Sufyani
Evil figure in Islamic eschatology / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Sufyani (Arabic: السفیاني) is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology, usually portrayed in hadith as a tyrant who will spread corruption and mischief. According to Shia Hadith, the Sufyani will rise in the month of Rajab.[1]
Reports about the Sufyani are available in both Sunni and Shia Hadith.[2][3] The Sufyani is a not to be confused with another villainous figure of end times, the Dajjal.[4] It is said that he:
- will kill children and rip out the bellies of women,
- murder those from the household of the Prophet,
- and will rule over Syria.
It is also said that when the Mahdi appears, Sufyani will send an army to seize and kill him, but, when Sufyani and his army would reach the desert of Bayda, they would be swallowed up.[5]
However some (mostly Sunni) sources claim Hadith describing the Sufyani as tyrannical figure of end times as unreliable,[6][7] based on a "garbled version" of a legend "fabricated by traditionists with Shia and pro- 'Abbasid sentiments".[8] Others reverse his role as an evil-doer, describing him as an ally not enemy of the Mahdi.[9]