The tenets of Wahhâbism disseminated by Muhammad ibn
’Abd al-Wahhâb changed into a political form in a short time in
’Abd al-’Azîz ibn Muhammad, who believed in the
Wahhabîs, declared war for the first time in
Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb belonged to the Banî Tamîm
tribe. He was born in Uyaina village near the town of Huraimila in the Najd
Desert in
[1] Translated, for the most part, from Ayyûb Sabri Pasha’s Turkish work Mir’ât al-Haramain; 5 volumes, Matba’a-i Bahriye, Istanbul, 1301-1306 A.H.
He wrote what he learned from the British spy and
mixed corrupt information from the Mu’tazila and other groups of bid’a. Many
ignorant villagers, particularly the inhabitants of Dar’iyya and their ignorant
chief, Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd, followed him. The Arabs esteemed ancestral
distinctions very highly, and because he did not belong to a wellknown family, he
used Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd as a tool to disseminate his tarîqa, which he named
Wahhâbism. He introduced himself as the Qâdî (Head of the Religious Affairs)
and Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd as the Hâkim (Ruler). He had it passed in their
constitution that both would be succeeded only by their children.
In 1306 (1888) when the book Mir’ât al-Haramain was written, the amîr of the Najd was ’Abdullâh ibn
Faysal, a descendant of Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd, and the qâdî was a descendant of
Muhammad ibn ’abd al-Wahhâb.
Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s father, ’Abd al-Wahhâb,
who was a pious, pure ’âlim in Medina, his brother Sulaimân ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb
and his teachers had apprehended from his statements, behaviour and ideas,
which he frequently had put forward as questions to them when he was a student
in Medina, that he would become a heretic who would harm Islam from the inside
in the future. They advised him to correct his ideas and advised the Muslims to
avoid him. But they soon encountered the very thing they were afraid of, and he
started disseminating his heretical ideas openly under the name of Wahhâbism. To deceive ignorant and stupid people, he came
forward with reforms and innovations incompatible with the books of the ’ulamâ’
of Islam. He dared to be so impetuous as to deem the true Muslims of Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a as disbelievers. He regarded it as polytheism to ask
Allâhu ta’âlâ for something through the mediation of our Prophet
(sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) or other prophets or awliyâ’, or to
visit their graves.
According to what Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb learned
from the British spy, he who talks to the dead while praying near a grave
becomes a polytheist. He asserted that Muslims who said that someone or
something beside Allah did something, for example, saying “such-und-such
medicine cured” or “I obtained what I asked through our master Rasûlullâh” or “such-and-such walî” were polytheists. Although the documents Ibn
’Abd al-Wahhâb made up to support such statements were nothing but lies and
slanders, the ignorant people who could not distinguish right from wrong, the
unemployed, raiders, ignoramuses, opportunists
and the hard-hearted soon assented to his ideas and
took their part on his side and regarded the pious Muslims of the right path as
disbelievers.
When Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb applied to the rulers of
Dar’iyya with the view of disseminating his heresies easily through them, they
willingly cooperated with him with the hope of extending their territories and
increasing their power. They strove with all their might do disseminate his
ideas everywhere. They declared war against those who refused and opposed them.
The bestial people and pillagers of the desert competed with one another in
joining the army of Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd when it was said that it was halâl to
plunder and kill Muslims. In 1143 (1730), Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd and Muhammad ibn
’Abd al-Wahhâb hand in hand arrived at the conclusion that those who would not
accept Wahhâbism were disbelievers and polytheists, and that it was halâl to
kill them and confiscate their possessions, and publicly announced their
declaration seven years later. Then, Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb started fabricating
ijtihâd when he was thirty-two years old and announced his false ijtihâds at
the age of forty.
