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

The questioner : Some people 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... just as was the case with the da'wah of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab.

The Shaykh : We say, we are sorry, that these people who think they are doing well in political work have not 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 only... but 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), and an important addition, which is following the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih (the earliest generations) (may Allah be pleased with them). We have all done our best... to clarify this Islam from all its aspects. And one individual may not be able to adopt or explain Islam from all its aspects... and in other words, it is upon the collective of the ummah (the Muslim community) or upon the collective of scholars that they truly take upon themselves explaining Islam in light of the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih. This is the da'wah. But if a person among us, for example, only works on authenticating correct hadiths and weakening 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. Just as if another man derives rulings from the Book of Allah alone, and another from the Hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) alone, and a third from the combination of both, the Book and the Sunnah, but he, for example, cannot authenticate or weaken, we do not criticize him for not doing the work of the others, nor do we speak of him as if 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 make the entire Muslim ummah understand Islam with the correct concept, with the third condition, when the group that... has this obligation according to the aforementioned methodology exists. At that time, the believers will rejoice in the victory of Allah. Do we want to do political work? If we took a leader of a group who does political work and claims he is working for Islam and for establishing the state of Islam, and 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 he would be, as the old Arabic proverb says, "more confused than the one who is confused," meaning... his inability to answer this question which relates to the first testimony, from which a disbeliever is not saved except by acknowledging it from the sword of Islam first, and then he is not saved from eternal abode in the Fire except if he understands its meaning first, correctly, in detail, as referred to earlier, which includes that "La ilaha illa Allah" means there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. If he understands this meaning and believes in it in the depths of his heart, he is saved from eternal abode in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection. Otherwise, it does not benefit him that he said "La ilaha illa Allah," except that he was saved in this world. If we asked some of those engaged in politics this question, they would be unable to answer. And as we have, there is a joke in some Syrian countries where they say one individual met a Jew on the road when Islam was in a state of strength, so he took him and drew a dagger from his side and said to him: "Islam or I will kill you..." With people like these, they want to achieve victory over the enemy. There is no victory ever, except first of all by understanding tawhid from the first testimony "La ilaha illa Allah," and then from the second testimony "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." And as we said, and all callers to Allah say, in the testimony, that the first testimony necessitates that we do not worship anyone with Allah, and the second testimony necessitates that we do not worship Allah except by what Allah has prescribed. These two meanings are not known by most Muslims today, and especially those who are engaged in politics. And he who lacks a thing cannot give it. Also, we do not call for political work not because political work is not prescribed; Islam is broader than... but as some said: "Knowledge, if you seek it, is much, and life is short for acquiring it, so prioritize the most important of it, then the most important." ... Today, what is most needed for the Muslim world to know: is it political work, or understanding the 'aqidah, the testimony "La ilaha illa Allah" and "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah," and perfecting faith in the unseen, which is the first description that Allah mentioned in the first surah of al-Baqarah (Surat al-Baqarah)? So what is the matter today? 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). The proof is that the elite 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, I say, and I said earlier, they do not know Allah as He described Himself and as His Prophet described Him, but they know Him in contradiction to that. They know Allah in contradiction to what He described Himself with... Our Lord says in more than one verse in the Qur'an: The great scholars or the great members of the scholarly bodies in many countries famous for seeking knowledge and teaching knowledge say: "No, our Lord did not rise (istawa) like that." Why? Because they deny the attribute and interpret it with an interpretation other than its meaning. Allah descends, the truth of the Messenger of Allah, the hadith is mutawatir (mass-transmitted): They say: "No, our Lord does not descend." They wanted to purify Allah from the attributes of the created beings, specifically the angels and humans. Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic)... as He said regarding the genus 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 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; may Allah preserve any Muslim from likening Allah to any of His creation. But they fell into what is worse than what they fled from, for they likened Him not to what Allah honored, which is the children of Adam, as you heard, but they likened Him... So Glorified is Allah. The proverb is true about them, which says... He fled from drops of rain, and then he stands under the gutter, collecting the rain to pour over him... And regarding the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, and yet they reject the mobilization of the ummah through politics. We believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) first began by calling people to worship Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone, to worship Allah and avoid taghut (false deities). That is the call of all the prophets and messengers. Glorified is Allah, when we read the story of Noah (peace be upon him), I say Noah because he is a standard example in the length of his life and his patience with his people in his call to them. See what he was calling them to: nothing but only to worship Allah alone, with no partner. For ninety-five years, except for fifty years, [only] a few believed. In the last times, they say: "Until when are you calling Muslims to the da'wah of tawhid?"