Therefore, to support this belief, they argued that Muhammad al Askari ibn Imam Ali al-Hadi did not die in reality, as was apparent.
According to them, his father had rather hidden him due to Taqiyyah (as the Ismailis claimed Ja'far al-Sadiq hid his son Isma'il ibn Jafar) and he was the Awaited Mahdi.
[2] The Nafisites (named for a servant of Ali al-Hadi called Nafis) were an extremist Shia sub-sect of the Muhammadites.
The Nafisites believed that Muhammad al Askari ibn Imam Ali al-Hadi did die and that he gave the will to a servant of his father called Nafis.
They also held extreme views in the case of Ja'far ibn Ali al-Hadi and claimed that he was the Mahdi.