Uqba ibn Nafi
- Lived
- c. 622 - 683 CE
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- Meaning of the name Uqba ibn Nafi
Who was Uqba ibn Nafi? The Umayyad general who carried Islam across North Africa from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, founding Kairouan in Tunisia in 670 CE as the base from which Islam would enter the Maghreb.
The Umayyad general who carried Islam across North Africa from Egypt to the Atlantic Ocean, founding Kairouan in Tunisia in 670 CE as the base from which Islam would enter the Maghreb.
Life
Uqba was the nephew of Amr ibn al-As, the conqueror of Egypt. He grew up in Fustat, the first Muslim city in Africa, and from a young age accompanied Amr on the conquest campaigns.
Under the Caliph Muawiya, Uqba led the westward advance of Islam into Ifriqiya (roughly modern Tunisia). He founded the city of Kairouan in the arid heart of the country in 670 CE, on land the local Berbers avoided because of wild beasts. When Uqba arrived at the site he prayed and, according to al-Baladhuri, gave the animals notice to leave. They did.
From Kairouan, Uqba pushed further west. In his second campaign he crossed all of North Africa, through Algeria and into Morocco, and rode his horse into the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. He raised his sword and said: O Allah, if this sea did not stop me, I would ride into it fighting anyone who denied you, until there was no one left.
On his return, he was ambushed at Tahouda in southern Algeria by the Berber chieftain Kusayla. Uqba fell in battle. His tomb still stands at Sidi Uqba near Biskra in Algeria and is visited today.
Stories
Each story is drawn from the classical Islamic sources.