As-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zainî Dahlân (rahmat-Allâhi
’alaihi), Muftî of the blessed city of Mecca, described under the topic
“Al-fitnat al-Wahhâbiyya” the tenets of Wahhâbism and the tortures the Wahhâbis
inflicted upon Muslims?[1]
He wrote: “To deceive the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna in Mecca and Medina, they
sent their men to these cities, but these men could not answer the questions of
the Muslim ’ulamâ’. It became evident that they were ignorant heretics. A
verdict declaring them disbelievers was written and distributed everywhere.
Sharîf Mas’ûd ibn Sa’îd, Amîr of Mecca, ordered that the Wahhâbîs should be
imprisoned. Some Wahhâbîs fled to Dar’iyya and recounted what had happened to
them.”[2]
The ’ulamâ’ of the Hijaz belonging to all the four
madhhabs, including Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s brother Sulaimân and also his
teachers who had trained him, studied Muhammad’s books, prepared answers to his
disunionist writings, which were destructive to Islam, and wrote, to call to
the attention of Muslims,
[1] Al-futûhât al-Islâmiyya, second volume, page 228, Cairo, 1387 (1968); photo-offset reproduction of a comparable part, Istanbul, 1395 (1975).
[2] Ibid, p. 234.
well-documented books in refutation to his heretical
writings.[1]
These books did not help much but rather increased the
Wahhâbîs’ resentment against Muslims and excited Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd to attack
Muslims and augment the bloodshed. He belonged to the Banî Hanîfa tribe, so was
a descendant of a stupid race that believed in the prophethood
of Musailamat al-Kadhdhâb. Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd died in 1178 (1765), and his son
’Abd al-’Azîz succeeded him. ’Abd al-’Azîz was assasinated, stabbed in the
abdomen by a Shî’ite, in the Dar’iyya Mosque in 1217 (1830). Then, his son
Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz became the chief of the Wahhâbîs. All three strove very
hard, as if competing with one another, to shed Muslim blood in order to
deceive the Arabs and to disseminate Wahhâbism.
The Wahhâbîs say that Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb disseminated
his thoughts in order to attain sincerity in his belief in the unity of Allah
and to rescue Muslims from polytheism. They allege that Muslims had been
committing polytheism for six centuries and that he came forth to renew and
reform the religion of Muslims. He put forward the 5th, 106th and 14th âyats of
the respective Sûras al-Ahqâf, Yûnus and ar-Ra’d as documents to make everyone
believe his ideas. However, there are many similar âyats, and the ’ulamâ’ of
tafsîr unanimously declared that all these âyats were about idolatrous
unbelievers or polytheists.
According to Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb, a Muslim becomes an
idolatrous polytheist (mushrik) if he receives istighâtha from our-Prophet
(sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), from another prophet, a walî or a
pious person near the Prophet’s grave or far away from it, that is, if he asks for
help from him to relieve him of a burden or trouble, or if he asks for his
intercession by mentioning his name or if he wants to visit his grave. Allâhu
ta’âlâ describes the situation of idolatrous disbelievers in the third âyat
al-karîma of Sûrat az-Zumar, but the Wahhâbîs display this âyat as a document
to justify their using the word “mushrik” for a Muslim who prays by putting a prophet
or a walî as an intermediary. They say that the idolaters, too, believed that
not the idols but Allâhu ta’âlâ created everything. They further say that
Allâhu ta’âlâ declared, “They [idolaters] say, ‘Of course, Allah created them,’ when
[1] See above, p. 23, for the passage translated from Hadrat Sulaimân ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s work As-sawâ’iq al-ilâhiyya fî ’r-raddi ’ala ’lwahhâbiyya; first published in 1306; second edition (reproduced by photo-offset) in Istanbul in 1395 (1975).
you ask who created them,” in the 61st and 87th âyats of Sûrat al-’Ankabût and
Sûrat az-Zuhruf, respectively. They say that the idolaters were polytheistic
disbelievers not because they believed as such but because they spoke as quoted
in the third âyat of Sûrat az-Zumar: “Those who make friends with those other than Allah say, ‘They help
us approach [Allâhu ta’âlâ] by interceding for us with Allâhu ta’âlâ.’ ” They claim that Muslims
who ask at the graves of prophets and awliyâ’ for intercession and help become
polytheists by saying such.
