with wisdom, and the fact that my son Aḅraham has been blessed by God with the grace and the fits of the one whose name he bears [Aḅraham Aḅeinu] trusted, sustain, preserve, and lengthen my son's life and years. He is humble and unassuming when among others, in addition to all his other fine qualities. His mind grasps even the subtlest concepts, and he has a fine disposition. Without a doubt, he will be prominent among the great men of the generation, with God's help. I entreat God to watch over him and maintain His kindnesses to him. - Igros Ha'Rambam [Sheilat], vol. 1. p 424

Rabbi `Oḅadyah Maimūnī on Reason, Purity and the Mitzvōt

Were an individual to remain steadfast and persevere continuously until he achieved this state, then the phenomena that were previously concealed from him and others, would be revealed to him. Reason’s will shall strengthen and reveal that which is inscribed on the Tablet (al-lawḥ) Divine visions will be manifested to him without his knowing whence they came. He will walk by the light of his intellect, directed by its guidance. So take heed of your soul and safeguard its form, for the former has no lasting beatitude unless accompanied by Reason... [Like Moses taught the tribes] imparting to each individual in accordance with his capacity of understanding; this is similar to the manner in which reason itself proceeds [with us]. Chapter 6

Know that prolonged consumption of harmful foodstuffs causes acute ailments... Likewise a man who neglects his soul, abandoning it to its illness through his indulgence in worldly affairs, spending night and day buying and selling and so forth, will have nothing but fearful and alarming dreams upon retiring to sleep... It is for this reason that our pure and purifying Law has cautioned us concerning all external and internal defilement. The former, such as menstruation and nocturnal emission, are to be cleansed through immersion in a miqvah. Thus, Aaron and his descendants were enjoined “to wash their hands and feet, that they do not perish” (Ex. 30.21) this being the reason for the act of purification. For through the conviction man’s soul acquires after immersion that all veils, as it were, have been lifted, there ensues a state similar to spiritual predisposition (tahayyu’) and communion (ittiṣāl) with God. If not in need of immersion, then one must carry out the ablution of the hands and feet in order that the natural heat circulates in the body and arouse thereby the soul... “Say not v’neṭme’tem and (you shall become defiled) but v’niṭamṭem (and you shall become feeble-minded). (Yōmā’ 39a) Chapter 7.49-51, 53

In a similar spirit, other prohibitions have been instituted by the religious law in order to restrain man’s lust and keep him from resembling the beast. Among these rank the class of forbidden unions and those not legitimately contracted... Also belong to this group the precept of circumcision which is carried out on the physical organ through which marriage is consummated. As for the commandments concerning the wearing of tzītzīt and tefilīn and the fixing of an inscription to the mezūzah, they were instituted in order to remind the soul at the moments of inadvertence of its purpose and it is said concerning the tzītzīt, “That you may look upon it and remember all the mitzvōt of YHVH’. (Num. 15.39)... Hence it behooves the wise man not to ascend to a state which is too elevated for him but to be aware of the extent of his soul’s (capacity) and advance gradually, as is the wont of nature, which assimilates things progressively... be heedful of your soul, so that when you far upon the Path, you will be free of fear, “For the ground upon which you stand is holy” (Ex. 3.5) Mark these my words.” Chapter 5

More Ḥaqq from Rabbi `Oḅadyah Maimūnī

Let not your intent (himma) falter upon seeing the difficulty and remoteness of the task. Say not that you are the prisoner of lust, anger, hunger, thirst, heat, cold, fear or disease, thus weakening your resolve to search. Instead fortify your determination, toiling in your effort, for whosoever persevere in this pursuit is a true man (al-insān `ala l-ḥaqīqah), concerning whom David has said ‘Happy is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways.” (Ps. 84.6), “Happy is the people whose God is YHVH.” (Ps. 144.15) It is proper that this verse is in the singular for this pursuit is the exclusive concern of the individual. But he who remains remiss (therein) is regarded as a dead man, (Ned. 64b)… (Chapter 2.19-20)

There exists no pre-determination (jabr) and therefore man should close his thoughts to all and awaken his intellect, devoting himself to it since it is the bond (wuṣla) between him and his Creator. Were he continually to think of It, he would not fail to find It, as the prophet has said, Seek YHVH while It is to be found… (Is. 55.6) Were an individual to remain steadfast and persevere continuously until he achieved this state, then the phenomena that were previously concealed from him and others, would be revealed to him. Reason’s will shall strengthen and reveal that which is inscribed on the Table (al-Lawḥ)… [the soul] has no lasting beatitude unless accompanied by Reason. (Chapter 6.37-41)

