Wahhabism is ascribed
unto Shaykh Muhammad, the son of ’Abd al-Wahhab of Najd. This
ascription has been derived from the name of his father ’Abd al-Wahhab. And as
some scholars put it, the reason why this creed has not been attributed to
Shaykh Muhammad himself and has not been called Muhammadiyyah is for fear lest
the followers of this creed would find a kind of association with the name of
the Holy Prophet (s) [1] and would misuse this ascription. Shaykh
Muhammad was born in 1115 A.H. in the city of ‘Uyayna which was located
in Najd. His father was a judge in this city. Ever since his childhood, Shaykh
Muhammad had a great liking for the study of books on tafsir (Qur’anic
interpretation), hadith (tradition), and aqa’id (principles of
beliefs). He learned the Hanbali jurisprudence from his father who was one of
the Hanbali scholars. From the bloom of youth, he regarded as indecent many of
the religious doings of the people of Najd. After going on a pilgrimage to the
house of Allah and performing its rites, he headed for Medina where he rejected
the resorting of the people to the Holy Prophet (s) near his shrine. He then
returned to Najd, and from there he went to Basrah with the aim of later
leaving Basrah for Damascus.He spent some time in Basrah and embarked on
opposing many doings of the people. The people of Basrah, however, cast him out
of their city. While on his way from Basrah to the city of al-Zubayr, he was
about to perish due to the intensity of the heat, thirst, and toll of walking
in the desert. But a man from al-Zubayr, seeing the Shaykh clad like the
clergy, endeavoured to save him. He gave the Shaykh a gulp of water, set him on
a mount, and took him to the city of al-Zubayr. The Shaykh wanted to travel
from al-Zubayr to Damascus, but as he did not have sufficient provisions and
could not afford the expenses of the journey, he changed his destination and
headed for the city of al-‘Ahsa. From there, he decided to go to Huraymala, one
of the cities of Najd.
At this time which was
the year 1139 AH, his father ’Abd al-Wahhab had been transferred from ‘Uyayna
to Huraymala. Shaykh Muhammad accompanied his father and learned (the material
in) some books from his father. He set out on rejecting the beliefs of the
people of Najd. For this reason, altercation and debates ensued between him and
his father. In like manner, serious and violent disputes erupted between him
and the people of Najd. This matter lasted several years until his father
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Wahhab passed away in the year 1153. [2]
After the
demise of his father, Shaykh Muhammad embarked on expressing his own beliefs
and rejecting part of the religious acts of the people. A group of the people
of Huraymala followed him and his work won fame. He departed from Huraymala for
the city of ‘Uyayna. At that time, ‘Uthman ibn Hamd was the head of
‘Uyayna. ‘Uthman received the Shaykh, honoured him and made the decision to
assist him. In return, Shaykh Muhammad also expressed hope that all the people
of Najd would obey ‘Uthman ibn Hamd. The news of Shaykh Muhammad's call and
doings reached the ruler of al-‘Ahsa. He wrote a letter to ‘Uthman. The
consequence of this letter was that ‘Uthman summoned the Shaykh and dismissed
him. Shaykh Muhammad replied that if you help me, you will become the leader of
the entire Najd. ‘Uthman, however, avoided him and cast him out of the city of
‘Uyayna.
In the year 1160, after being expelled from ‘Uyayna, Shaykh Muhammad headed for al-Dar’iyya, one of the renowned cities of Najd. At that time, Muhammad ibn Sa’ud (the ancestor of Aal Sa’ud) was the emir of al-Dar’iyya, He went to see the Shaykh and gave him tidings of glory and goodness. The Shaykh too gave him tidings of power and domination over all the cities of Najd. And in this way, the relationship between Shaykh Muhammad and Al Sa’ud commenced. [3]
At the time when Shaykh
Muhammad went to al-Dar’iyya and made an agreement with Muhammad ibn Sa’ud, the
people of al-Dar’iyya lived in utmost destitution and need.
Relating from (‘Uthman)
Ibn Bishr al-Najdi, al-Alusi notes that:
I (Ibn Bishr)
initially witnessed the poverty of the people of al-Dar’iyya. I had seen that
city at the time of Sa’ud, when its people had enjoyed enormous wealth,
their weapons were decorated with gold and silver and they mounted thoroughbred
horses. They wore sumptuous clothes and were well provided with all the means
of prosperity, so much so that it is beyond the scope of expression.
