The Twelfth Imam
The Twelfth Imam
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Article ID: 35
Article Date: 2016-03-16
Writer: Mostafa Amiri (http://rajanews.com/node/http://rajanews.com/node/237018)
Examining Four Different Theories about the Rebellion of Sufyani in the Region of al-Sham (Greater Syria) and the Country of Syria
In the fifth article of the series on Mahdism, reference was made to the necessity of recognizing the definite signs of the reappearance. In the sixth article, the question was addressed whether it is possible for the signs of the reappearance especially the definite ones, including the Yemani, the Sufyani, and others to undergo change or even not occur at all. In the seventh article, the great importance of the rebellion of Sufyani as the greatest enemy of the Imam of the Age, Imam Mahdi (Peace be upon him), and as the very first definite sign of the reappearance which, in a sense, connects all the other definite signs to this one was discussed. It was also emphasized that one of the most fundamental goals of Sufyani’s uprising is the attack on Shi‘a-inhabited regions, the massacre of the Shi‘a, and the assault on the sacred Shi‘a centers in the country of Iraq. The impact of this enormous event on the entity of Shi‘ism and the threat posed by Sufyani to the Shi‘a of the world make it essential to examine the dimensions of this affair and to be aware of its various aspects.
According to the well-known and authentic opinion in Shi‘a narrations and traditions, Sufyani, as the first definite sign of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi, will be from the lineage of Banu Umayyah and from the descendants of Mu‘awiya, Abu Sufyan, and Hind Jigar-Khar (Hind, the Liver-Eater). He will rise in the month of Rajab of the year of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi, from the valley of Wadi Yabis in the region of al-Sham. The region of al-Sham, which is pregnant with events and severe conflicts among various groups and banners, after the great earthquake and the swallowing of the land in the area of Harasta or Jabiyah, will be prepared for the rise of Sufyani.
After his uprising, Sufyani will fight for six months, and then for nine months he will rule over five regions: Damascus, Homs, Aleppo, Jordan, and Qinnasrin(Note from the website editor: It was the name of a city whose ruins lie 25 miles southwest of Aleppo. ) in the region of al-Sham. Initially,
in al-Sham and Damascus, he will defeat all his internal enemies, al-Abqa‘ and al-As.hab, and all the people of al-Sham, except for the Shi‘a, will submit to and follow him. After defeating al-As.hab and al-Abqa‘ and consolidating his position in his capital, Damascus, he will prepare to attack the Shi‘a and the important Shi‘a centers in Iraq and Hijaz.
The army of Sufyani, as the greatest enemy of Imam Mahdi, by attacking Iraq and Hijaz, will engage in killing and massacres, and after clashing in the greatest apocalyptic war, the Battle of Qarqisiya, he will emerge as the victorious side and will enter Iraq. Sufyani will continue his lightning conquests until, according to the hidden foretelling of the Prophet (PBUH), a miracle occurs and his army will be swallowed by the earth in the region of Bayda’ (between Medina and Mecca).
Sufyani, as the false savior of the Islamic Ummah, who enjoys the support of the Romans (the West), after retreating from the region of al-Sham and Damascus, will be killed in the Battle of Jerusalem against Imam Mahdi. After defeating Sufyani in the Battle of Jerusalem, Imam Mahdi will enter Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), and Palestine will be liberated.
Therefore, we shall now introduce the first definite sign of the reappearance, namely the Sufyani, and the broad dimensions of this event. It should be noted that in previous articles, another definite sign of the reappearance, namely the Yemani, was introduced.
The narrations regarding the Sufyani in the hadith sources of both the Shi‘a and the Sunnis are very numerous, and according to Shi‘a traditionists, they have reached the level of tawatur(1) (multiple independent transmissions ensuring certainty). Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani, in his valuable book Muntakhab al-Athar, states:
(“As for the Sufyani, he is a man from the descendants of Abu Sufyan… He will rise, as mentioned in some narrations, in al-Sham and will rule for eight months or more. And, as stated in the book al-Ghaybah of Shaykh Nu‘mani, he will come from the land of Rome in the form of a Christian with a cross around his neck. Numerous narrations have been reported concerning him, his vile deeds, the atrocious acts he will commit, and his disgraceful conduct, which have surpassed the limit of tawatur. Perhaps what Nu‘aym ibn Hammad has cited of them exceeds one hundred narrations.
