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Brief Life Account of the founder of the heretical cult 'Wahhabism'
The sons and grandsons of the Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab are still living in the Arabia, some of whom are known by the family name, “Al ash-Shaykhâ€. The children of Muhammad Al as-Sa\'ud holding the reins of government in Arabia are known as “al Sa\'udâ€. The country had been known before as “Hijaz Muqaddas (Holy Hijaz)â€, 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 â€\'Ayniyyahâ€. 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 Muslims of the region including Sunni and Shia 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 the false and heretical cult doctrines of Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab. 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\' in Najd, 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 Najd 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 Second Caliph \'Umar ibn al-Khattab.
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 Ottoman Caliphate in Hijaz 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-Ã -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 with ulama of the Ahl as-Sunnah, successive travels to a number of cities in the Muslim world, and enduring the wrath and anger of the \'ulama\' of the Ahl as-Sunnah, Shaykh Muhammad was able to find his own supporters and votaries, who are nowadays known as the Wahhabbis.
According to historical sources which have been written in his praise and appreciation and also negating the deviant nature of his doctrines, the Shaykh passed away in 1206 AH at the age of 92 in Dar\'iyyah.
In short, after the death of the Shaykh, his heretical cult beliefs and views were promoted and propagated with the support and blessing of British Empire and their domestic political brokers in the Muslim world and Wahhabism is the official religion of the ruling tribal monarchy of Al-Saud Family. The Wahhabis with the help of petrodollars are spreading this innovative deviating false 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 heretical cult previously supported by British Empire and now by USA is called Wahhabism derived from the name of the Shaykh\'s father. Although the Shaykh Abdul Wahhab was a follower of the Hanbali school of thought. Shaykh Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab regarded himself as free to think, choose and formulate his own innovative beliefs pertaining to religion. Since he considered himself an initiator of a new set of heretical cult beliefs, he expressed his beliefs in the following points:
1. He treated all Muslims as infidels (Kafir) and polytheists (Mushrik) while thinking of himself as the only true Muslim;
2. He declared visiting the graves and constructing domes and courtyards around the cemetery of the Holy Prophet (SAW) and his Companions 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 inter mediation {tawassul} of the saints of God;
5. He considered it obligatory to wage jihad against those Muslims who opposed his innovative creed, saying: “Wage war against the Muslims who are infidels and polytheists.
This is the summary of the life account and beliefs of Shaykh Muhammad ibn \'Abd al-Wahhab as taken from Kitab At-Tawhid written by him.
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 Ibn Taymiyyah. Contrary to other \'ulama\' of the Ahl as-Sunnah, Ibn Taymiyyah expressed new beliefs and opinions which can be extracted from his books on jurisprudence and history.
Ibn Taymiyyah lived during the 8th century AH. Ibn Taymiyyah believed in 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 Muhammad ibn \'Abd al-Wahhab 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 Sunni \'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 Sunni \'ulama\' of Damascus and finally expired in the prison of Damascus and was buried there.
The British agent, Ibn Sa‘ud
In the territory of Dar\'iyyah in the region of Najd, which is a mountainous territory, a person named Muhammad ibn Sa\'ud who was a British paid agent assumed the chieftainship of his tribe. Shaykh Muhammad ibn \'Abd al-Wahhab became acquainted with Ibn Sa\'ud, the British agent and relayed to him his new doctrines, and Ibn Sa\'ud in turn accepted them with the help and mediation of the agents and spies of the British Empire who wanted to create dissention in the Ottoman Caliphate because Najd was part of the Ottoman Caliphate. They agreed together to set up a heretical cult Wahhabi government in Najd where religious and judicial affairs, issues concerning propagation, and the leadership of the Friday prayers would be assumed by the Shaykh Muhammad ibn \'Abd al-Wahhab while the political, social, military, and security affairs would be under Ibn Sa\'ud.
The government in Hijaz and Najd like many Muslim countries, was under Ottoman Caliphate whose capital was present-day Turkey. With Al Sa\'ud\'s ascension to power, Najd seceded from Ottoman Caliphate with financial and military help of British Empire and in the course of time, it fell under the complete control of the British rule. But the army of the Ottoman Caliphate destroyed the town of Dar\'iyyah and arrested Muhammad ibn Sa\'ud, who was taken as a captive to Istanbul, capital of Ottoman Caliphate and was hanged on the orders of the Grand Sunni Ulama of Ottoman Caliphate in the public square in Istanbul before the general public after the Friday prayers.
After World War I, the British Empire and France divided the Ottoman caliphate between themselves and the British brought into power Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, the grandson of Muhammad ibn Sa\'ud as the King of Najd. Abdul Aziz ibn Saud and the surviving family members of Muhammad ibn Sa\'ud were kept under the protection of the British Empire and after the fall of Ottoman Caliphate Abdul Aziz ibn Saud with the help of British army captured Hijaz and in 1932 established the Kingdom of the family of Saud in Holy Hijaz and changed its name as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with heretical cult \'Wahhabism\' as their official religion. Since then till today the rulers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fully implemented the agenda of the British Empire and are now under the full command of USA and their Zionists masters.
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