One day in a bazaar in
al-Dar’iyya, I saw men on one side and women on the other. In the bazaar, there
was a huge amount of gold, silver, and weapons and a large number of camels,
sheep, horses, expensive clothes, and much meat, wheat, and other edibles, so
much so that they could not be recounted. The bazaar extended as far as the eye
could see. And I could hear the call of the sellers and buyers, a sound which
hummed like the buzz of the bee. One (of them) would say, “I sold (my goods)”,
and the other (one) would say, “I bought (something)”. [4]
Of course, Ibn Bishr had
not given an account as to how and from where such an enormous wealth had been
amassed. But the trend of history indicates that it had been accumulated by
attacking the Muslims of other tribes and cities (on the charge of not
accepting his beliefs) and by plundering and taking as booty their properties.
With regard to the war booties which Shaykh Muhammad took (from the Muslims of
that region), his policy was to spend it in any way he desired. At times, he
granted unto only two or three people all the war booties which amounted to a
very large amount. No matter what the booties were, they were in the possession
of the Shaykh, and the Emir of Najd could have a share of the booties on
permission of the Shaykh.
One of the biggest flaws
during the Shaykh's life was the fact that he treated Muslims who did not
follow his notorious beliefs as infidels deserving to be fought against. He
maintained no esteem for their life or property.
In short,
Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab called (the people) to tawhid (monotheism)
but an erroneous tawhid which he created himself, not the real tawhid
promulgated by the Qur’an. Whoever adhered to it would have immunity as far as
his life and property were concerned, else (the dissolution of) his life and
property would, like that of the infidels, be religiously lawful and
permissible.
The wars which the Wahhabis
waged in Najd and outside Najd such as in Yemen, Hijaz, the vicinity of Syria
and Iraq were on this basis. Any city which they conquered by war and
domination was religiously lawful for them. If they could, they would establish
it as their own possession, otherwise they would be content with the booty they
had taken. [5]
Those who adhered to his
beliefs and hearkened to his call had to pledge allegiance to him. If anyone
rose up in rebellion, he was killed and his property divided. On the basis of
this policy, for instance, they killed three hundred men from a village called
al-Fusul, located in the city of al-‘Ahsa and pillaged their property. [6]
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd
al-Wahhab died in the year 1206. [7] After the demise of Shaykh Muhammad, his
followers also pursued this policy and kept alive his innovation and
misguidance. For instance, in the year 1216, the Wahhabi emir Sa’ud mobilized
an army of twenty thousand warriors and made an inroad on the city of Karbala.
At this time, Karbala enjoyed utmost fame and grandeur. Iranian, Turkish, Arab,
and other pilgrims turned to it. After laying siege to the city, Sa’ud finally
entered it and brutally massacred the defenders and inhabitants of the city.
The Wahhabi
army created such a public disgrace in the city of Karbala that it cannot be
put to words. They killed over five thousand people. After emir Sa’ud found
leisure from the affairs of the war, he turned to the treasures in the shrine
of Imam Husayn (‘a). These treasures consisted of various properties and
precious objects. He took away and plundered whatever he found there. After
this episode, Karbala was transformed into a situation that the poets composed
elegies for it. [8] For over twelve years, the Wahhabis, every now and then,
invaded and looted the city of Karbala and its suburbs, as well as the city of
Najaf .The first of these invasions took place in the year 1216 as already
mentioned. According to the writings of all Shi’i writers, this invasion took
place on Eid al-Ghadir (a festival celebrating the designation by
Prophet Muhammad (s) of Imam Ali's (‘a) as his successors of the same year.
The late
’Allama Sayyid Muhammad Jawwad al-‘Amili says:
“this part of the book Miftah
al-Kirama was completed by the writer after midnight of the ninth of the
holy month of Ramadan 1225 AH while in anxiety and apprehension, for the ‘Unayza
Arabs who are Wahhabi had laid siege on the Najaf al-‘Ashraf and on the
place where Imam Husayn (‘a) had been martyred. They blocked the roads,
plundered the pilgrims to the shrine of Imam Husayn (‘a) who were returning to
their own lands after pilgrimage in the middle of Sha’ban, and massacred a
large number of them (mostly from among Iranian pilgrims). It is said that the
number of those killed (this time) probably amounted to one hundred and fifty,
some say less..” [9]
The tawhid
to which Shaykh Muhammad and his followers invited the people in which they
made permissible the seizure of the life and property of whoever did not accept
it, consisted of proving a location for Allah the Almighty and regarding Him as
having limbs and organs, going by the apparent meaning of some of the Qur’anic
verses and traditions.
