Clarification that Wahhabism does not exist at all, and the error of attributing "Wahhabism" to "Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab" linguistically.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Wahhabism does not exist at all. If we ask: Are there Shi'ah? Yes, there are Shi'ah. Are there communists? Yes, there are communists. Fine. Do the Shi'ah deny that they are Shi'ah? No, they do not deny it. Do the communists deny that they are communists? No, they do not deny it. Fine. Bring me one person in the land of Islam who says: "I am a Wahhabi," because there is no school of thought in the world called Wahhabi. Then, among the wondrous decrees of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), this attribution carries with it a declaration and a flag waving that it is an error even linguistically; because the owner of the school of thought to which they attribute this call is "Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab." So, the attribution to "Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab" linguistically is Muhammadi, and Wahhabi is an attribution to al-Wahhab. So this is an error even in the attribution, even in the naming as a title for an error in meaning. And so one of them said long ago:
"If following Ahmad is being a Wahhabi, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Wahhabi."
If following Ahmad is following Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
"If following Ahmad is being a Wahhabi, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Wahhabi."
This is on the same meter as the saying of Imam al-Shafi'i:
If loving the family of Muhammad is... if it is, if it is what? If it is loving the family of Muhammad, then I acknowledge it, yes.
"If loving the family of Muhammad is Rafidism, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Rafidi."
And this man, on this same meter approximately, said:
"If following Ahmad is being a Wahhabi, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Wahhabi."
But the truth is that there is no one who says Wahhabism is us, or I am a Wahhabi; because this is a reality that does not exist. The existence of the phoenix is more true than it. Why? Because it is known to people that the phoenix is a name without a body. But the term Wahhabism is not acknowledged by these people to whom it is attributed. Rather, they say: We are followers of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in creed, and followers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in jurisprudence, like the other four schools of thought. Therefore, I say: If there is enmity between the Hanafi and the Shafi'i, then there is enmity between these people and these Hanbalis. For this reason, we now meet with the Najdis in creed in tawhid (the oneness of Allah), but we differ with them in the branches; because they are holding fast to the Hanbali school of thought, while we call people to return to the pure, clear source, which is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
We have kept you from your food. Please, in the name of Allah.
The questioner : Last year in Turkey, ... in one of its mosques, we were praying in the mosque during the prayer times.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : The imam was a young man studying in the "Faculty of Theology" at "Istanbul University."
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : On Thursday night, the night of Friday, after the 'Isha' prayer, we sat and talked with him. He was a young man who was receptive, and he knew Arabic. We said to him: Why is this minbar so long, and why are these verses recited in a loud voice, and why are these prayer beads thrown at the worshippers? He said: By Allah, this is... the people are in this state, and we were talking... in this place in the mosque, five men passed by us with an old man. They entered to pray... He said to him in Turkish: What are they saying?
The Shaykh : [The Shaykh laughs!] These are Wahhabis.
The questioner : They say that this long minbar is not needed, that only three steps are sufficient, and that these prayer beads are only for the tasbih and counting in the hand. By Allah, he was acting as if he did not know Arabic, but what did he say to us? He said: Get out of our land, you Wahhabis. There is a suspicion!
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : He says: Give your money to America, so the image matches the image. And we were known as Wahhabis because we denied these things. So, everyone who denies these things is considered a Wahhabi by them.
The Shaykh : This is the reality.
Another questioner : The label itself... if they had said Muhammadi, it would have been...
The questioner : ... .
"If following Ahmad is being a Wahhabi, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Wahhabi."
If following Ahmad is following Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
"If following Ahmad is being a Wahhabi, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Wahhabi."
This is on the same meter as the saying of Imam al-Shafi'i:
If loving the family of Muhammad is... if it is, if it is what? If it is loving the family of Muhammad, then I acknowledge it, yes.
"If loving the family of Muhammad is Rafidism, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Rafidi."
And this man, on this same meter approximately, said:
"If following Ahmad is being a Wahhabi, *** Then I acknowledge that I am a Wahhabi."
But the truth is that there is no one who says Wahhabism is us, or I am a Wahhabi; because this is a reality that does not exist. The existence of the phoenix is more true than it. Why? Because it is known to people that the phoenix is a name without a body. But the term Wahhabism is not acknowledged by these people to whom it is attributed. Rather, they say: We are followers of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in creed, and followers of Ahmad ibn Hanbal in jurisprudence, like the other four schools of thought. Therefore, I say: If there is enmity between the Hanafi and the Shafi'i, then there is enmity between these people and these Hanbalis. For this reason, we now meet with the Najdis in creed in tawhid (the oneness of Allah), but we differ with them in the branches; because they are holding fast to the Hanbali school of thought, while we call people to return to the pure, clear source, which is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
We have kept you from your food. Please, in the name of Allah.
The questioner : Last year in Turkey, ... in one of its mosques, we were praying in the mosque during the prayer times.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : The imam was a young man studying in the "Faculty of Theology" at "Istanbul University."
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : On Thursday night, the night of Friday, after the 'Isha' prayer, we sat and talked with him. He was a young man who was receptive, and he knew Arabic. We said to him: Why is this minbar so long, and why are these verses recited in a loud voice, and why are these prayer beads thrown at the worshippers? He said: By Allah, this is... the people are in this state, and we were talking... in this place in the mosque, five men passed by us with an old man. They entered to pray... He said to him in Turkish: What are they saying?
The Shaykh : [The Shaykh laughs!] These are Wahhabis.
The questioner : They say that this long minbar is not needed, that only three steps are sufficient, and that these prayer beads are only for the tasbih and counting in the hand. By Allah, he was acting as if he did not know Arabic, but what did he say to us? He said: Get out of our land, you Wahhabis. There is a suspicion!
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : He says: Give your money to America, so the image matches the image. And we were known as Wahhabis because we denied these things. So, everyone who denies these things is considered a Wahhabi by them.
The Shaykh : This is the reality.
Another questioner : The label itself... if they had said Muhammadi, it would have been...
The questioner : ... .
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.