Reason is the bond (wuṣla) between the Creator and Its creatures… Consider how milk flows from the breast of the nursing mother whenever she thinks of her suckling; even though the latter be not with her, her compassion is moved ‘as a father has mercy upon his children’. (Ps 103.13) In a similar manner upon encountering a mutual affinity (munāsaba) with a certain individual, Reason will abide with the latter and never forsake him, “I will be with him in adversity (Ps. 91.15) “Fear not for I am with you (Is. 43.5) “when you pass through the waters I will be with you” (ibid.2) Be then attentive of this noble discipline and engage therein all your time… (Chapter 1.9-14)

The Exilarch and the Scepter of Judah

They are know as the ten Batlaaneem (men of leisurely devotion to the community), for they occupy themselves with nothing other than the needs of the community... Over all of them is Daniel b. Chasday, who is called the "Exilarch of All Israel." ...The Jews address him as Our Lord the Exilarch and the Muslims address him as Sayyidnaa Ibn Daa'ud. He has been invested with supreme authority over the congregation of Israel by the Ameer al-Mu'mineen, the lord of the Muslims. For thus Muhammad commanded concerning the Exilarch and his descendants, and he issued him a seal of authority over all the sacred congregations living under his rule. Likewise, he ordered that every individual, be he Muslim or Jew, or member of any other people within his kingdom, should rise up before him and salute him, and that whoever does not rise up before him should receive one hundred lashes.

Every Thursday, when he goes to behold the face of the great Caliph, he is accompanied by Gentile and Jewish horsemen, and heralds cry out before him: "Make way for our Lord, the scion of David, as is due him!" In their language they say: "I'maloo tareeq li-Sayyidnaa Ibn Daa'ood." He rides on horseback wearing garments of embroidered silk with a large turban on his head. Over the turban is a large white shawl upon which is a chain. And on it is the seal of Muhammad. When he comes before the Caliph, he kisses his hand. Then the Caliph rises before him, seats him upon a throne which Muhammad had ordered to be made in his honor. And all of the Muslim princes who have come to behold the face of the Caliph rise altogether before him. The Exilarch then sits upon his throne facing the Caliph, for thus did Muhammad command in order to fulfill the scriptural verse:

The scepter shall not pass from Judah,
Nor the rule's staff from between his feet;
Until he come to Shiloh,
and the homage of peoples be him. (Gen. 49.10)

Benjamin of Tudela's Description of Baghadadi Jewry (Second Half of the Twelfth Century), cited in Norman Stillman's The Jews of Arab Lands, (JPS, 1979) pp. 253

Rabbeinu Baḥya on al-`Aql (Reason)

“Make reason your `amīr, understanding your vizier (wazīr), science (`ilm) your guide (hādī), and (zuhud) your friend (walī).” Baḥya ben Yuṣūf ibn Paquda

Taqlīd

"As for he who accepts taqlīd, it is as if he were never born. 'An untimely birth is better than he.' (Qohelet/Ecc. 6.3)" `Oḅadyah Maimūnī

Professing Shahādah yet not belonging "to the Community of Islām"

"[The Īṣunīyīm Jews] profess the full Shahādah, hold that Islām is a true religion, perform some of the Five Pillars, and yet are not considered to belong to the Community of Islām." - Al-Baghdadī, Usūlu-l-Dīn (Istanbul, 1928) 325-6; Al-Farq bain al-Firqa (Beirut, 1973) 9

John Bar Penkaye on Muhammad the Jew

"[In the Muhammadī Era] there was no distinction between pagan and Christian, and the [Muhammadī] Believer was not differentiated from a Jew." - Mesopotamian Christian monk John Bar Penkaye (151/179, ca. late 7th century)

`Oḅadyah Maimonides: "All is revealed to him"

"Rabbi `Oḅadyah, the eminent Sage to whom mysteries are revealed, in whom 'light, understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the angles are to be found' (Dan. 5.11), 'no secret mystifies him, he lies down and all is revealed to him.'" (Dan 6.6) - From a Genīzah document, on the Judeo-Sufi rabbi `Oḅadyah Maimūnī (Grandson of the Rambam)