It is very unsound, foolish and ridiculous of Ibn ’Abd
al-Wahhâb to liken Muslims to disbelievers and polytheists in the light of this
âyat. Because, disbelievers worship idols so that idols may intercede for them;
they leave aside Allâhu ta’âlâ and ask only idols to give them their wishes,
whereas we Muslims worship neither prophets nor awliyâ’ but
expect everything only from Allâhu ta’âlâ. We wish awliyâ’ to be a wâsita or
wasîla for us. Disbelievers believe that idols intercede for whatever they wish
and make Allâhu ta’âlâ create everything they want. Whereas, Muslims ask
intercession and help of awliyâ’ whom they know as the beloved servants of
Allâhu ta’âlâ, because Allâhu ta’âlâ has revealed in the Qur’ân al-karîm that He will permit His beloved servants to intercede
and will accept their intercession and prayers and because Muslims believe this
good news stated in the Qur’ân
al-karîm. There is no analogy between
disbelievers’ worshipping idols and Muslims’ asking help of awliyâ’. Muslims
and disbelievers are human beings in appearance; they are similar in being
human beings, but Muslims are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s friends and will remain in
Paradise eternally, whereas disbelievers are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s enemies and will
remain eternally in Hell. Their superficial resemblance does not prove that
they will always remain the same. Those who entreat idols who are Allâhu
ta’âlâ’s enemies and those who entreat Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved servants may
look alike in appearance, but entreating idols leads one to Hell and entreating
awliyâ’ causes Allâhu ta’âlâ to forgive and show Mercy. The hadîth ash-sharîf, “Allahu
ta’âlâ’s Mercy descends where His beloved servants are mentioned,” too, indicates that Allâhu ta’âlâ will show Mercy and
forgive when prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salawâtu wa’t-taslîmât) and awliyâ’
are entreated.[1]
Muslims believe that prophets and awliyâ’
are not to be
[1] See the last paragraph of article 30.
worshipped and are not gods or Allâhu ta’âlâ’s
partners. Muslims believe that they are Allah’s powerless servants who do not
deserve to be worshipped or performed ’ibâda or prayed towards. Muslims believe
that they are Allah’s beloved servants whose prayers He accepts. The 35th âyat
al-karîma of Sûrat al-Ma’ida says, “Look for a wasîla to approach Me.” Allâhu ta’âlâ means that He will accept the prayers
of His pious servants and endow them with what they wish. A hadîth sharîf quoted by al-Bukhârî, Muslim and in Kunûz ad-daqâiq
declares, “Verily, there
are such human servants of Allâhu ta’âlâ that He creates it if they swear for
something; He does not belie them.”
Muslims take awliyâ’ as wasîlas and expect prayers and help from them because
they believe the above âyats and hadîths.
Although some disbelievers state that idol-statues are
not creators and that Allâhu ta’âlâ creates everything, they claim that idols
deserve to be worshipped and are able to do and make Allah to do whatever they
wish. They attribute idols as partners to Allâhu ta’âlâ. If someone asks help
of a person beside Allah and says that he will certainly help him and that
whatever he wishes will happen in any case, this person becomes a disbeliever.
But, he who says, “My wish will not be granted for sure through his will. He is
only a cause. Allâhu ta’âlâ likes those who hold fast to the causes. It is His
Custom to create as consequences of causes. I ask this person for help so as to
be holding fast to the cause, but expect my wish to be granted from Allah. Rasûlullâh, too, held fast to the causes, and I am following the Sunna of that
exalted Prophet by holding fast to the causes,” he gains thawâb. If
he obtains his wish, he thanks Allâhu ta’âlâ; if not, he resigns himself to
Allâhu ta’âlâ’s qadâ’ and qadar. The idolatry of disbelievers is not like
Muslims’ asking awliyâ’ for prayers, intercession and help. A wise, reasonable
person cannot liken these two to each other but fully comprehends that they are
different. Allâhu ta’âlâ alone creates both what is useful and what is harmful.
