Afṭaḥites.—Shi‘ites of the Imāmite class, who ascribe the imāmate to ‘Abdallah ul-Afṭaḥi, the son of Ṣādiq.
Ajārida.—Khārijites, followers of Ibn ‘Ajarrad, who agreed for the most part with the Najadāt (below), considered grave sins as equivalent to unbelief, but remained friendly with those who professed Islam but did not fight for it. They rejected sura 7 as a fable. Shahrastānī enumerates seven divisions of this sect.
Akhnasites.—A section of the Tha‘āliba not so strict in treatment of those who fear to fight for Islam.
Ash‘arites.—Followers of Ash‘arī (q.v.) who are counted by Shahrastānī among the Ṣifātites.
Aṭrāfites.—A division of the ‘Ajārida who agree with the Ḥamzites except that they excuse the lower classes for inaction when they are ignorant of the law.
Azraqites.—Khārijites who followed al-Azraq in the days of Ibn Zubair. They held ‘Ali to be an unbeliever; those who did not fight were unbelievers; the children of unbelievers were to be put to death and went to hell. Sin is unbelief.
Bahshamites.—Mu‘tazilites akin to the Jubbā‘ites.
Baihasites.—Khārijites, followers of Abu Baihas ul-Haitham, who was put to death by the caliph Walīd. They asserted the necessity of knowledge for religion.
Bāqirites.—Shi‘ites who followed Abū Ja‘far ul-Bāqir, the fifth imām, and looked for his return.