Question Summary:
The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls. (Muslim 7034)

Question Detail:

I have a question concerning a hadith found in the book of Imam Muslim and also in Miskhat al masabih:

The Dajjal would be followed by seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls. (Muslim 7034)

The Dajjal will be followed by seventy thousand of my people wearing dark cloaks. (Miskhat al Masabih from sharh as sunna)

(1) Are these ahadith related? Is it permissable to understand them as referring to the same group of 70,000 people
(2) Is it an acceptable sharh of this narration that it is about the Shi'a Ithna Ashariyyah who occupy Isfahan today and outnumber the Jews in Isfahan (who are nowhere near 70,000) or is this a deviant interpretation of the hadith?
(3) Have any of the ulema linked Yahuwd to Rawafid or mentioned this as a sharh for this hadith?

Answer :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
The Ahaadith referred to in your query are the following:
صحيح مسلم - (ج18/ ص 286 دار المعرفة)
7579 - حدثنا منصور بن أبى مزاحم حدثنا يحيى بن حمزة عن الأوزاعى عن إسحاق بن عبد الله عن عمه أنس بن مالك أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قال « يتبع الدجال من يهود أصبهان سبعون ألفا عليهم الطيالسة ».
شرح السنة للبغوي - (ج 7 / ص 375 المكتبة الشاملة)
أخبرنا أبو سعيد الطاهري ، أنا جدي عبد الصمد البزاز ، أنا محمد بن زكريا العذافري ، أنا إسحاق الدبري ، حدثنا عبد الرزاق ، أنا معمر ، عن أبي هارون العبدي ، عن أبي سعيد الخدري ، قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : يتبع الدجال من أمتي سبعون ألفا عليهم السيجان "
1)      These two Ahadith are related. Commentators suggest that both these Ahadith are refers to the same group of people. (Mirqaat 10/145, Mazaahir haq 5/86 Darul isha’at) The meaning of ‘my people’ is Ummah dawah.
اي امة الاجابة او الدعوة و هو الاظهر لما سبق انهم من يهود اصفهان (مرقاة المفاتيح 10/ 145 )  
You have translated السيجان as ‘dark cloaks’. However, the preferred view is that it has the same meaning as الطيالسة (i.e. green shawls). This was also the opinion of Allamah Taurbashti. ( At taleeq as sabeeh 227 Rasheediyyah, Mazaahir haq 5/73 Darul ishaat) Thus, both Ahadith are indicating to the same clothes.
2)      We did not find any Commentator who opined that this hadith refers to Shias. They all considered it referring to the Jews.       
3)      No Alim has ever made such a link based on this hadith.
And Allah knows best
Wassalam
Ml. Ismail Moosa,
Student Darul Iftaa
Checked and Approved by:
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah