Uprising of al-Sufyani: Difference between revisions

The Riot of Sufyani is one of the five inevitable events that happen before the Reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj). The riot happens in al-Sham. According to a hadith from Imam al-Rida (a), the Reappearance of Qa'im will not happen without the Riot of Sufyani. According to other hadiths, after 9 months of rule in al-Sham, Sufyani and his army advance towards Medina and will be devoured by the Earth in a place called “Bayda'”.

In Shiite and Sunni hadiths, Sufyani is said to be from the progeny of Abu Sufyan and is characterized as a blood-shedder and cruel and people are frightened by seeing him. Different names are mentioned for him, such as 'Anbasa b. Marra.

Different names have been mentioned for Sufyani in Shiite and Sunni sources of hadiths. For example, in different hadiths from Imam 'Ali (a), his name is variously mentioned as 'Anbasa b. Marra, Harb b. 'Anbasa, and 'Uthman b. 'Anbasa, and it is said that he is from the progeny of Abu Sufyan. In Sunni sources, his name is variously mentioned as Harb b. 'Anbasa and Mu'awiya b. 'Utba.

According to hadiths, Sufyani is a blood-shedder, homicidal, and brutal. Moreover, according to hadiths from Imam 'Ali (a), Sufyani is a broad-shouldered, his face is full of acnes, and has one eye, and people are frightened upon seeing him. According to a hadith transmitted from Imam al-Sadiq (a) in Bihar al-anwar, Sufyani is an enemy of the Shi'as, and his crier in Kufa announces that anyone who beheads a Shi'a will be given one thousand dirhams.

According to hadiths from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the Riot of Sufyani is characterized as inevitable, and is referred to as one of the five signs of the Reappearance of the Qa'im along with the Riot of Yamani, the Heavenly Cry, the Murder of the Pure Soul, and Khasf al-Bayda'.

There is also a hadith from Imam al-Rida (a) according to which the Reappearance of the Qa'im is inevitable, and the Riot of Sufyani is likewise inevitable, and without the Sufyani’s riot, the Qa'im is not going to reappear. According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), the Riot of Sufyani is inevitable and is going to occur in the Rajab month. There is a hadith from Imam al-Baqir (a) implying that the Riots of Sufyani, Sayyid Yamani, and Sayyid Khurasani are going to occur in the same year, same month, and the same day.

According to hadiths from the Prophet (s), one sign of the Reappearance of al-Mahdi (a) is the uprising of an army from al-Sham who will be devoured by the Earth in an area called “Bayda'”. This came to be known in sources of hadiths as “Khasf al-Bayda'”. According to another hadith, Imam 'Ali (a) points to the verse 51 of Sura Saba' (“And if you could see when they are terrified but there is no escape, and they will be seized from a place nearby”), suggesting that Sufyani will rule al-Sham for 9 months and then when he leads his army towards Medina, God takes him inside the Earth in Bayda'.

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