This article is based on a lecture given by
Shaikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdullah Ibn Baz about the life and
Mission of Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab.
Published by Darussalaam
Imam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahab was a great man, an
outstanding reformer and a zealous preacher, who appeared in the Arabian
Peninsula in the twelfth century A.H. He was educated by his father in his
homeland, Oyayna, a village located at Yamama in Najd, northwest to the city of
Riyadh. He learnt to read the Qur'an at a very early age and exerted himself in
studies and advanced learning at the hands of his father, Shaikh Abdul Wahab
Ibn Sulaiman, who was a great jurisprudent and the Judge of Oyayna.
Having attained puberty, the Shaykh travelled to Makkah and then to Medina to
learn from learned personalities there. Then he went to Iraq (Basra) to seek
after knowledge. It was in Iraq that he started his mission. There he called the
people to  Tawheed and the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam). He announced that it was the
duty of every Muslim to follow his or her religion (Islam) strictly in
accordance with the Qur'an and the Sunnah. He engaged in debates and discussion
with scholars and thus became famous. However, some characterless scholars
rebelled against him and he faced some harms and persecutions from them. So, he
left Basra moving towards Az-zubair, then to al-Ahsa, and then finally to
Huraymela, where also he faced much suffering at the hands of the wicked because
he enjoined the good and forbade the evil and persuaded the rulers to punish the
criminals severely. So, some of them even attempted on his life, but Allah saved
him. Then he moved to Oyayna, which was then governed by Prince Uthman Ibn
Muhammad Ibn Muammar, who welcomed the Shaykh with hospitality and promised him
all support and help in calling people to Islam.
People in Najd at that time lived in a condition that could not be approved by
any believer. Polytheism had spread widely; people worshiped domes, trees,
rocks, caves or any persons who claimed to be Awliya (saints). Magic and
soothsaying also had spread. When the Shaykh saw that polytheism was dominating
the people and that no one showed any disapproval of it or no one was ready to
call people back to Allah, he decided to labour singly and patiently in the
field. He knew that nothing could be achieved without Jihad, patience and
suffering.
The Shaykh continued calling people to the Path of Allah and guided them to
piety, righteousness and love in the cause of Allah. Gradually, the Sheikh
became famous in and around Oyayna. People came to Oyayna to meet him from
neighbouring areas and villages. He also wrote to many scholars requesting their
support and reminding them of their task of helping Allah's Religion and
fighting against polytheism. Many scholars from Najd, Makkah and al-Medina
accepted his request, while some disagreed with him, reproached his mission,
condemned him and kept him away.
The Shaykh and those with him were in between two types of people; one group
consisted of the ignorant people, who knew nothing about Islam and followed
deviations and innovations, superstitions, etc. which their forefathers had
upheld. The Qur'an says about them, "We found our fathers following a certain
way and religion and we will indeed follow their footsteps." The second group,
on the other hand, was related to knowledge but responded negatively to the
Shaykh because of their envy and also because they were ashamed and afraid that
the people would question their integrity, 'why did you keep silent without
warning us against such and such evils until Abdul Wahab appeared?'
But the Shaykh carried on patiently seeking the Help of Allah in all matters. He
strove hard in studying the Qur'an and reading useful books. He had a special
skill of interpreting the Qur'an and deducing from it. He also worked hard in
studying the life of the Prophet r and the lives of his companions (Radiyallaahu`anhum).
The Shaykh went on teaching and preaching. Gradually, he exerted himself on
practically removing polytheism when he noticed that his call to Islam had no
affect on some. One day, the Shaykh said to the governor, 'Let us demolish the
dome at the grave of Zaid Ibn al-Khatab t (Zaid Ibn al-Khatab was the brother of
Umar Ibn al-Khattab t and a martyr, who died in the fighting against Musailimah
Khaddhab in 12 A.H, he was buried and later on people built a dome on his
grave). It is erected on deviation and the Prophet r has forbidden building
domes or mosques on graves. Moreover, this dome has destroyed the people's
belief with polytheism. So, it must be demolished.'
The Prince agreed and mobilized an army of six hundred soldiers and marched
towards the grave, headed by the Shaykh. As soon as they approached the dome,
the people came forward to defend it but when they saw the Prince with his army,
they changed their decision. Then the Shaykh took the action of demolishing and
removing the dome. Allah removed it by his hands and Alhamdulillah, none of its
traces remains now. Similarly, there were other domes, caves, trees, etc. that
were also destroyed and removed. The Shaykh, thus, continued his mission by
words and action, for which he became very famous. Also, one day a woman came to
him and confessed that she had committed adultery. After realizing that she was
sane, married and had confessed without external compulsion, he gave the order
according to the Sunnah that she should be stoned to death as a punishment, as
he had now become the Judge of Oyayna.
