Is there anyone who claims that the Salafi da'wah cannot be established on earth except with political support, as happened with Imam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab?

The questioner : There are those who claim that the Salafi da'wah, the da'wah of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), cannot stand as it should in reality except with political support, and reality confirms this, as is the case with the da'wah of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab; so what is your opinion?

The Shaykh : We say, we are sorry that these people who think they are doing well in political work have not yet corrected their 'aqidah (creed) nor understood the tawhid of their Lord. We say to them: The Salafi da'wah, in its various names that I mentioned earlier, means understanding Islam in a general and comprehensive way regarding all its rulings. It is not limited to tawhid alone, nor to what is broader than that regarding the circle of 'aqidah as defined by scholars, nor is it limited to acts of worship, morals, or transactions alone. Rather, it relates to understanding Islam from its two pure sources: the Book of Allah and the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), with a very important addition: namely, according to the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih (the Pious Predecessors) (may Allah be pleased with them).
We have each worked within the limits of our ability... each person works... in clarifying this Islam from all its aspects. One individual may not be able to undertake the explanation of Islam from all its aspects, but it is obligatory upon the Ummah as a whole, or in other words, upon the specialists of the Ummah as a whole, or upon the true scholars, that they undertake the explanation of Islam in light of the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih; this is the da'wah. As for if a person among us, for example, only corrects authentic hadiths and weakens weak hadiths; this does not mean he is not doing other work, but his other work may be less than that or close to it. Similarly, if another man derives rulings from the Book of Allah alone, another from the Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) alone, and a third from the combination of both sources, the Book and the Sunnah, but he is not able, for example, to authenticate and weaken, we do not criticize him because he is not doing the work of that other person, nor do we speak ill of him because he is not doing the work of the first or the third, and so on. Rather, it is obligatory upon this group of scholars to work to explain and make the entire Muslim Ummah understand Islam with the correct concept, with the third condition. When the group that rises to this duty exists... according to the previously mentioned methodology, then the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah. As for wanting to do political work, even if we took a group leader who does political work and claims he is working for Islam and for establishing the state of Islam; if we asked him: What is tawhid al-rububiyyah (oneness of lordship)? What is tawhid al-uluhiyyah (oneness of worship)? What is tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes)? Perhaps it would be as the old Arabic proverb says: "More exhausted than the one who carries the bundle"; meaning, at the limit of inability to answer this question which relates to the first testimony, from which the disbeliever does not escape except by acknowledging it from the sword of Islam first, and then he does not escape from eternal abode in the Fire except if he first understands its meaning correctly, in detail as previously mentioned, which includes that there is no god but Allah; meaning: there is no one worthy of worship in truth except Allah. If he understands this meaning and believes in it in the depths of his heart, he will be saved from eternal abode in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, otherwise it will not benefit him that he said: There is no god but Allah, except that he was saved from the sword in this world.
If we asked some of those engaged in politics this question, they would be unable to answer. And as we have a joke in some Syrian countries, they say: A Kurd met a Jew on the road during the decline of Islam, so he grabbed him by the collar and drew the dagger from his side, and said to him: ... Islam or I will kill you. He said: What do I say? He said to him: By Allah, I do not know. [Everyone laughs!]. He is threatening him with death so that he will become a Muslim, but... he has no way to Islam, he says: I do not know. With people like these, politicians want to win against the enemy... there is no victory ever, except first of all by understanding tawhid from the first testimony: There is no god but Allah, and then by understanding the second testimony: And Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And as we said and all callers to Allah say in this testimony and others, that the first testimony necessitates that we do not worship anyone with Allah, and the other testimony necessitates that we do not worship Allah except by what Allah has prescribed. These two meanings are what most Muslims today, especially those who work in politics, do not know, and he who lacks a thing cannot give it!
So we do not call for political work, not because political work is not prescribed; Islam is broader than what they imagine, but as some said:
"If you seek knowledge, it is much
And life is short in acquiring it
“So prioritize the more important of them, then the more important.”
They must look today at what is most urgent for the Muslim world. What is most urgent for the Muslim world to be recognized? Is it political work, or understanding the 'aqidah: the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and improving their faith in the unseen, which is the first attribute that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned in the first verse of Surat al-Baqarah: Who are they? , then He mentioned: ; so what is the matter today that the Muslim world lives in labyrinths related to faith in the unseen, and specifically, if my expression is correct, people are lost today in faith in the unseen of the unseen, which is the Lord of the worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He); as evidenced by the fact that the specialists of the Muslim world today in many countries do not know Allah as Allah described Himself in His Book, and as His Prophet described Him in his Sunnah. Rather, no—here is a greater calamity—I say or I said earlier: they do not know Allah as He described Himself and as His Prophet described Him, but they know Him in contradiction... they know Allah in contradiction to what Allah described Himself with...
...the famous today... and the disagreement is standing on its feet and legs. Our Lord says in more than one verse in the Qur'an: , what is your opinion? The great scholars or the great council of scholars in many countries famous for seeking knowledge and teaching knowledge say: No, our Lord did not istawa' (rise above the Throne), like that; why? Because they deny the verse and interpret it with other than its interpretation, . They say: No, our Lord does not descend and... and does not move and... They wanted to purify Allah from the attributes of the created beings that distinguish them; I mean the angels and humans. Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) preferred them as He said regarding the type of humans: , . They wanted to purify Allah so as not to liken Him to the children of Adam; because the children of Adam descend and ascend, come and stand, and so on; so they fell into what is worse than what they fled from. They fled from likening the Creator to the created, and this is true; far be it from a Muslim to liken Allah to any of His creation, but they fell into what is worse than what they fled from, so they likened Him not to those whom Allah honored, who are the children of Adam as you heard, but they likened Him to... one who does not come and does not move, so Glorified is Allah! The proverb is true about them which says: "He was under the rain, then he became under the gutter"; he fled from the drops of rain and if he is standing under the gutter, it collects the rain and pours it on him. So they are worse, living in 'aqidah far from the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, and yet they want to run the Ummah with politics!!
We believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) began, first of all, by calling people to worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone; that they should worship Allah and avoid taghut. That was the call of all the prophets and messengers. Glory be to Allah! When we read the story of Noah (peace be upon him), I say that Noah is a standard example in terms of the length of his life and his patience with his people in his calling of them. What do you think he was calling them to? Nothing but the worship of Allah alone, with no partner for Him. A thousand years except fifty years. Muslims here in the end times say: Until when will you be occupying the Muslims with the call to tawhid (the oneness of Allah)?
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