Imaam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab - His Life and Mission
abu marthad al ghanawiyy
Imaam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab
His Life and Mission
by Shaikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Baz
This article is based on a lecture given by Shaikh Abdul Aziz Ibn
Abdullah Ibn Baz about the life and Mission of Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdul
Wahhab.
Published by Darussalaam
Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab was a great man, an outstanding reformer
and a zealous preacher, who appeared in the Arabian Peninsula in the
twelfth century A.H. He was educated by his father in his homeland,
Oyayna, a village located at Yamama in Najd, northwest to the city of
Riyadh. He learnt to read the Qur'aan at a very early age and exerted
himself in studies and advanced learning at the hands of his father,
Shaikh Abdul Wahhab Ibn Sulaiman, who was a great jurisprudent and the
Judge of Oyayna.
Having attained puberty, the Shaikh traveled to Makkah and then to
Medina to learn from learned personalities there. Then he went to Iraq
(Basrah) to seek after knowledge. It was in Iraq that he started his
mission. There he called the people to Tawheed and the Sunnah of the
Prophet (). He announced that it was the duty of every Muslim to follow
his or her religion (Islam) strictly in accordance with the Qur'aan and
the Sunnah. He engaged in debates and discussion with scholars and thus
became famous. However, some characterless scholars rebelled against
him and he faced some harms and persecutions from them. So, he left
Basrah moving towards Az-zubair, then to al-Ahsa, and then finally to
Huraymela, where also he faced much suffering at the hands of the
wicked because he enjoined the good and forbade the evil and persuaded
the rulers to punish the criminals severely. So, some of them even
attempted on his life, but Allah saved him. Then he moved to Oyayna,
which was then governed by Prince Uthman Ibn Muhammad Ibn Muammar, who
welcomed the Shaikh with hospitality and promised him all support and
help in calling people to Islam.
People in Najd at that time lived in a condition that could not be
approved by any believer. Polytheism had spread widely; people
worshiped domes, trees, rocks, caves or any persons who claimed to be
Awliya (saints). Magic and soothsaying also had spread. When the Shaikh
saw that polytheism was dominating the people and that no one showed
any disapproval of it or no one was ready to call people back to Allah,
he decided to labor singly and patiently in the field. He knew that
nothing could be achieved without Jihad, patience and suffering.
The Shaikh continued calling people to the Path of Allah and guided
them to piety, righteousness and love in the cause of Allah. Gradually,
the Shaikh became famous in and around Oyayna. People came to Oyayna to
meet him from neighboring areas and villages. He also wrote to many
scholars requesting their support and reminding them of their task of
helping Allah's Religion and fighting against polytheism. Many scholars
from Najd, Makkah and al-Medina accepted his request, while some
disagreed with him, reproached his mission, condemned him and kept him
away.
The Shaikh and those with him were in between two types of people; one
group consisted of the ignorant people, who knew nothing about Islam
and followed deviations and innovations, superstitions, etc. which
their forefathers had upheld. The Qur'aan says about them, "We found
our fathers following a certain way and religion and we will indeed
follow their footsteps." The second group, on the other hand, was
related to knowledge but responded negatively to the Shaikh because of
their envy and also because they were ashamed and afraid that the
people would question their integrity, 'why did you keep silent without
warning us against such and such evils until Abdul Wahhab appeared?'
But the Shaikh carried on patiently seeking the Help of Allah in all
matters. He strove hard in studying the Qur'aan and reading useful
books. He had a special skill of interpreting the Qur'aan and deducing
from it. He also worked hard in studying the life of the Prophet r and
the lives of his companions (radhi allahu anhum).
The Shaikh went on teaching and preaching. Gradually, he exerted
himself on practically removing polytheism when he noticed that his
call to Islam had no affect on some. One day, the Shaikh said to the
governor, 'Let us demolish the dome at the grave of Zaid Ibn al-Khatab
t (Zaid Ibn al-Khatab was the brother of Umar Ibn al-Khattab t and a
martyr, who died in the fighting against Musailimah Khaddhab in 12 A.H,
he was buried and later on people built a dome on his grave). It is
erected on deviation and the Prophet r has forbidden building domes or
mosques on graves. Moreover, this dome has destroyed the people's
belief with polytheism. So, it must be demolished.'
The Prince agreed and mobilized an army of six hundred soldiers and
marched towards the grave, headed by the Shaikh. As soon as they
approached the dome, the people came forward to defend it but when they
saw the Prince with his army, they changed their decision. Then the
Shaikh took the action of demolishing and removing the dome. Allah
removed it by his hands and Al-hamdulillah, none of its traces remains
now. Similarly, there were other domes, caves, trees, etc. that were
also destroyed and removed. The Shaikh, thus, continued his mission by
words and action, for which he became very famous. Also, one day a
woman came to him and confessed that she had committed adultery. After
realizing that she was sane, married and had confessed without external
compulsion, he gave the order according to the Sunnah that she should
be stoned to death as a punishment, as he had now become the Judge of
Oyayna.
