Sufyani - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The
Sufyani (Arabic: السفياني), i an apocryphal character of
Islamic eschatology. The Sufyani will emerge before the Mahdi from the depths of
Damascus.
The term "Sufyani" is a term referring to his descent from the progeny of
Abu Sufyan. He will be one of many
Muslim tyrants that the Mahdi will have to face in the
Middle East. The Sufyani is not the
Dajjal. The
Ahadith regarding the Sufyani specify that he is a tyrant who will spread corruption and mischief on the earth before the Mahdi. He will be such a tyrant that he will kill the children and rip out the bellies of women. The Sufyani will murder those from the household of the Prophet and will rule over
Syria. When he hears about the Mahdi, he will send an army to seize and kill him. However the earth will swallow this army before it even reaches the Mahdi.
Abu Hurayrah has narrated that the Prophet said:
A man will emerge from the depths of Damascus. He will be called Sufyani. Most of those who follow him will be from the tribe of Kalb. He will kill by ripping the stomachs of women and even kill the children. A man from my family will appear in the Haram, the news of his advent will reach the Sufyani and he will send to him one of his armies. He (referring to the Mahdi) will defeat them. They will then travel with whoever remains until they come to a desert and they will be swallowed. None will be saved except the one who had informed the others about them. (Mustadrak Al-Hakim)
The Sufyani will be followed, for the most part, by the tribe of
Banu Kalb, and will have fought with anyone daring to oppose him. Injustice will rule the day and his disregard for life will reach the point where defenseless women will be ripped open and innocent children slain unmercifully. The tribe of Qays will rise up against him, however, they will not succeed, and he will slaughter all of them.
The Sufyani's army will go to
Kufa; a city in
Iraq, and from there he will launch an attack against the people of
Khurasan. At the Gate of
Istakhr, Shuayb bin Salih and the Hashimite under the
black banners, will join forces and engage the army of the Sufyani. The battle will be extremely fierce with a tremendous loss of life and the army of the Sufyani will suffer a temporary defeat. It is at this time that a yearning for the Mahdi's appearance is on the lips of everyone.
The army of the Sufyani will march from the direction of Iraq to seize the Mahdi, however, when they reach the desert near Dhi Hulayfah the ground will swallow them up. However, two will escape to convey the news but even when he learns of the occurrence he will not be deterred. There will be some people from the
Quraysh who manage to escape from him to
Constantinople, which will be at that time under the control of the Non-Muslims. When the Sufyani asks for their return they will be returned whereupon not only the escapees' throats will be slit but those like them.
Khalid bin Ma'dan said:
The Sufyani will emerge with three staffs in his hand. Anyone whom he strikes with them will die. (Nu'aym bin Hammad)
The Sufyani is a man whose trial involves his person, his power, his speed and his fighting. One of his wonders consists of his staffs, which kill anyone he strikes with them. The hadith about the Sufyani confirms that he is a tyrant who will spread corruption and crime in the Earth immediately before the appearance of the Mahdi.
Details of the Sufyani
Name and Title
According to
Imam Qurtubi, his name will be 'Urwa bin Muhammad and his
talha is 'Abu Utbah' and is given the title "Sufyani" due to his descent from Abu Sufyan.
Physical characteristics
He will be a man with a large head, a pockmarked face, and white spots in his eyes.
Family Lineage
The Sufyani will be from the progeny of
Yazid bin Mu'awiya. His mother will be from the tribe of Kalb, but he is from the progeny of Khalid bin Yazid bin Abu Sufyan.
Character
Outwardly he will appear to be pious, but in reality he will be an apostate.
Prior to his emergence
Before the rise of the Sufyani, there will be a sedition in the
Maghreb, the sedition will spread in every direction that no party or group could protect itself from it.
Disorder, strife, and fear will emerge in the Magrib (west)... Strife will proliferate. (Ash-Sharani, Mukhtasar Tazkirah al-Qurtubi, p. 440)
A kind of corruption will surface from which no party will be able to protect itself, and spread immediately in every direction. This situation will persist until one comes and says: “O people, from now on your leader is Imam Mahdi(as).” (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 23)
Later the sedition which started in the west will arrive to Al-Sham,
Syria, thus two banners will fight for control over the Syrian region; they will fight until their armies are exhausted. Following these events the Sufyani will start an uprising in the dry valley of
Transjordan and moves to seize Damascus, he will gain much support and he will advance to capture the rest of Syria, defeating the two other competing forces.
Once he captures the 5 districts of Al-Sham, he will send armies to Iraq..
As-Sufyani ?????