In this regard, Alusi
has noted that the Wahhabis, adhering to Ibn Taymiyya, confirm the
traditions which express Allah's descent into the heavens. They say that Allah
descends into the heavens from the empyrean and says:
“Is there a
person who seeks forgiveness for his sins?”
In like
manner, they also acknowledge that on the Judgment Day, Allah comes to the
place where mankind is gathered because He Himself has said:
“And your
Lord comes and (also) all the angles in ranks (Fajr:22).”
And Allah can draw near
to any of His creations in any way He wants:
“…and We are nearer
to him than his life vein” (Qaf:16)” [10]
As indicated in his book
entitled al-Radd ‘ala al-‘Akhna’i, Ibn Taymiyya regarded the traditions
related to going on pilgrimage to the shrine of the Holy Prophet (s) as forged.
He has pointed out that it is a grave mistake if a person thinks that the Holy
Prophet's being is the same as that of his lifetime even after his demise.
Shaykh Muhammad and his
followers have expressed similar statements in a more vehement manner.
The false beliefs and
statements of the Wahhabis has prompted some people, who have studied Islam
from their viewpoint, to say that Islam is a strict and rigid religion and that
it is not suitable for all ages (of human history).
An American scholar,
Lothrop Stoddard, says:
“The Wahhabis have gone
to extremes as far as prejudice is concerned. In the meantime, a group of
fault-finders have risen and, voicing out the Wahhabi course of action, have
said that the essence and nature of Islam does not fit in with the demands of
different times. Therefore it does not have conformity with progress and
evolution of the society and does not follow changes brought about by time.” [11]
From the time that
Shaykh Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab expressed his views and called on the people
to accept them, a large group of eminent scholars voiced opposition to his
beliefs. The first person to oppose him severely was his father ‘Abd al-Wahhab
and then his brother Sulayman ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab, both of whom are
deemed as Hanbali scholars.
Shaykh Sulayman compiled
a book entitled al-Sawa’iq al-ilahiyya fi al-radd ‘ala al-Wahhabiyya in
which he refuted the views of his brother.
[Ahmad] Zayni Dihlan
says:
“The
father of Shaykh Muhammad was a righteous man of learning. His brother Shaykh
Sulayman was also regarded as a scholar. Shaykh ’Abd al-Wahhab and Shaykh
Sulayman both reproached Shaykh Muhammad and warned the people against him from
the very beginning. That is to say, from the time when Shaykh Muhammad was
studying in Medina. It was through Shaykh Muhammad's words and deeds that they
had realized he cherished such a claim.” [12]
The Egyptian scholar
‘Abbas Mahmud al-‘Aqqad said:
“The greatest opponent
of Shaykh Muhammad was his brother Shaykh Sulayman, the writer of al-Sawa’iq
al-ilahiyya, who did not acknowledge for his brother a position of ijtihad
and correct understanding of the Qur’an and sunnah.”
Al-‘Aqqad has
also noted that Shaykh Sulayman said the following while severely refuting his
brother's statements:
“Matters in which the
Wahhabis have regarded as polytheism and unbelief, and used as pretexts to make
permissible the taking of life and property of the Muslims existed at the time
of the A’imma (leaders) of Islam. But no one has heard or narrated from
the Imams of Islam that those who commit these acts are infidels or apostates.
Neither have the Imams issued order of Holy war (jihad) against
them. Nor have they called the cities of Muslims as the cities of polytheism
and unbelief, as you have.” [13]
In conclusion, it must
be noted that Shaykh Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab was not the originater and
innovator of the beliefs of the Wahhabis. But centuries before him, his ideas
had been expressed in different forms by people such as Ibn Taymiyya al-Harrani
and his disciple Ibn al-Qayyim. However it had not been turned into a
new creed and had not found many followers.