Therefore, refer to his book al-Fitan, the book al-Malahim of Ibn al-Munadi, the books of Fitan from the Sihah (Note from the website editor: meaning the six books that, after the Qur’an, are considered the most authentic sources among the Sunnis), and the Musannafat of the Sunnis, as well as what has been recorded in the books of Shi‘a scholars and their transmitters on this matter… And do not deny the established fact that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH and his family) has informed us of, merely because of the weakness of the chain of transmission of some hadiths or the weakness of their texts. Accept what the scholars have taken in the matter of the authority of hadiths from rational and conventional principles.”)(2)
In addition, even the narrations concerning the swallowing of the army of Sufyani by the earth in the region of Bayda’, between Mecca and Medina, are close to the level of tawatur(3).
So how could the uprising of the Sufyani in the end times, on the threshold of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (PBUH), be subject to doubt, when, according to Shi‘a and Sunni traditionists, the swallowing of the army of Sufyani by the earth in the end times and before the reappearance of the Imam of the Age is among the mutawatir Islamic narrations?
Even if we were to doubt the uprising of the Sufyani before the reappearance, and declare that Sufyani had already appeared at some point in the history of Islam, this hypothesis would result in a contradiction: how could the Sufyani have occurred in the past, while the swallowing of the army of Sufyani in the region of Bayda’, according to the explicit statements of narrations and the mutawatir reports in Shi‘a and Sunni sources, is yet to occur in the future at the time of the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (PBUH)?
Therefore, there remains no room for dispute regarding the very existence of Sufyani in the future and the swallowing of his dispatched army in Hijaz by the earth, as two significant signs and definite markers of the reappearance.
In Islamic narrations, the definitiveness of the uprising of the Sufyani has been mentioned. This matter is expressed in numerous and reliable narrations with various phrases such as: (“decreed”), (“inevitable”), (“a decree from God”), (“it must be”), (“there will be no rising of the Qa’im except with the Sufyani”), (“before the rising of the Qa’im”), (“five before the rising of the Qa’im”), and (“five definite signs”), and others.
Imam al-Sajjad (PBUH) said in a reliable narration:
(“…The rising of the Qa’im is decreed by God, and the uprising of the Sufyani is also decreed. The rising of the Qa’im will never be without the Sufyani.”)(4)
And it is also narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH):
(“The Sufyani is among the definite signs, and his uprising will be in the month of Rajab.”)(5)
In al-Ghaybah of Nu‘mani, it is narrated from Imam al-Baqir (PBUH), in the interpretation of the verse:(6) (“Then He decreed a term, and a specified term is with Him”):
(“They are two terms: a definite term and a conditional term.” Ḥumran asked: “What is the definite term?” He replied: “It is the term that will not be otherwise.” Ḥumran said: “What is the conditional term?” He replied: “It is that in which the will of God operates it may be brought forward, delayed, or removed.” Ḥumran said: “I hope the uprising of the Sufyani is among the conditional signs in which alteration (bada’) may occur!” The Imam replied: “By God, it is not so; he is among the definite signs.”)(7)
In this narration, Imam al-Baqir (PBUH) interprets ajal musamman as the definite term, and then counts the Sufyani among the definites.
From the contrast between conditional and definite signs mentioned in these narrations, it becomes clear that the Sufyani is outside the circle of conditional signs. Therefore, to interpret this definite sign as something subject to change is, in effect, to insert definite signs into the category of conditional ones, which contradicts the apparent meaning of the narrations about the Sufyani. Rather, the outcome of such a claim would nullify the very division of the signs of the reappearance into definite and non-definite.(8) While the explicit texts of Islamic narrations have indeed divided the signs of the reappearance into two categories: definite and conditional (non-definite). And it can be said that in the definite signs of the reappearance, change has no place, whereas the non-definite signs may be subject to change.
Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) also said in a reliable narration:
(“Some matters are definite and inevitable, and some matters are non-definite. The uprising of the Sufyani in the month of Rajab is among the definite signs.”)(9)
And Imam al-Baqir (PBUH) said in another narration:
(“Some matters are conditional, and some are definite and inevitable. The Sufyani is among the definite signs which will certainly occur.”)(10)
It is also narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH):
(“Among the definite signs that will occur before the rising of the Qa’im are: the Sufyani, the swallowing of (his army) in Bayda’, the killing of the Pure Soul, and the heavenly cry.”)(11)
In a reliable narration, Abu Hamzah al-Thumali asked Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH) about a statement of Imam al-Baqir (PBUH) regarding the Sufyani, and with the confirmation and emphasis of Imam al-Sadiq, the definitiveness of the uprising of the Sufyani was affirmed:
(“Abu Hamzah al-Thumali reported: I said to Abu Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH): Your father [Imam al-Baqir] used to say: the Sufyani is among the definite signs. He said: Yes, that is so.”)(12)
What is noteworthy in this narration is the phrase “he used to say”, which indicates a continual and repeated affirmation, thus stressing the definitiveness of the uprising of the Sufyani in the words of the Imams.
Moreover, in the narrations, the Sufyani has been mentioned alongside and confined to the definite signs of the reappearance of the Imam of the Age. For example, it is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (PBUH):
(“Before the rising of the Qa’im, there are five signs: the Sufyani, the Sufyani, the heavenly cry, the swallowing in Bayda’, and the killing of the Pure Soul.”)(13)
In the era of the reappearance, the region of al-Sham in the Middle East is pregnant with events, and severe disputes among various groups and flags are ongoing. After the great earthquake and the swallowing of the Harasta or Jabiya region in Syria, the region of al-Sham will be prepared for the uprising of the Sufyani.
After his emergence, the Sufyani will fight for six months and then rule over the five main regions in al-Sham for nine months. Initially, in al-Sham and Damascus, he will triumph over all his internal enemies, , and all the people of al-Sham, except the Shi‘a, will obey and follow him. After defeating his enemies and consolidating his position in his center of power, Damascus, he will be ready to attack the Shi‘a and the important Shi‘a centers in Iraq and the Hijaz.
One of the fundamental objectives of the uprising of the Sufyani is the attack on Shi‘a-populated areas, the killing of Shi‘a, and assaults on the sacred Shi‘a sites in Iraq. The impact of this tremendous event on the existence of Shi‘ism and the threat posed by the Sufyani to Shi‘a worldwide makes it necessary to examine the dimensions of this incident and to be aware of its various aspects.
Footnotes:
(1) Nu‘mani, Al-Ghaybah, p. 282; Safi Golpaygani, Muntakhab al-Athar, vol. 3, p. 88.
(2) Safi Golpaygani, Muntakhab al-Athar, vol. 3, p. 88.
(3) Muttaqi Hindi, Al-Burhan fi ‘Alamat al-Mahdi, p. 112.
(4) Humayri, Qurb al-Isnad, p. 374.
(5) Shaykh Saduq, Kamal al-Din, vol. 2, p. 650.
(6) Surah al-An‘am, verse 2.
(7) Nu‘mani, Al-Ghaybah, p. 301; Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 52, p. 249.
(8) ‘Amili, Dirasat ‘Alamat al-Zuhur, p. 45.
(9) Nu‘mani, Al-Ghaybah, p. 300.
(10) Nu‘mani, Al-Ghaybah, p. 301.
(11) Nu‘mani, Al-Ghaybah, p. 264.
(12) Shaykh Saduq, Kamal al-Din, vol. 2, p. 652.
(13) Shaykh Tusi, Al-Ghaybah, p. 436.
