Narrations on the Sufyānī Revealed by Political and Sectarian Events

Abstract

The Suyānī narration, which is also referred in some studies carried out today, is mentioned in the early Shiite and Sunnī sources. The anticipated savior perception of the period has an important place in understanding the Suyānī narrations in the emergence process of which political and sectarian events were effective. Narrations stating that the Mahdi named Muhammad, one of the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), would appear in the end of times and establish justice by bringing order to the world where oppression, injustice and inequity have spread, were effective in the political and social life after the Prophet (pbuh). The emergence of the Suyâni narrations, whose intellectual infrastructure was constituted by the expected Mahdi perception that is effective in the society, was the resuit of the political conflicts of the period. The death of Mu'âwiya ibn Yazid (d. 64/684), the third Caliph of the Umayyad State, without leaving a crown behind caused a political crisis. The cousin of the Mu'âwiya II, Marwân bin al-Hakam, the experienced politician who turned this moment of crisis into an opportunity and who was from the same dynasty but from a different family, took over the administration and thus the sultanate continued. Although the reign continued from the sons of Umayyad, the administration passed from sons of Sufyân to the sons of Marwân, who were from the same dynasty. This situation caused discomfort in Sufyânis. Thus, Mu'âwiya II's brother Khâlid ibn Yazid, whose right of administration was seized from him, with the intention of gaining his lost reputation in the society and turning the pessimism towards his family into hope and desire, has been claimed to spread the savior Sufyâni narrations expected from the sons of Sufyân, parallel to the Mahdi narrations expected from the sons of Ali, which was influential in the society. Thus, the Sufyâni came to be expected like the expected Mahdi, who was influential in society and exploited by the Shiite sects in their own belief systems. The rebellions carried out by the sons of Sufyân against the administration in the 2nd century hijri and afterwards were conceived as the appearance of the Sufyâni expected by the society and the person who led the rebellion was described as Sufyâni. The most important of these rebellions is the revolt of 'Ali ibn Abdullah ibn Khâlid nicknamed Abu 'Amaytar, formed by the coalition of sons of 'Ali and sons of Sufyân who descend from the sons of Umayya. Abu 'Amaytar, who is considered to be the Suyâniand some sections of whose life constitute a source for many narrations on the Sufyâni, declared his caliphate during the period of Abbasi Caliph al-Amin (d. 198/813) and called for allegiance to himself. The announcement of his caliphate was considered by his supporters as the expected savior. The period of Abu 'Amaytar and the sayings about him are extremely important in terms of presenting the expected savior perception in the society, the Sufyâni understanding and the date of his emergence. Sections from Abu 'Amaytar's life reflected in the narrations about the Sufyâni in many Shiite and Sunni sources. In this article, it is tried to examine the emergence of the Sufyâni narrations, its development and particularly its transformation within the Shiite sect, in a detailed manner and especially based on political and sectarian events of the early period.