Wahabism Unmasked (2)
In the previous article we talked about Ibn Teymiyya who lived in the 7th and 8th centuries AH. Ibn Teymiyya proposed his divergent and innovative ideas on Islam which led to harsh and disparaging criticism from the people and Muslim scholars of his time.
Ibn Teymiyya expressed his ideas through the many books he wrote. After his death in the year 728 AH his ideas were forgotten and only a few people continued to follow him. However, five centuries later, a man named Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab Najdi basing his ideas on Ibn Teymiyya created a sect called Wahabism. In this article we will go over the life of Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab.
In the Year 1115 AH Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab the founder of the Wahabi sect was born in Arabia. In his adolescence he was greatly influenced by Ibn Teymiyya’s ideas and proposed ideas that were extremely different from the conventional teachings of Islam. In order to publicize his ideas and to expand Salafi thoughts he resorted to the power of the sword with the aid of one of the rulers of the region <
Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab’s father was worried about the future of his son since his childhood as he had seen in his behavior and speech signs of perversity and deviation. Abdul Wahab ridiculed and criticized many of the inviolable tenets of Muslims. During his education in Medina he occasionally discussed perverse subjects. His teachers concluded that in future his policies and ideas would become more deviant. Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab while in Medina criticized the recourse of the people towards the holy prophet of Islam and their pilgrimages to the holy shrines. It has been said that during his youth he read and showed great interest in the biographies of rumor mongers with regard to the prophet such as Mosilameh Kazzab, Sajjaj, Asvad Onsi and their likes. But his core thoughts and ideas originate from Ibn Teymiyya and his students such as Gheimar Jozi.
Mohammad Bin Abdul-Wahab left Medina and returned to Najd because of the objections he faced against his ideas from the people. After that he went to Basra for a while. In Basra just like before, he was not in harmony with ideas and beliefs of the people there and when he continued to persist on his ideas he was eventually thrown out of the city.
According to religious experts, Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab in some of his ideas even superseded Ibn Teymiyya. He had strayed so far off the straight path of religion that he insulted the lifestyle of Muslims and called them unbelievers and polytheists and he even considered the killing of some Muslims a necessity. Abdul-Wahab with his sick and deranged thoughts called the Islamic lands including Mecca and Medina as “Dar-al-Fekr” (House of Contemplation) and “Dar-al-Harb” (House of War) and he made it obligatory for his followers to destroy and occupy these sacred places. Violence was a well-known attribute of Abdul Wahab and his followers.
In addition to the opposition from his father, his brother sheikh Suleiman also rejected his ideas. In his biography it is written that when his father was alive he had prevented him from openly calling for followers. However, after the death of his father in the year 1153 AH he found the opportunity to openly impose his ideas on those naive people. After Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab’s ideas became apparent many great Muslim scholars protested against his blasphemous ideas. Sheikh Suleiman the brother of Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab, a Hanbali scholar compiled a book titled “Divine Lightening in rejecting Wahabism” to counter his brother’s ideas. He wrote many letters to Abdul Wahab warning him of his heresy toward Islam. In one of the letters he wrote: “What I have learned from the teachings of the theologians I will write for you. If you accept it, it is so much the better and I will thank God and if you don’t I will still thank God for I have fulfilled my duty. Know that the all- knowing omniscient God sent prophet Mohammad (SA) with the Holy Quran and the true religion to the world in order to surpass all religions and The Holy Quran was revealed to him with truth to clarify all ambiguities. God said that this religion would conquer every other faith.” Sheikh Suleiman continued citing verses from the Quran that prove the superiority of the prophet’s communication and that conformity to all the stated regulations was a fundamental obligation for all believers. In the rest of his letter he points to Abdul-Wahab, verse 15 of surah Nisa which reads: “Anyone who has been enlightened about what is right and still opposes the prophet (SA) and strays from the path of the believers, we will send him down the same path he is taking which leads only to hell.”
But Abdul Wahab persisted firmly on his ignorant ideologies and accursed contradictions. Suleiman pointed out Abdul Wahab’s foolish ignorance once again, he addressed him: << the prophet (SAWA) tells us that an ignorant person should not be allowed to impose his tyranny; it is his obligation to investigate and ask what he does not know from the theologians. Surah Anbiya, ayah (verse) 7 reads:
“And We did not send before you any but men to whom We sent revelation, so ask the followers of the reminder if you do not know.”
So sheikh Suleiman warned him of his ignorance and told him it was the obligation of an ignorant person to follow and if need be to inquire from the religious thinkers and authorities what he does not know.
Despite all the opposition that Abdul Wahab’s ideas faced, he still was able to promote his heretical ideas among some of the residents of Najd. Social analysts state that one of the reasons that the people of that area converted to Abdul Wahab’s ideologies was their social and cultural inadequacy. The people of that area were desert dwellers with a low culture and little religious knowledge. Anyone could have easily deceived them. Abdul Wahab used pervasive and commonplace phrases and language and after some time he was able to draw them towards himself. Of course it should not remain unsaid that he had gained the support of Mohammad Bin Saud and colonial powers such as England to help promote his ideas. In the next article we will speak about the way the colonizers supported Abdul Wahab.
