Sufyani

The Sufyani (Arabic: السفیاني) is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is usually portrayed in hadiths as a tyrant who will spread corruption and mischief. According to Shia Hadith, the Sufyani will rise in the month of Rajab.

Reports about the Sufyani are found also found in Sunni Hadith. The Sufyani is not to be confused with another figure of the end times, the Dajjal. 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, the Sufyani will send an army to seize and kill him, but, when the Sufyani and his army reach the desert of Bayda, they would be swallowed up.

However, some mostly Sunni sources claim Hadith describing the Sufyani are unreliable, based on a "garbled version" of a legend "fabricated by traditionists with Shia and pro- 'Abbasid sentiments". Others reverse his role as an evil-doer, describing him as an ally not an enemy of the Mahdi.

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