No one but He deserves to be worshipped. No prophet, walî or creature can
ever create anything. There is no creator besides Allah. Only, Allâhu ta’âlâ
shows Mercy to those who mention the names of His prophets,
awliyâ’ and pious, beloved servants and who regard them as mediators, and He
grants them their wish. He and His Prophet revealed this, and
Muslims, therefore, believe as they revealed.
Polytheists and disbelievers, however, regard idols as
ilâhs (gods) or ma’bûds (one to be worshipped) and worship them
though they know that idols do not create anything.
Some of them become polytheists by regarding idols as ilâhs while some others
by worshipping or regarding them as ma’bûds. They are polytheists not because
they say their idols would intercede for them and make them closer to Allah,
but because they regard them as ma’bûds and because they worship them.
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declared, “A time will come when the âyats revealed
about disbelievers will be used as documents to slander Muslims,” and “What I fear most is that some people will come to use the âyats
for purposes which Allâhu ta’âlâ does not approve of.” These two hadîths, which were related by ’Abdullâh
ibn ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ’anhumâ), foretold that the lâ-madhhabî people would
appear and ascribe the âyats revealed about disbelievers to Muslims and calumniate
the Qur’ân al-karîm.
Muslims visit the graves of those whom, they believe,
Allâhu ta’âlâ loves. They beg Allâhu ta’âlâ through the means of His beloved
servants. Rasûlulâh and as-Sahâbat al-kirâm did so, too. Rasûlullâh said in his prayers, “Oh my Rabb! I ask You for the right (love) of Your servants to
whom You grant their wishes.” He
taught this prayer to his companions and ordered them to say it, and,
therefore, Muslims pray as such.
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) put Hadrat ’Alî’s mother Fâtima bint
Asad’s corpse into the grave and prayed, “Oh my Rabb! Forgive Mother Fâtima bint Asad! Show much mercy unto
her for the love of Your Prophet and
the prophets who came before me!” He ordered a blind man, who wanted to gain his sight,
to perform a salât of two rak’as and to pray, “Oh my Rabb! I ask You for the love of Your Prophet Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) whom You, out of Mercy, sent to
Your human servants, and I make him a wasîla. I entreat You. Oh the beloved Prophet, Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm)! I entreat my Rabb through you
so that He may accept my prayer and grant me my wish. Oh my Rabb! Let that
exalted Prophet be an intercessor for me so that my prayer
may be accepted!”
Âdam (’alaihi ’s-salâm) prayed, “Oh my Rabb! Forgive
me for the love of my son Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm)!” When he had descended
onto the Serandib Island (Ceylon) after he had eaten the fruit from the tree
which Allâhu ta’âlâ had forbidden. And Allâhu ta’âlâ declared, “Oh Âdam! I
would have accepted your intercession if you had asked for intercession through
Muhammad for all beings on the earth and in the skies.”
Hadrat ’Umar took Hadrat ’Abbâs (radî-Allâhu ’anhumâ)
with him to pray for rain with the intention of making him a wasîla, and his
prayer was accepted.
The words “Oh... Muhammad!.. You...”
in the above prayer, which Rasûlullâh ordered a blind man to say, prove that it is
permissible to mention the names of awliyâ’ when praying through them.
Biographies of the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the Tâbi’ûn
(radî-Allâhu ’anhum) are full or documents which show that it is lawful and
permissible to visit graves, to ask for intercession by mentioning the name of
the dead person and to make the dead wasîlas.
