Fail Muhammad Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab

Fail Muhammad Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab LEADER OF THE KHUWARIJ (Arabic: محمد بن عبد الوهاب‎) (born 1703 in Uyaynah; died 1792) was a prominent Sunni Muslim scholar who wrote many books against polytheism (or "Shirk").

Biography

Childhood and Early Life

Some details have been pieced together via the work of numerous historians. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab is generally acknowledged to have been born in 'Uyayna, in 1703 and to have been a member of the Arab tribe of Banu Tamim. He was thought to have started studying Islam at an early age, primarily with his father ('Abd al-Wahhab), as he was from a line of scholars of the Hanbali school of jurisprudence. While there is some consensus over these details, there is not a unanimous agreement over the specifics and some minority opinions do exist in regard to his place and date of birth. Seemingly his recognition with the Banu Tamim tribe and Hanbali school of thought is in line with the justification by some scholars of being the inheritor of the teachings of Taqi-Al Din Ibn Taymiyyah.

Reforms

Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab spent some time studying with Muslim scholars in Basra (in southern Iraq), and it is reported that he traveled to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina to perform Hajj and study with the scholars there, before returning to his home town of Uyayna in 1740. Official sources on ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's life put his visits to these cities in different chronological order, and the full extent of such travels remains disputed among historians.

Almost all sources agree that his reformist ideas were formulated while living in Basra, where he became somewhat famous for his debates with the Islamic scholars there. Dates are missing in a great many cases, thus it is difficult to reconstruct a chronology of his life up until his return to 'Uyayna.

Like most scholars in Najd at the time, Ibn Abd-al-Wahhab was a follower of Ibn Hanbal's school of jurisprudence but "was opposed to any of the schools (Madh'hab) being taken as an absolute and unquestioned authority," and condemned taqlid.

After his return to 'Uyayna, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab began to attract followers there, including the ruler of the town, Uthman ibn Mu'ammar. With Ibn Mu'ammar's support, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab began to implement some of his ideas for reform. First, he persuaded ibn Mu'ammar to level the grave of Zayd ibn al-Khattab, a companion of the Muslim prophet Muhammad whose grave was revered by locals, citing Islamic teachings that forbid grave worship. Secondly, he ordered that an adulteress be stoned to death, a practice that had become uncommon in the area. These actions gained the attention of Sulaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Ghurayr of the tribe of Bani Khalid, the chief of Al-Hasa and Qatif, who held substantial influence in Najd. Ibn Ghurayr threatened Ibn Mu'ammar that he would not allow him to collect a land tax for some properties that he owned in al-Hasa if he did not kill ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. Ibn Mu'ammar declined to do this, but ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab was forced to leave. Foremost among his detractors were his own father and brother.

Alliance with the House of Saud

Upon his expulsion from 'Uyayna, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab was invited to settle in neighboring Dir'iyya by its ruler Muhammad ibn Saud in 1740 (1157 AH). Two of Ibn Saud's brothers had been students of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab in Uyayna, and are said to have played a role in convincing Ibn Saud to take him in. Ibn Saud's wife is also reported to have been a adherent to Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's cause. Upon arriving in Diriyya, a pact was made between Ibn Saud and Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, by which Ibn Saud pledged to implement Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's teachings and enforce them on his and his neighboring towns. Beginning in the last years of the 18th century Ibn Saud and his heirs (The House of Saud) would spend the next 140 years mounting various academic and military campaigns to seize control of Arabia and its outlying regions, finally taking control of the whole of modern day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1922. This provided the movement with a state. Vast wealth from oil discovered in the following decades, coupled with Saudi control of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have since provided a base and funding for Salafi missionary activity.

Support

Amongst his modern supporters were the late Shaikh bin Baz and Shaikh Uthaymeen of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Muqbil of Yemen, and Shaikh Albani of Albania.

Legacy

Muhammed bin 'Abd Al Wahhab considered his movement an effort to purify Islam by returning Muslims to what he believed were the original principles of Islam, as typified by the Salaf and rejecting what he regarded as corruptions introduced by Bid'ah and Shirk.

Although all Muslims pray to one God, Muhammed bin 'Abd Al Wahhab was keen on emphasizing that no intercession with God was possible without God's permission, which God only grants to whom He wills and only to benefit those whom He wills, certainly not the ones who invoke anything or anyone except Him, as these would never be forgiven. Specific practices, such as celebrating the birth of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, were also deemed as innovations based on the fact that there is no supportive text from the Quran or hadith sanctioning such a practice; and furthermore, the companions did not practice it either. He is hence considered by his followers to be a great revivalist of Islam, and by his opponents as an innovator and heretic. In either case, Muhammed bin 'Abd Al Wahhab's impact on Islam has been considerable and significant.