Meanwhile, the Prince of al-Ahsa (and surrounding villages) feared the
Shaikh's position, because committing wrong, robbery, murder, etc, were
usual for them. He wrote to Prince Uthman threatening him and demanding
him to kill the Shaikh. The Prince approached the Shaikh saying, "the
nomad prince has sent me a message to do so and so. We never wish to
kill you, but we are afraid of the prince and we are unable to fight
him. So if you think you may leave." The Shaikh replied: "I am simply
calling people to Islam and to the fulfillment of the testimony of
Faith that there is no god except Allah and Muhammad is Allah's
Messenger. Whoever holds fast to Islam and upholds it truthfully, Allah
will help him and make him ruler of his enemy's countries. And if you
endure and be righteous and accept this Religion, then be glad that
Allah will help you and protect you from the nomad prince and others.
Allah will also give you power over his country and his kinfolk." But
Uthman said: "O Shaikh! But we cannot fight him nor can we stand his
oppression." So, the Shaikh had to leave Oyayna for Dareyya on foot
because Uthman did not even provide him any means of transportation.
On reaching Dareyya, the Shaikh stayed in the house of a man who was
one of the best personalities in Dareyya, but he feared the prince of
Dareyya, Muhammad Ibn Suad. The Shaikh said to him, 'be glad and hope
for the best. I am simply calling the people to Allah's Religion, and
He will undoubtedly make it victorious.'
The news of Shaikh's arrival in Dareyya reached Muhammad Ibn Suad. It
is said that his wife first informed him of the Shaikh. She was a kind
and pious lady and she addressed her husband saying, 'Here is a great
fortune sent to you by Allah. A man who is calling the people to Islam,
calling to the Qur'aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet r. What a good
fortune! Rush to him and support him. Never resist him or stop him from
that.' Muhammad Ibn Suad accepted her advice and went to the Shaikh and
made a contract with the Shaikh that he should not leave the country.
The Shaikh now settled in Dareyya. People started to come to him for
learning from everyplace - from Oyayna, Iraq, Manfooha, Riyadh and
other neighboring places. Respected, loved, supported by the people,
the Shaikh arranged lectures on various topics; Creed, the Holy
Qur'aan, the Qur'aanic commentaries, Islamic Jurisprudence and its
principles, the Hadeeth and its terminology, and others. He arranged
classes for the public as well as for the selected persons. Thus, he
continued his mission and activities of preaching in Dareyya. He wrote
to the scholars and rulers establishing his arguments and warning them
against polytheism and innovation. Because of his correspondence with
scholars and rulers and his struggling in the cause of Allah, the
Shaikh became famous. His mission continued and spread all over the
Islamic world and also other countries.
It is a known fact that every favor has its envier, as every preacher
has his enemies. Allah, the Exalted, said in the Qur'aan: "And so We
have appointed to every Prophet an enemy - devils among the men and
Jinn - inspiring to each other adorned speech as a delusion. And had
your Lord willed they could not have done it. So, leave them alone to
their fabrication." [Soorah al-An'aam (6): 112]
When the Shaikh became famous for his teaching, and his writings
received wide popularity among the people, many envious groups emerged
as his opponents. One group consisted of characterless scholars who saw
the truth as falsehood and falsehood as truth, and believed that
building domes and invoking the engraved as pertaining to Islam. The
second group was associated with knowledge but was ignorant of the
reality of the Shaikh's mission. They simply believed others and kept
aloof from the Shaikh. The third group that opposed the Shaikh
consisted such people who feared the removal of their positions and
ranks. They showed humility so that the supporters of the Islamic
mission might not reach them and remove their positions and take over
their lands.
So, some opposed him in the name of religion, while other opposed him
in the name of politics though they hid under the cover of knowledge
and religion and exploited the enmity of those scholars who had hated
him and accused him of deviation. Sometimes, his opponents argued that
he belonged to the Khawarij, at times some criticized him out of their
lack of proper knowledge, etc. Thus, the fighting between words
continued through debates and arguments. He would write to them and
they would reply to him, and he would refute them, and thus numerous
questions and answers were accumulated and compiled into volumes. And
Al-hamdulillah, most of them have been published. Then the Shaikh
turned to Jihad in 1158 A.H, he wrote to people to enter the field of
Jihad and remove polytheism, which existed in their countries.
The Shaikh, thus, strove in his preaching and Jihad for fifty years
from 1158 A.H. until he died in 1206. He resorted to all methods of his
mission - Jihad, preaching, resistance, debates and arguments until
people adhered to obedience and demolished the domes and mosques built
by them on the graves and agreed to run their affairs in accordance
with Islamic Law, discarding all rules and laws which had been applied
by their fathers and forefathers. Then after the death of the Shaikh,
his sons, grandson and supporters continued his mission and struggle in
the cause of Allah