Refutations of the true leader of
the Wahhabis
Abu al-‘Abbas
Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim, known as Ibn Taymiyya, was a Hanbali scholar who died
in 728 A.H. As he expressed views and beliefs contrary to the views held by all
Islamic sects, he was constantly opposed by other scholars. Investigators are
of the view that the beliefs of Ibn Taymiyya later formed the principles of
beliefs of the Wahhabis.
When lbn Taymiyya made
his views public and wrote books in this regard, the scholars of Islam, headed
by the Sunni scholars’ulama, did two things to preclude the prevalence
of corruption:
A) They criticized his
views and beliefs. In this regard, we will refer to some books which have been
written as a criticism to his beliefs:
1) Shifa’ al-saqam
fi ziyarat qabr khayr al-anam,: by Taqi al-Din al-Subki.
2) Al-Durrat
al-mudi’a fi al-radd ‘ala Ibn Taymiyya, by Taqi al-Din al-Subki.
3) Al-Maqalat
al-mardiyya, compiled by the supreme judge (qadi al-qudat) of the
Maliki’s by the name of Taqi al-Din Abi ‘Abdillah al-‘Akhna’i.
4) Najm al-muhtadi
wa rajm al-muqtadi, by Fakhr bin Muhammad al-Qurashi.
5) Daf’ al-shubha,
by Taqi al-Din al-Hisni.
6) Al-Tuhfat
al-mukhtara fi al-radd ‘ala munkir al-ziyara, by Taj al-Din.
These are
some of the refutations written on the beliefs of Ibn Taymiyya. In this way,
the baselessness of his views has become evident.
B) The Sunni
scholars and fuqaha of his time have accused him of immorality and have
even at times excommunicated him and have revealed his heresy.
When his
views about going on pilgrimage to the shrine of the Holy Prophet (s) were
expressed in written form for the Supreme Judge of Egypt, al-Badr ibn Jama’a,
he wrote the following at the bottom of the page:
“Going on
pilgrimage to the (shrine of the) Holy Prophet (s) is a virtue, the Sunnah and
all scholarsscholars unanimously accept it. He who regards going on pilgrimage
to the shrine of the Holy Prophet (s) as being religiously unlawful, must be
rebuked by the scholarsscholars and must be barred from making such statements.
If these measures are not effective, he must be imprisoned and exposed to the
people, so that the latter would not follow him”.
Not only did the supreme
Judge of the Shafi’i school of thought express such a view about him, but also
the Supreme Judges of the Maliki and Hanbali schools of thought in Egypt also
confirmed his views in one way or the other. For more details in this regard,
you can refer to Daf’ a -Shubha written by Taqi al-Din al-Hisni.
Apart from
this, his contemporary al-Dhahabi, who was a great writer of the eighth
century A.H. and who has written valuable works on history and biography, has,
in a letter to him, called him an equal match to al-Hajjaj al-Thaqafi as far as
spreading corruption and deviation are concerned. (This letter has been
disseminated by the writer of Takmila al-sayf al-saqil on page 190 of
his book, as recorded by the late ’Allama al-‘Amini in the fifth volume
of Al-Ghadir on pages 87-89. Those interested may refer to these books.)
When Ibn Taymiyya died
in 728 AH in a prison in Damascus, his movement underwent a decline. Though his
renowned student Ibn al-Qayyim embarked on propagating the views of his
master but did not succeed. No trace of such beliefs and ideas was left in
later periods.
But when the son of ’Abd
al-Wahhab came under the influence of the beliefs of Ibn Taymiyya, and when Al
-Sa’ud supported him to strengthen the foundations of their own rule over Najd,
once again the hereditary beliefs of Ibn Taymiyya spread in the minds of some
of the people of Najd like cancer in the body. In the wake of rigid bias, and
unfortunately in the name of tawhid (monotheism), a blood bath was
evoked under the title of jihad against the unbelievers and polytheists.