Muhammad ibn Sulaiman Effendi (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih),
who is well known for his annotation to Ibn Hajar al-Hîtamî’s Tukhfa, a commentary of Minhâj, proved well with documents that Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb
was on a corrupt and heretical path and that he ascribed wrong meanings to
âyats and hadîths. He wrote: “Oh Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb! Do not slander
Muslims! I advise you for Allah’s sake. Tell him the truth if there is anyone
who says that there is a creator besides Allah! Lead him to the right path by
proving through documents! Muslims cannot be said to be disbelievers! You are a
Muslim, too. It is more correct to call one person a ‘disbeliever’ than calling
millions.It is certain that one who departs from the community is in danger.
The 114th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat an-Nisâ’ declares, ‘We will leave in disbelief and apostasy
the person who, after learning the way to guidance, opposes the Prophet (’alaihi ’s-salâm) and deviates from the Believers’ path in
îmân and ’amal, and then We will throw him into Hell, which is a a very
terrible place.’ This âyat karîma
points to the situation of those who have departed from Ahl as-Sunnat wa
’l-Jamâ’a.”
There are a great number of hadîths which explain that
it is permissible and useful to visit graves. As-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the
Tâbi’ûn (radî-Allâhu ’anhum) frequently visited Rasûlullâh’s
(sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed shrine, and many books have been
written on the way and uses of this visiting.
It is never harmful to pray by holding a walî as a
mediator (wasîla), to ask for his help by mentioning his name. It is disbelief
to believe that the person who is mentioned would be influential and certainly
do what he is asked for and would know the ghaib. Muslims should not be accused
of having such a tenet since they do not believe so. Muslims ask a beloved
servant of Allâhu ta’âlâ
only to be a mediator, to intercede and to pray for
them. He who creates what is asked for is only Allâhu ta’âlâ. His beloved
servants are asked for prayers because He has declared in the 27th âyat
al-karîma of Sûrat al-Mâ’ida, “I accept the prayers of those whom I love.” The dead are not asked to grant the wish asked for
but to be an intermediary (wâsita) for Allâhu ta’âlâ’s granting the wish. It is
not permissible to ask the dead to grant anything, and Muslims do not do so. It
is permissible to ask for their mediation for that wish to be granted. The
words istighâtha, istishfâ’ and tawassul all mean ‘asking
for wâsita or wasîla.’
Allâhu ta’âlâ alone is the One who creates everything.
It is His Custom that He makes a creature of His an intermediary or a cause in
creating another thing. He who wishes Allâhu ta’âlâ to create something should
hang on to the intermediary which is the cause for the creation of that thing. Prophets
(’alaihimu ’s-salâtu wa ’s-salâm) all hang on to the causes.
Allâhu ta’âlâ commends the act of holding on to the
causes, and prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salâtu wa ’s-salâm) ordered it. Daily
events also indicates its necessity. One should cling to the causes in order to
obtain the things one wishes for. It is necessary to believe that Allâhu ta’âlâ
alone makes those causes be the causes of certain things, makes man hang on to
those causes and creates them after man holds on to the causes. The one who
believes so may say, “I obtained this thing by holding on to that cause.” This
statement does not mean that the cause created the thing; it means that Allâhu
ta’âlâ created the thing through that cause. For example, the statements, “The
medicine I took relieved my pain”; “My sick relative recovered when I vowed a
nadhr for Hadrat as-Sayyidat Nafîsa”; “The soup satiated me,” and “Water slaked
my thirst,” all imply that these causes are only wasîlas or wâsitas. It is
necessary to think that the Muslims who make similar statements believe in this
manner, too. The one who believes so cannot be called a disbeliever. The
Wahhâbîs, too, say that it is permissible to ask for something from those who
are near and alive. They ask one another and the government officers for many
things; they even entreat them to obtain their wishes. To them, it is
polytheism to ask something from the dead or people far away, but it is not so
to ask living people. However, to the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna, the former is
not polytheism since the latter is not, and there is no difference between
them. Every Muslim believes the fundamentals of îmân and Islâm and that the
fard are fard and the harâm are harâm. It is also obvious that every
Muslim believes that Allah is the only One who creates
and makes everything, that no one besides Him can create anything. If a Muslim
says, “I won’t perform salât,” it should be understood that he means that he
will not perform salât at that moment or in that place, or because he has
already performed it. No one should slander him by alleging that he meant he
did not want to perform salât any more. Because, his being a Muslim should
prevent others from calling him a “disbeliever” or “polytheist.” No one has the
right to use the word “disbeliever” or polytheist” for a Muslim who visits
graves, asks the dead for help and intercession or says, “May my such-and-such
wish be accepted,” or “Oh Rasûl-Allâh! Please intercede for me!” His being a
Muslim indicates that his words and deeds are in accord with the permitted,
lawful belief and intention.
Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s beliefs and writing will be
demolished and refuted at their very foundation by the full comprehension and
judgement of the preceding explanations. In addition, many books have been
written to prove with documents that he was on a wrong path, that he slandered
Muslims and tried to demolish Islam from within. Sayyid ’Abd ar-Rahmân
(rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), the muftî of Zabid, Yemen, wrote that it would suffice
to quote nothing but the following hadîth ash-sharîf to show that
he was on a wrong path: “Some
people will appear in eastern Arabia. They will read the Qur’ân al-karîm. But the Qur’ân al-karîm will not go down their throats. They will
leave Islam as the arrow leaves the bow. They shave their faces.” Their faces’ being shaved clearly indicates that
those people reported to be on a wrong path are his followers. There is no need
to read other books after seeing this hadîth sharîf. It is ordered
in Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s books that his followers should shave the scalp and
sides of the face. There is no such order in any of the seventy-two heretical
groups.
A WOMAN’S SILENCING IBN ’ABD AL-WAHHÂB:
Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb also ordered women to shave off
their hair. A woman said to him: “Hair is the precious ornament of a female as
is the beard for a male. Is it apt to leave human beings deprived of their
ornaments bestowed upon them by Allâhu ta’âlâ?” Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb was unable
to give any answer to her.
Although many wrong, heretical beliefs exist
in the path led by Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb, there are three main beliefs:
1.
He
taught that rites (’a’mâl) make up a part of îmân and that
he who omits a fard (for example, does not perform
salât once because of laziness or does not give the zakât of one year because
of stinginess, though he believes that salât and zakât are fard) becomes a
disbeliever, and he must be killed and his possessions must be distributed
among the Wahhâbîs.
2. They believe that it is polytheism to make wasîla
of the souls of prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salawâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) and awliyâ’
(rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) and to ask them to pray on behalf of one who, thus,
may attain his wish or be safe against what he fears. They say that it is
forbidden to read the prayer book Dalâ’il al-khairât.
3. They believe that it is polytheism to build a dome
over a grave, to light oil-lamps for those who perform ’ibâda and serve in
shrines and to vow alms or nadhr of an animal for the souls of the dead. To
them, each of these acts is a form of worshipping a person besides Allâhu
ta’âlâ.
All the shrines of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm, Ahl al-Bait (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în), awliyâ’ and martyrs (ridwân-Allâhi ’alaihim ajma’în), except that of our master Rasûlullâh (sall-allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), were destroyed when Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz attacked Mecca and Medina. The graves became indistinct. Although they attemped to pull down Rasûlullâh’s shrine, too, those who took hold of pickaxes either went mad or suffered paralysis, and they were not able to commit that crime. When they captured Medina, Ibn Sa’ûd assembled Muslims and, slandering them, said, “Your religion is now completed by Wahhâbism, and Allah became pleased with you. Your fathers were disbelievers and polytheists. Do not follow their religion! Tell everybody that they were disbelievers! It is forbidden to stand and beg in front of Rasûlullâh’s shrine. You may only say ‘As-salâmu ’alâ Muhammad’ when passing by the shrine. He is not to be asked for intercession.”