What is "sufyani"

The Sufyani (Arabic: ) is an apocryphal character of Islamic eschatology. The term Sufyani refers to his descent from the progeny of Abu Sufyan. According to hadiths, he will be the rival and opponent of Mahdi. Reports about Sufyani are available in both Sunni and Shia Hadith collections. The Sufyani is not the Dajjal. The hadith regarding the Sufyani specify that he is a tyrant who will spread corruption and mischief on the earth before the Mahdi. He will be such a tyrant that he will kill the children and rip out the bellies of women. The Sufyani will murder those from the household of the prophet and will rule over Syria. When he hears about the Mahdi, he will send an army to seize and kill him. However the earth will swallow this army before it even reaches the Mahdi.