Tens of thousands of men, women, and children were victimized by it. Once
again, a new sect sprang up in the Muslim community and regret arose from that
day the haramayn sharifayn (the two holy sanctuaries of Mecca and
Medina) were put under the possession of this group as a result of compromise
with Britain and the other superpowers of that time. Also due to the
dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and division of the Arab countries among the
superpowers, the Wahhabis of Najd gained control over Mecca and Medina, as well
as other vestiges of Islam. They exerted utmost effort in annihilating the
graves of the awliya Allah and in transgressing in disrespect against
the progeny of the Prophet (s) by destroying their shrines and other historical
remains attributed to them.
In this regard, the
Shi’a scholars, alongside the Sunni scholars as we have mentioned above, made
tremendous efforts to criticize the views of ’Abd al-Wahhab. Both groups
commenced logical and scholarly jihad in the best possible manner.
The first refutation
which the Sunni scholars wrote on the views of Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab was
the book entitled Al-Sawa’iq al-Ilahiyyah fi al-radd ‘ala al-Wahhabiyya
written by Shaykh Sulayman ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab, the brother of Muhammad ibn ’Abd
al-Wahhab.
The first book written
by the Shi’a scholars to refute the views of Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhab was Manhaj
al-Rashad, penned by the honourable late Shaykh Ja’far Kashif al-Ghita (died
1228 AH). He wrote this book as a reply to a treatise which one of the Emirs
from among House of Sa’ud by the name of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Sa’ud had
sent to him. In that treatise, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Sa’ud had gathered all
views of Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab and tried to prove them from the Qur’an
and Sunnah. This book was published in 1343 A.H in Najaf. After the
work of this dignitary, numerous refutations and criticisms were written
against the movement Wahhabism in the region. Most of these books have been
published.
But now, the Wahhabi
movements have increased as a result of the massive wealth that the Sa’udis
have amassed by way of selling oil. Every day and month, the modern Abu Jahls
and Abu Lahabs who have taken control of Ka’ba, attack the Islamic sanctities
in one way or the other. Each day, the vestiges of Islam are ruined. That which
has given impetus to their movement is the secret signs and go-aheads given by
their Western masters who are appalled by the unity of the Muslims. They fear
this unity more than they fear international communism. Therefore they have no
choice, but to expedite the creation of religions and faiths, so as to spoil a
part of the money they pay to the Wahhabi government for oil and ultimately to
severely harm the unity of the Muslims and engage them in branding one another
as immoral and in excommunicating one another.
In this book, we will
try to reveal their beliefs and remove the obscurities regarding Wahhabism. We will
remove the dark viels of doubts and hope to clarify the facts that the beliefs
of all Muslims of the world, originate from the Qur’an and the blessed Sunnah
and that the movements of Wahhabism and its deeds are against the teachings of the
Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (s).
Notes:
[1] Farid Wajdi, Da’irat al-ma’arif al-qarn al-‘ishrin, vol. 10, p. 871, quoting from the magazine Al-Muqtataf, vol. 27, p. 893.[2] Summarised from the Ta’rikh Najd of al-‘Alusi, pp. 111-113.[3] An Ottoman writer in his book Ta’rikh Baghdad, p. 152, has noted that the relationship between Shaykh Muhammad and Aal Sa’ud began in another manner. But what has been stated here seems to be more correct[4] al-‘Alusi, Ta’rikh Najd, pp. 117-118.[5] Jazirat al-‘Arab fi al-qarn al-‘ishrin, p. 341.[6] Ta’rikh al-mamlakat al-‘arabiyya al-Sa’udiyya, vol. 1, p. 51.[7] There are other views concerning the date of birth of Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab and that of his death.[8] Dr. ‘Abd al-Jawwad al-Kalidar, Ta’rikh Karbala, pp. 172-174.[9] Sayyid Muhammad Jawwad al-‘Amili, Miftah al-kiramah, vol. 7, p. 653.[10] al-‘Alusi, Ta’rikh Najd, pp. 90-91; Ibn Taymiyya, al-Risala al-`aqida al–hamawiyya al-kubra, risalah no. 11 from his Majmu’ al-rasa’il al-kubra, pp. 429-432.[11] Lothrop Stoddard, The New World of Islam, (London, 1922), vol. 1, p. 264.[12] Ahmad Zayni Dihlan, al-Futuhat al-Islamiyya, vol. 2, p. 357.[13] Al-‘Islam fi al-qarn al-‘ishrin, (Egypt), pp. 72-73.
Courtesy : http://www.al-islam.org/wahhabism/
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