Abba Yahiyya

Who is Abba Yahiyya?

Abba Yahiyya or Abu Yahiyya, was the leader of a sect of Afghani Alenzar who followed an independent Ishmaili Sufi Herat tradition, introduced to the west by Omar Michael Burke in his 1976 book Among the Dervishes. The tradition that Isa ibn Maryam lived in India is followed by around one thousand Nizariun devotees of Maryam's son Isa, who live in several scattered villages in northwestern Afghanistan, centered around Herat. This was first discovered by Burke, who personally interviewed their spiritual leader, Abba Yahiyya, while researching Ishmaili Sufism in the area. Alenzariun devotees also lived in South India and Kenya and were an inspiration for the Ansar nation of Islam movement, which placed the Messiah above Muhammed.