Muhammed bin 'Abd al-Wahhab also revived interest in the works of the Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiya, who in turn called for the revival of the methodology of the Sahabah / companions, the scholars of the tabi'een / followers and the methodologies of the Imams of the madhhabs, such the Imam Abu Haneefah, Imam Malik, Imam Al Shafi'ee and Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal.

Muhammed bin Abd al-Wahhab's descendents are known today as "Aal-Shaykh" ("The family of the Shaykh"). The family of Al al-Shaykh has included several religious scholars, including the former grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad ibn Ibrahm Al al-Shaykh, who issued the fatwa calling for the abdication of King Saud in 1964. Both the current Saudi minister of justice and the current grand mufti of Saudi Arabia are also descendents of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab.

Works

• Usuulu Thalaatha (The Three Fundamental Principles) --> (downloadable) http://kalamullah.com/Books/Explanation%20of%20the%20Three%20Fundam...
• Al Qawaaid Al ‘Arbaa’ (The Four Foundations of Shirk) --> (ebook with video explanation) http://www.qsep.com/dvd/fourfoundations.html
• Al Qawaaid Al ‘Arbaa’ (The Four Fundamental Principles) --> (downloadable) http://abdurrahman.org/tawheed/4basicrules.pdf
• The Six Fundamental Principles --> (downloadable) http://abdurrahman.org/tawheed/6mightyprinciples.pdf
• Adab al-Mashy Ila as-Salaa (Manners of Walking to the Prayer) http://abdurrahman.org/salah/walkingtoprayer.html
• Usul al-Iman (Foundations of Faith) --> (downloadable) http://abdurrahman.org/tawheed/fundamentalsofislam.pdf
• Fadail al-Islam (Excellent Virtues of Islam)
• Fadail al-Qur’an (Excellent Virtues of the Qur'an)
• Kitab at-Tauhid (The Book of the Unity of God) http://abdurrahman.org/tawheed/KTwahab/beliefs/creed/abdulwahab/fra...
• Kitab Kashf as-Shubuhat (The Book of Clarification of Uncertainties)
• Majmu’a al-Hadith ‘Ala Abwab al-Fiqh {Compendium of the Hadith on the Main Topics of the Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)}
• Mukhtasar al-Iman (Literally Abridgement of the Faith, means the summarized version of a work on Faith)
• Mukhtasar al-Insaf wal-Sharh al-Kabir (Abridgement of the Equity and the Great Explanation)
• Mukhtasar Seerat ar-Rasul (Summarized Biography of the Prophet)
• Mukhtasar al-Sawaiq (Literally Summary of the Lightning bolt, it is a summary of a criticism of Shi’as written in Palestine by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani).
• Mukhtasar Fath al-Bari (Fath al-Bari is a commentary on the Sahih al-Bukhari by Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani).
• Mukhtasar al-Minhaj (Summary of the Path, most likely referring to Minhaj al-Sunna by Ibn Taymiyya)
• Kitaabu l-Kabaair (The Book of Great Sins)
• Kitabu l-Imaan (The Book of Trust/Belief) Many of them can be found here: http://abdurrahman.org/scholars/AbdulWahab.html

Family

Muhammad ibn 'Abd Al-Wahhab had six sons; Hussain, Abdullah, Hassan, Ali and Ibrahim and abdulaziz who died in his youth. All his surviving sons established religious schools close to their homes and taught the young students from Diriyah and other places.

Sources

There are two contemporary histories of Muhammed bin 'Abd Al Wahhab and his religious movement from the point of view of his supporters: Ibn Ghannam's Rawdhat al-Afkar wal-Afham (commonly known as Tarikh Najd) and Ibn Bishr's 'Unwan al-Majd fi Tarikh Najd. Ibn Ghannam, a native of al-Hasa who died in 1811, was the only historian to have observed the beginnings of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab's movement first-hand. His chronicle ends at the year 1797. Ibn Bishr's chronicle, which stops at the year 1854, was written a generation later than Ibn Ghannam's, but is considered valuable partly because Ibn Bishr was a native of Najd and because Ibn Bishr adds many details to Ibn Ghannam's account. A third account, dating from around 1817 is Lam' al-Shihab, written by an anonymous Sunni author who respectfully disapproved of Muhammed bin Abd Al Wahhab's movement, regarding it as a bid'a (innovation). It is also commonly cited because it is considered to be a relatively objective contemporary treatment of the subject. However, unlike Ibn Ghannam and Ibn Bishr, its author did not live in Najd and his work is believed to contain some apocryphal and legendary material with respect to the details of Muhammed bin Abd Al Wahhab's life.