What is the ruling on a group that warns against the Wahhabis?
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Question:
This man says that there is a group that warns him, saying: Do not listen to or read the Wahhabis. What are the Wahhabis? We do not know what the Wahhabis are.
Answer:
We are on the call of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. There is nothing in it that contradicts the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) such that it would be called Wahhabism. The Messenger's call was to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and to forbid shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is what Shaykh Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) called to: tawhid, forbidding shirk, and commanding the worship of Allah alone, with no partner for Him. This is the way of the Messenger; it is not Wahhabism.
If the Messenger were a Wahhabi, this is the way of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). We do not name a call after its proponent unless the proponent contradicts the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), like the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, and the Sufis. We attribute newly invented matters to those who invent them, but matters that are upon the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are attributed to the Messenger.
He said: The Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab did not come with anything that contradicts the Messenger. Explain it to us; bring it to us. We contradict the Messenger? We follow the Messenger, not Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. We follow the Sunnah. We declare this and testify to it: that we follow the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So if you bring something showing that Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab contradicted the Messenger, we follow the Messenger.
But, praise be to Allah, his call is present, his books are present, the books of his students are present. There is nothing in them, praise be to Allah, except the call to the Sunnah. So let them drop this talk, these labels, and these matters that involve deterring people from accepting the truth.
Our goal is the truth and following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), forbidding shirk, and commanding the worship of Allah alone, with no partner for Him. Reviving the Sunnah and killing off bid'ah (religious innovation) is our way and our call. If you find an error in us, point it out to us; may Allah reward you with good. But mere labels and mere deterring is not permissible. This is following desires. Do not listen to the deluded who say to you: If they tell you "Wahhabi," say: What is Wahhabi? Clarify it for me so that if it is truth, I follow it, and if it is falsehood, I leave it. Clarify it for me, explain it to me. Their books are present; bring them so we can read them. If we find a contradiction, we leave the contradiction.
And if we find truth in it, we seek the truth with the Wahhabis and with others. This is the obligatory duty of the one who seeks the truth. As for the one who follows desires, there is no remedy for him.[Al-Jathiyah 45:23] Do you not remember? The one who seeks the truth will not find with Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, if Allah wills, anything but the truth. I do not say that he is infallible; he may err. If he errs, we leave the error. He is not infallible, and he did not say to us: Follow me in everything. He said: Follow the truth. He said: Follow the truth. As for if a scholar errs, we avoid the error and take the correct, this is what is required.
This man says that there is a group that warns him, saying: Do not listen to or read the Wahhabis. What are the Wahhabis? We do not know what the Wahhabis are.
Answer:
We are on the call of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. There is nothing in it that contradicts the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) such that it would be called Wahhabism. The Messenger's call was to tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and to forbid shirk (associating partners with Allah). This is what Shaykh Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him) called to: tawhid, forbidding shirk, and commanding the worship of Allah alone, with no partner for Him. This is the way of the Messenger; it is not Wahhabism.
If the Messenger were a Wahhabi, this is the way of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). We do not name a call after its proponent unless the proponent contradicts the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), like the Jahmiyyah, the Mu'tazilah, and the Sufis. We attribute newly invented matters to those who invent them, but matters that are upon the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are attributed to the Messenger.
He said: The Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab did not come with anything that contradicts the Messenger. Explain it to us; bring it to us. We contradict the Messenger? We follow the Messenger, not Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. We follow the Sunnah. We declare this and testify to it: that we follow the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). So if you bring something showing that Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab contradicted the Messenger, we follow the Messenger.
But, praise be to Allah, his call is present, his books are present, the books of his students are present. There is nothing in them, praise be to Allah, except the call to the Sunnah. So let them drop this talk, these labels, and these matters that involve deterring people from accepting the truth.
Our goal is the truth and following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), forbidding shirk, and commanding the worship of Allah alone, with no partner for Him. Reviving the Sunnah and killing off bid'ah (religious innovation) is our way and our call. If you find an error in us, point it out to us; may Allah reward you with good. But mere labels and mere deterring is not permissible. This is following desires. Do not listen to the deluded who say to you: If they tell you "Wahhabi," say: What is Wahhabi? Clarify it for me so that if it is truth, I follow it, and if it is falsehood, I leave it. Clarify it for me, explain it to me. Their books are present; bring them so we can read them. If we find a contradiction, we leave the contradiction.
And if we find truth in it, we seek the truth with the Wahhabis and with others. This is the obligatory duty of the one who seeks the truth. As for the one who follows desires, there is no remedy for him.
Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah?
أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ وَأَضَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَلَىٰ عِلْمٍ وَخَتَمَ عَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِ وَقَلْبِهِ وَجَعَلَ عَلَىٰ بَصَرِهِ غِشَاوَةً فَمَن يَهْدِيهِ مِن بَعْدِ اللَّهِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما القول في جماعة تحذر من الوهابية؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.