A cursory glance at the life account of Shaykh Ibn
‘Abd al-Wahhab
In this
section, we deemed it fitting to take a survey of the life of Muhammad ibn 'Abd
al-Wahhab, known as the Shaykh, and Muhammad Sa'ud.
The sons
and grandsons of the Shaykh are still living in the Arabia, some of whom are
known by the family name, “Al ash-Shaykh”. The children of Muhammad Al as-Sa'ud
some of whom are holding the reins of government in Arabia are known as “al
Sa'ud”. The country had been known before as “Hijaz”, but it was changed into
the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” {al-Mamlakah al-'Arabiyyah Sa'udiyyah}
during the reign of King 'Abd al-'Aziz.
Shaykh
Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab came from the region of Najd who was born in 1114
AH in one of the cities of Najd named as ”'Ayniyyah”. His father, Shaykh 'Abd
al-Wahhab, was a scholar {'alim} and the judge {qadi} of that
region. As such, the creed of Shaykh Muhammad had been ascribed to his father.
After learning the basics of religion from his father, Shaykh Muhammad went to
Medina and learned from the 'ulama' of that region.
Due to his
personal interpretations of some issues regarding belief and his opposition to
the 'ulama' of Medina, he was expelled from the city. He then went to
Iraq where he stayed in Basrah. In that city he got acquainted with a person
named Shaykh Muhammad Majmu'i and adopted his ideas. Finally, the two believed
in a certain creed.
The other 'ulama'
of Basrah and the believers of the region that were mainly of Iranian origin,
had opposed him and ousted him from Basrah.
When
Shaykh Muhammad was driven out of Basrah, he proceeded to Damascus, which had a
pleasant climate, but because of his unusual belief and difficulties in life he
was unable to remain there. Since he could not return to Medina or Mecca, he
went back to the Najd of his father, Shaykh 'Abd al-Wahhab, who was then still
the 'alim of the region.
The Shaykh
had a brother named Shaykh Sulayman ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab who was at loggerheads
with him in terms of belief. His brother was the first person to write a book
refuting his doctrines. His father also opposed him and sided with Shaykh
Sulayman. In addition to the opposition of his father and brother, he also
faced the opposition of 'ulama', and this dispute continued until the
death of his father.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab after the death of his
father
After the
death of his father, Shaykh Muhammad enjoyed great freedom in propagating his
doctrines and views. As such, he went to other places and become acquainted
with 'Uthman ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad, who was then the emir of 'Ayniyyah, and
married his daughter Jawharah. Although it is said that the people there
accepted some of his beliefs, because he went to extremes in opposing their
customs, they expelled him from the region. For instance, he had ordered the
destruction of a dome belonging to Zayd ibn al-Khattab, brother of 'Umar. He
had also issued a decree for an old tree, which was venerated by the people of
the region, to be uprooted.
In sum, on
account of his peculiar doctrines, among which was his disregard for the
leaders of the Ahl as-Sunnah, the Shaykh lost his esteem in the people's sight
and earned their wrath. From there he went to the region of Dar'iyyah.
Nowadays,
pilgrims—Iranian and non-Iranian—can still see the relics related to the rule
of 'Uthman in Arabia such as the holy shrine of the Holy Prophet (s) and the
graves surrounding it, the lanterns of Masjid an-Nabi, and the inscriptions on
that sacred mosque.
The children and students of Shaykh Ibn ‘Abd
al-Wahhab
Shaykh
Muhammad had a number of sons and daughters and married one of his daughters to
Muhammad ibn Sa'ud, the tribal chief. His sons, Husayn, 'Abd Allah and Ibrahim,
became judges after their father. Even now, his sons, one after another, hold
religious positions in Saudi Arabia.
During his
lifetime, apart from training students, the Shaykh wrote some books which
nowadays have caught the attention of 'ulama' and students of the
region. These books are as follows:
1. Kitab
at-Tawhid; a collection of his doctrines;
2. Kitab
Kashf ash-Shubahat, which is written in defense of his doctrines vis-à-vis
Sunni 'ulama';
3. The
merits and issues of some stories in the Qur'an;
4. Kitab
al-Kaba'ir, which has been written about the major sins;
5. Masa'il
al-Jahiliyyah, in which he compares the pre-Islamic period of ignorance of
Arabia with his own time;
6. Fawa'id
as-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah, which is well-known as Sirat ar-Rasul.
This book examines the entire course of the lives of some Companions of the
Prophet (s), his battles and the prevalent beliefs during that time;
7. Ikhtisar
ash-Sharh al-Kabir; and
8. Adab
al-Mashyi ila's-Salah (These two books have been written about issues
related to jurisprudence and the branches of religion).
These
books are still available at the present.
The Death of Shaykh Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
After
engaging in religious and political debates, successive travels to a number of
cities in the Muslim world, and enduring the wrath and anger of the 'ulama',
Shaykh Muhammad was able to find his own supporters and votaries, who are
nowadays known as the Wahhabis.
According
to historical sources which have been written in his praise and appreciation
and negating the deviant nature of his doctrines, the Shaykh passed away in
1206 AH at the age of 92 in
Dar'iyyah after traveling to Basrah, Najaf, Karbala', and probably,
Isfahan and Shiraz.
