Nafi ibn al-Azraq ibn Qays al-Hanafi al-Bakri ( ar, نافع بن الأزرق بن قيس الحنفي البكري, Nāfiʿ ibn al-Azraḳ ibn Qays al-Ḥanafī al-Bakrī; died 685) was the leader of the

Kharijite The Kharijites (, singular ), also called al-Shurat (), were an Islamic sect which emerged during the First Fitna (656–661). The first Kharijites were supporters of Ali who rebelled against his acceptance of arbitration talks to settle the c ...

faction of the

Azariqa The Azariqa ( ar, الأزارقة, ''al-azāriqa'') were an extremist branch of Khawarij, who followed the leadership of Nafi ibn al-Azraq al-Hanafi. Adherents of Azraqism participated in an armed struggle against the rulers of the Umayyad Cali ...

during the

Second Muslim Civil War The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...

. His ethnic origin is not certain but his father was probably a freedman of Greek origin which, according to the historian Benjamin Jokisch, is further supported by his name, which was uncommon among the Arabs. Alternatively, he was an Arab from

Banu Hanifa Banu Hanifa ( ar, بنو حنيفة) is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdu ...

. He is said to have been a

quietist Quietism is the name given (especially in Roman Catholic theology) to a set of contemplative practices that rose in popularity in France, Italy, and Spain during the late 1670s and 1680s, particularly associated with the writings of the Spanis ...

before he was encouraged by the Kharijite poet Abu al-Wazi to become active. Abu al-Wazi then practically demonstrated that to him by attacking a person who spoke against the Kharijites. During the first siege of Mecca in 683 he sided with

Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...

to defend the city against the

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

besiegers but after the siege was over left him because of a difference of opinion on the murder of the third caliph

Uthman Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic proph ...

and went to Basra where the city was already in civil war over tribal disputes. He took over the control of the city by murdering the deputy governor and broke open the prison to free his fellow Kharijites. He was later expelled by the new Zubayrid governor and fled to Ahwaz along with his followers. From there he undertook several raids against the southern Iraqi settlements before being killed by the government forces in 685. The Azariqa were the most radical of all the Kharijite groups, their doctrines being attributed to Nafi. These included disassociating with the quietist Kharijites, testing the faith of new recruits to see if they sincerely believed in the Kharijite dogma and permitting the murder of women and children of opponents.

References

{{Authority control Kharijites 685 deaths Year of birth unknown 7th-century Arabs People of the Second Fitna People killed in action