What is the religion of the Sufyani? (question)

What is the religion of the Sufyani?
Upper entry	Mahdism / Preconditions for the reappearance of Imam Mahdi (a) / Signs for Imam Mahdi's reappearance / Insurgency of Sufyani
Main entry	Religion of Sufyani

The existing narrations pointing to the religion of Sufyānī fall into three categories: he is either a christian, a Muslim, or he, at first, was a Muslim who then converts his religion to Christianity. All narrated traditions lack credible and reliable chains of transmission. As such, no conclusive or definitive result can be drawn from their contents. However, within reliable narrated traditions, there does exist one piece of indisputable information regarding the Sufyani’s religious inclinations i.e. his extreme prejudice and animosity towards Shi'as.

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What is the Religion of the Sufyani

• Narrated traditions regarding the Sufyani’s religion can be arranged into three categories. These are as follows:

1. Traditions that show that the Sufyani is a Christian. The Amir al-Mu'minin (a) is reported to have said : “…the Sufyani’s uprising will be under a green flag decorated with a golden cross”. This narration indicates that the Sufyani will follow the Christian creed.
2. Traditions that show that the Sufyani shall be a Muslim who will convert to Christianity.
3. Traditions that show that the Sufyani is a Muslim. Imam Ali (a) is reported to have said : “…a small group will approach the Sufyani within an arid and barren region and will address him sayings, “It is not fitting for you to become the cause of Islam’s extinction (through your continued inaction). Do you not see the people’s humiliation and the calamities that have befallen them? Be wary of God and rise up. Will you refrain from supporting your own religion?” This tradition clearly mentions that the Sufyani will be a Muslim. On the other hand, Imam Baqir (a) is quoted to have said : “Sufyani … never worshiped God and has never seen Mecca nor Medina”. However, this narration does not conclusively indicate that the Sufyani is not a Muslim. All it actually says is that he will not adhere to the true essence of Islam. Additionally, not having seen Mecca or Medina can only be considered a discredit for someone who is at least apparently a Muslim. As such, rebuke in this manner must surely indicate that the person in question is a superficial Muslim who does not fulfill the requirements of his proclaimed faith. Another piece of evidence in support of him being a Muslim is the fact that his uprising will begin and consolidate itself in the Syria which is an Islamic country.

• From amongst the narrated traditions related to this matter, a tradition reported from Imam Sadiq (a) can play a key role in removing the apparent contradiction that exists between them. Within this narration attributed to Imam Sadiq (a), it is said : “He will go to Rome in order to (gather the means to) eliminate the government of the Khurasani. When he returns from there, he would have converted to Christianity”. Utilizing this report, we can correctly interpret the other narrations as well. Consequently, we can conclude that what they truly and collectively seek to show is that the Sufyani will start off as a Muslim who will later convert to the Christian religion. The opportunity to use western resources and capabilities in his conflict against Imam Mahdi’s movement may be the motivation behind his religious conversion.

• Nevertheless, it should be noted that all the narrated traditions in question lack credible and reliable chains of transmission. As such, no conclusive or definitive result can be drawn from their contents. However, within reliable narrated traditions, there does exist one piece of indisputable information regarding the Sufyani’s religious inclinations i.e. his extreme prejudice and animosity towards Shi'as.