In short,
after the death of the Shaykh, his beliefs and views were promoted and
propagated with the support and blessing of external and domestic political
brokers in such a manner that at the present, most of the current rulers of
Arabia and a number of religious scholars and judges there follow him and other
Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and boarder communities in Iran
have come under the influence of these doctrines. The Wahhabis are spreading
this creed in the various countries in Europe, America and Asia by building
mosques and libraries, printing copies of the Holy Qur'an, dispatching
religious missionaries, and the like.
This creed
is called Wahhabism derived from the name of the Shaykh's father. Although the
Shaykh seemed to be a follower of the Hanbali school of thought, the truth of
the matter is that he was not so, and he was distinctively different from the
other 'ulama'. In fact, he regarded himself as free to think, choose
and formulate his own beliefs pertaining to religion. Since he considered
himself an initiator of a new set of beliefs, he expressed his beliefs in the
following points:
1. He
treated all Muslims as infidels or polytheists while thinking of himself as the
true Muslim;
2. He
declared visiting the graves and constructing domes and courtyards around the
cemetery of the Companions of the Prophet (s) and his descendants as unlawful {haram};
3. He
regarded making vows, requests and offering sacrificial animals beside the
shrine of saints {awliya'} as unlawful;
4. He used
to reckon as haram entreating {istighathah} and resorting to
the intermediation {tawassul} of the saints of God;
5. He
considered it obligatory to wage jihad against those who opposed his
creed, saying: “Wage war against the infidels and polytheists until there is no
more sedition {fitnah} and the religion is solely for God:
﴿وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ
حَتَّى لا
تَكُونَ
فِتْنَةٌ.﴾
Fight them until faithlessness is no more.[12]
What is
meant by the Shaykh in this verse is jihad against Muslims and for him
the pure religion is referred to his creed.
This is
the summary of the life account and beliefs of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd
al-Wahhab as taken from Kitab At-Tawhid bi'l-Lughati al-Farisiyyah.[13] Of
course, other points shall also be mentioned in other discussions.
To whom was Shaykh Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab indebted
During the
period of his stay in Mecca and Medina, Shaykh Muhammad came across books that
had a role in the formation of his thought. Among them are the books of Ahmad
ibn Hanbal, his Musnad in particular; the books of Ibn Qayyim
al-Jawziyyah; and the writings of Ibn Taymiyyah. Contrary to other 'ulama' of
the Ahl as-Sunnah, they expressed new beliefs and opinions which can be
extracted from their books on jurisprudence and history. Of course, the Shaykh
was largely influenced by the views of Ibn Taymiyyah.
Ibn
Taymiyyah lived during the 8th century AH. In terms of belief, he
was follower of Ahmad ibn Hanbal who lived in the 3rd century AH.
Ibn Taymiyyah believed in a sort of anthropomorphism concerning God maintaining
that God has a hand, foot, eye, tongue and mouth, and occupies a space! In
order to prove his case, he resorted to the literal text of Qur'anic verses,
maintaining that God is sitting on a throne in heaven.
Ibn
Taymiyyah is the epithet and title of Abu'l-'Abbas Taqi ad-Din Ahmad ibn 'Abd
al-Halim. He was born in the territory of Harran in present-day Turkey. He then
migrated with his father to Damascus, Syria, and there he acquired learning in
religion and jurisprudence. In many ideological and intellectual issues, he
held extreme and radical views.
In
addition to his anthropomorphic beliefs concerning God, he prohibited visitation
of the graves and seeking the intermediation {tawassul} of the Prophet
(s) while deeming it permissible to abuse Imam 'Ali ibn Abi Talib ('a).
On issues in jurisprudence, he opposed the predecessors of the four Sunni
schools. From the above points, it can be understood that the Shaykh was not
the first person to have expressed such beliefs, for individuals such as Ibn
Taymiyyah had advanced similar ideas prior to him.
Like
Shaykh Muhammad, Ibn Taymiyyah earned the wrath and stern criticism of the 'ulama'
of his time and for a time he was exiled to Egypt. But through the help of
the government of the time, he returned to Damascus. During the last period of
his life, he was imprisoned for his opposition to the 'ulama' of
Damascus and finally expired in the castle of Damascus and was buried there.[14]
Ibn Sa‘ud
In the
territory of Dar'iyyah in the region of Hijaz, which is a mountainous territory
with a pleasant climate, a person named Muhammad ibn Sa'ud assumed the
chieftainship of his tribe. The Shaykh became acquainted with Ibn Sa'ud and
relayed to him his new doctrines, and Ibn Sa'ud in turn accepted them. They
agreed together to set up a government encompassing the entire region where
religious and judicial affairs, issues concerning propagation, and the
leadership of the Friday prayers would be assumed by the Shaykh while the
political, social, military, and security affairs would be under Ibn Sa'ud.
The
government in Hijaz at that time was tribal and ethnic, and like many Muslim
countries, was under Ottoman rule whose capital was present-day Turkey. With Al
Sa'ud's ascension to power, Hijaz seceded from Ottoman rule and in the course
of time, it fell under the control of Britain. On course, the British role in
this change of the government should not be overlooked.
Notes:
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