The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab

Table of Contents The Motivation Behind This Work ...................................................... 3
The Life of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab .................................... 7
The Family of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab ................................... 12
Travels to Attain Knowledge ................................................................. 16
Return to al-Uyainah and Travels to Basra and al-Ahsaa ...................... 20
Huraimila and the Beginning of the Call (Dawah) ................................ 26
Residence in al-Uyainah ........................................................................ 29
Migration to al-Diriyyah ........................................................................ 35
A New Stage in the Call (Dawah): Jihad ............................................... 41
External Enemies ................................................................................... 46
The Death of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab ..................................... 54
The Personality of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab ............................ 55
The Results of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab's Efforts ........................................ 59
The Salient and Revivalist Teachings of Muhammad ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab ................................................................................... 65
The Religious Situation in Najd ............................................................ 70
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab and Aqeedah(Beliefs and Faith) .......................... 79
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab's Methodology ..................................................... 80
ibn Abdul-Wahhaab's Belief in Allah ................................................... 86
Tauheedof Ibaadah............................................................................... 89
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab and the Question of Who is a Muslim .................. 97
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Islamic Jurisprudence,
Juristic Reasoning and Blind Following .............................................. 101
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab and Dawah[Propagating the Faith],
Ordering Good and Eradicating Evil ................................................... 111
The Importance of Ordering Good and Eradicating Evil ..................... 112
His Methodology of Dawah[Propagating the Faith] and of Ordering
Good and Eradicating Evil ................................................................... 115
Issues of Priority .................................................................................. 125
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab and the Qualities of the One Who Orders Good
and Eradicates Evil .............................................................................. 127
The Comprehensiveness of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab's Approach to
Ordering Good and Eradicating Evil ................................................... 134
Summary .............................................................................................. 140
The Legacy and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab ... 141
The Writings of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab .............................. 141
Works on Aqeedahor Islamic Beliefs ................................................. 143
Works on Fiqh or Islamic Jurisprudence ............................................. 148
Works Related to the Life of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) .......................................................................... 151
Works of Hadith .................................................................................. 152
Works Related to Tafseer(Quranic Exegesis) ..................................... 153
The Collected Writings of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab .................................. 154
His Students ......................................................................................... 154
Note on the Use of the Words “Wahhabis" and “Wahhabism" ........... 157
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab's Influence Outside of Najd ............................... 161
Introductory Comments ....................................................................... 162
Yemen .................................................................................................. 169
Iraq ....................................................................................................... 170
Al-Shaam (“Greater Syria") ................................................................ 171
Egypt .................................................................................................... 172
North Africa ......................................................................................... 173
Sub-Saharan Africa .............................................................................. 176
The Indo-Pak Subcontinent ................................................................. 178
Indonesia .............................................................................................. 184
Thailand ............................................................................................... 186
Turkistan .............................................................................................. 186
Factors Contributing to the Great Influence of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab .... 187
Conclusions ......................................................................................... 190
Opponents and Criticisms of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab .. 192
The Nature and Importance of Trials and Tribulations ....................... 192
A Note on Methodology ...................................................................... 193
The Motivation Behind the Opposition to Muhammad ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab ................................................................................... 197
The Opponents and Critics .................................................................. 208
Works Refuting the Critics .................................................................. 219
An Overview of the Criticisms and Allegations Made Against
ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, His Teachings and His Call ............................... 222
Blatant fabrications concerning the call of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab ......... 223
Misconceptions concerning his call ..................................................... 224
Objections to some of the issues related to the call ............................. 225
The Allegation that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab Claimed Prophethood ......... 226
The Allegation that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab Belittled the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) ........................................ 228
The Question of Declaring People Outside the Fold of Islam and
Fighting Against Them ........................................................................ 231
The Claim that the “Wahhabis" Are from the Khawaarij .................... 236
The Allegation That the Horn of Satan Rises from ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab's Najd ....................................................................... 238
The Allegation that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab Considered Some Things
to be Disbelief (Kufr) Which Are Not Disbelief .................................. 240
The Allegation that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab revolted against the Ottoman
Caliphate .............................................................................................. 247
The Issue of Tawassul(Seeking a Means of Nearness to Allah)
and Seeking Relief from Other Than Allah ......................................... 249
The Question of Seeking the Prophet's Intercession ............................ 257
The Issues of Demolishing Tombs and Visiting the Graves ................ 261
Conclusions ......................................................................................... 263
Recent English Literature on Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.... 268
General Studies on Islam ..................................................................... 268
Western Travelers ................................................................................ 272
De Corancez ........................................................................................ 274
Burckhardt ........................................................................................... 276
Two Recent Writings ........................................................................... 279
Algar .................................................................................................... 279
Schwartz .............................................................................................. 295
Attar, Abdul-Azeez ibn Baaz and al-Huqail ........................................ 306
Conclusion ........................................................................................... 307
Lessons for Today's World from the Life of Muhammad ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab ............................................................................................. 309
The Importance of Starting with Correcting One's Beliefs (Aqeedah) in
Theory and Practice ............................................................................. 311
Not to Despair No Matter How Great the Ignorance and Wrongdoing
May Be ................................................................................................. 315
The Importance of “Education" For All .............................................. 322
Following the “Cause and Effect" in This World While Putting One's
Complete Trust in Allah ...................................................................... 326
The Necessity of Having Support for the Call ..................................... 328
Having Full Certainty with Respect to the Absolute Importance
of Following the Truth ......................................................................... 333
The Importance of Turning to Allah .................................................... 336
Refusal to Compromise the Fundamental Beliefs ............................... 338
Using All Available Permissible Means for the Sake of the Mission.... 339
The Caller Himself and Those With Him Must Apply the Principles
of the Call ............................................................................................ 342
The Importance of Refuting the Doubts and Allegations Concerning
the True Call ........................................................................................ 343
Realizing What Means the Enemies of the Truth May Resort to ........ 345
Importance of Being United with the Muslims Whenever Possible.... 347
Realizing that the Worker May Not See All of the Fruits of His Efforts
in His Lifetime ..................................................................................... 349
Truth or Falsehood is Not To be Affirmed Simply Based on Numbers 350
The Importance of Understanding the Contemporary Reality ............. 354
Ascribing Partners to Allah (Shirk) is The Greatest Evil and All Means
Must Be Taken to Avoid It .................................................................. 355
Table 1. Summary of al-Khamees' Study Concerning Forbidden Acts
that are Means to Shirk ........................................................................ 365
Conclusions ......................................................................................... 367
The Importance and Necessity of Returning to the Pure and Original
Teachings of Islam ............................................................................... 367
The Concept of Tajdeed(“Revivalism") ............................................ 368
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab's Motivation ....................................................... 370
Final Words ......................................................................................... 373
Glossary ............................................................................................... 375
Bibliography ........................................................................................ 381
Works in English ................................................................................. 381
Works in Arabic ................................................................................... 383