What is the call of Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab?

The questioner : One of the people asks and says, "We hear a lot about the Wahhabis, and we hear that they hate sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?"

The Shaykh: Allahu Akbar.

The questioner : And they do not visit the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And some of the shaykhs say that the Messenger predicted about them when he said (peace and blessings be upon him): So what is your answer to this statement?

The Shaykh : The truth is that, unfortunately, the impact of this question is deeply rooted in the hearts of many Muslims. The deterrent factor in the past was politics; but that political era has passed and ended, because it was the policy of the Turkish state. I will not dwell on this; it is merely a point of attention. It was a policy of the Turkish state when a man of knowledge and reform, known as Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, emerged in some of the Najdi lands, calling those around him to the sincerity we mentioned earlier in worshipping Allah alone and not associating any partner with Him. For example, despite the fact that the effects of this are still present, unfortunately, in some Islamic lands, contrary to the region where that reformer, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, emerged, in that region, to the present day, and praise be to Allah, there is no type of shirk (associating partners with Allah), whereas it exists in many Islamic lands: Egypt, Jordan, Syria, let alone the non-Arab lands, let alone Iran and the news of Khomeini and his death, and the announcement of taking his grave as a Ka'bah to which the Iranians perform Hajj; that news is not far from you. When this man emerged and called to worshipping Allah (Mighty and Majestic) alone, it happened, by a wisdom that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) willed, that there was an emir among the emirs of Najd, namely Saud, the grandfather of the current ruling family. So they cooperated, the cooperation of knowledge with the sword, and they began to spread tawhid (the oneness of Allah), the call of tawhid, in the lands of Najd. They called people sometimes, and this is the original method, sometimes with words and sometimes with swords. Whoever responded to the words, that was what was required; otherwise, they did not come except with force. So this call spread until it reached some other lands. It is known that the Najdi lands and the surrounding Islamic lands, from Iraq and Jordan to the end, were all governed by the rule of the Turks, the hereditary caliphate. So when the name of this man, with his knowledge, and that emir, with his administration, began to spread and spread, the Turks feared that a state would emerge in the Islamic world that would oppose the state of the Turks. So they wanted to put an end to it while it was still in its homeland, by spreading false, lying, and fabricated rumors about them, such as what came in the question or other things we hear often and often. So I said earlier that the basic cause is political, and this is it. But this politics has been dealt with, and we are not now in a historical discussion. But the other cause is the ignorance of people, the ignorance of people about the reality of this call. And this ignorance reminds me of a story I read in some magazines about two men who were arguing on the road about the call of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, which they call Wahhabism. If people thought about what they were saying, this attribution alone would be a reminder to them of their error in what they say, because the word "Wahhabi," if we want to look at its derivations and what it was attributed to, "Wahhabi" is an attribution to al-Wahhab. And who is al-Wahhab? It is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So the attribution to Wahhabism is a matter of honor, not a cause for disgrace. But, as they say in our Syria, something terrible came into their minds, like a bogeyman, something very frightening. "Wahhabis do not believe in the Messenger, they do not believe except in Allah." This discussion reminded me of those two men who were arguing.The Shaykh : With the emir, the cooperation of knowledge with the sword, and they took to spreading tawhid, the call of tawhid, in the lands of Najd. They called people sometimes, and this is the original method, sometimes with words and sometimes with swords. Whoever responded to the words, that was what was required; otherwise, they did not come except with force. So this call spread until it reached some other lands. It is known that the Najdi lands and the surrounding Islamic lands, from Iraq and Jordan to the end, were all governed by the rule of the Turks, the hereditary caliphate. So when the name of this man, with his knowledge, and that emir, with his administration, began to spread and spread, the Turks feared that a state would emerge in the Islamic world that would oppose the state of the Turks. So they wanted to put an end to it while it was still in its homeland, by spreading false, lying, and fabricated rumors about them, such as what came in the question or other things we hear often and often. So I said earlier that the basic cause is political, and this is it. But this politics has been dealt with, and we are not now in a historical discussion. But the other cause is the ignorance of people, the ignorance of people about the reality of this call. And this ignorance reminds me of a story I read in some magazines about two men who were arguing on the road about the call of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, which they call Wahhabism. If people thought about what they were saying, this attribution alone would be a reminder to them of their error in what they say, because the word "Wahhabi," if we want to look at its derivations and what it was attributed to, "Wahhabi" is an attribution to al-Wahhab. And who is al-Wahhab? It is Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). So the attribution to Wahhabism is a matter of honor, not a cause for disgrace. But, as they say in our Syria, something terrible came into their minds, like a bogeyman, something very frightening. "Wahhabis do not believe in the Messenger, they do not believe except in Allah." This discussion reminded me of those two men who were arguing.

The questioner : My Shaykh, if the explanation is long...

The Shaykh : ... and the ignorant person claims that these people do not believe except in Allah, and as for Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, they do not believe in him. They do not say anything but "La ilaha illa Allah." And in our Sham, to complete the story, considering it is a Sham story, we must tell it to you in the Sham dialect. They said, "Look, the car of the Saudi consul or ambassador in that country passed by, and if you look at the flag on the car, it is waving clearly: 'La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah.' O people, fear Allah. How do you say about these people that they do not believe except in Allah, and their flag is the only flag in the world on which the sign of tawhid is written, about which he (peace be upon him) said: How do you say about these people and fabricate against them, and their raised flag indicates what is in their hearts of faith? This is one thing. And the greater and more important thing is that this flag could be said to be a forged flag, meaning malicious propaganda, and so on. But what is it that, even to this day, they perform Hajj every day with safety and tranquility, which they did not enjoy in the time of the Turks who spread that false lie about them? You know that for many years, for our fathers, let alone our grandfathers, it was necessary for every caravan of pilgrims from any country to be accompanied by a group of fighters ready to protect this caravan of pilgrims from whom? From bandits. O, the glory of Allah, this thing has passed and ended. In what politics? In the politics they call Wahhabi politics, even to this hour. So if we assume that this flag which waves with the correct faith and the correct tawhid, accompanied by the belief that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, is forged and slander, do you not see them in the mosques there worshipping Allah, and the believer calls to prayer as he calls in all lands, except for the addition mentioned in other lands at the beginning and end of the adhan? It is not said there, following them in the Sunnah, not denying that the Messenger (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Islam and the Messenger of all mankind in every time and every place, but following the Salaf. And all good, as it is said: "And all good is in following those who came before, and all evil is in the innovation of those who came after." So to this day, people gather and hear this adhan with the testimony of the oneness of Allah and the testimony of the prophethood of His Prophet, then they pray our prayer and they mention the Messenger (peace be upon him) whenever he is mentioned, they send blessings upon him, perhaps more than those people who say about them, "These are Wahhabis, they do not love the Messenger, and they do not send blessings upon the Messenger." O people, fear Allah. This is a lie that is invalidated by the reality of this group, such that it cannot be said that these people in their lands are being hypocritical to the residents outside their lands. Rather, this stems from their hearts: the faith in "La ilaha illa Allah" and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and walking on the methodology of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) without addition. And I do not say without subtraction, because this subtraction, by the nature of man, a person cannot rise above it. But in terms of 'aqidah (creed), without addition and without subtraction. In terms of 'ibadah (worship), without addition. There may be subtraction, for example, some of them may not stand in night prayer while people are sleeping. This is a subtraction. But this is a subtraction that does not scratch his 'aqidah, does not scratch his Islam. So this word, even to this day, contains an accusation of the group of what they are innocent of, as it is said: "The innocence of the wolf from the blood of the son of Ya'qub." And that is sufficient for us, O Abu Yahya.