Meanwhile, the Prince of al-Ahsa (and surrounding villages) feared the Shaykh's
position, because committing wrong, robbery, murder, etc, were usual for them.
He wrote to Prince Uthman threatening him and demanding him to kill the Shaykh.
The Prince approached the Shaykh saying,
"the nomad prince has sent me a message
to do so and so. We never wish to kill you, but we are afraid of the prince and
we are unable to fight him. So if you think you may leave."
The Shaykh replied:
"I am simply calling people to Islam and to the fulfilment of the testimony of
Faith that there is no god except Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger.
Whoever holds fast to Islam and upholds it truthfully, Allah will help him and
make him ruler of his enemy's countries. And if you endure and be righteous and
accept this Religion, then be glad that Allah will help you and protect you from
the nomad prince and others. Allah will also give you power over his country and
his kinfolk."
But Uthman said:
"O Shaykh! But we cannot fight him nor can we
stand his oppression."
So, the Shaykh had to leave Oyayna for Dareyya on foot
because Uthman did not even provide him any means of transportation.
On reaching Dareyya, the Shaykh stayed in the house of a man who was one of the
best personalities in Dareyya, but he feared the prince of Dareyya, Muhammad Ibn
Suad. The Shaykh said to him, 'be glad and hope for the best. I am simply
calling the people to Allah's Religion, and He will undoubtedly make it
victorious.'
The news of Shaykh's arrival in Dareyya reached Muhammad Ibn Suad. It is said
that his wife first informed him of the Shaykh. She was a kind and pious lady
and she addressed her husband saying,
'Here is a great fortune sent to you by
Allah. A man who is calling the people to Islam, calling to the Qur'an and the
Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam). What a good fortune! Rush to him and support him. Never
resist him or stop him from that.'
Muhammad Ibn Suad accepted her advice and
went to the Shaykh and made a contract with the Shaykh that he should not leave
the country.
The Shaykh now settled in Dareyya. People started to come to him for learning
from everyplace - from Oyayna, Iraq, Manfooha, Riyadh and other neighbouring
places. Respected, loved, supported by the people, the Shaykh arranged lectures
on various topics; Creed, the Holy Qur'an, the Qur'anic commentaries, Islamic
Jurisprudence and its principles, the Hadeeth and its terminology, and others.
He arranged classes for the public as well as for the selected persons. Thus, he
continued his mission and activities of preaching in Dareyya. He wrote to the
scholars and rulers establishing his arguments and warning them against
polytheism and innovation. Because of his correspondence with scholars and
rulers and his struggling in the cause of Allah, the Shaykh became famous. His
mission continued and spread all over the Islamic world and also other
countries.
It is a known fact that every favour has its envier, as every preacher has his
enemies. Allah, the Exalted, said in the Qur'an:
"And so We have appointed to
every Prophet an enemy - devils among the men and Jinn - inspiring to each other
adorned speech as a delusion. And had your Lord willed they could not have done
it. So, leave them alone to their fabrication." (Surah al-An'am (6): 112)
When the Shaykh became famous for his teaching, and his writings received wide
popularity among the people, many envious groups emerged as his opponents. One
group consisted of characterless scholars who saw the truth as falsehood and
falsehood as truth, and believed that building domes and invoking the engraved
as pertaining to Islam. The second group was associated with knowledge but was
ignorant of the reality of the Shaykh's mission. They simply believed others and
kept aloof from the Shaykh. The third group that opposed the Shaykh consisted
such people who feared the removal of their positions and ranks. They showed
humility so that the supporters of the Islamic mission might not reach them and
remove their positions and take over their lands.
So, some opposed him in the name of religion, while other opposed him in the
name of politics though they hid under the cover of knowledge and religion and
exploited the enmity of those scholars who had hated him and accused him of
deviation. Sometimes, his opponents argued that he belonged to the Khawarij, at
times some criticized him out of their lack of proper knowledge, etc. Thus, the
fighting between words continued through debates and arguments. He would write
to them and they would reply to him, and he would refute them, and thus numerous
questions and answers were accumulated and compiled into volumes. And Alhamdulillah,
most of them have been published. Then the Shaykh turned to Jihad in 1158 A.H,
he wrote to people to enter the field of Jihad and remove polytheism, which
existed in their countries.
The Shaykh, thus, strove in his preaching and Jihad for fifty years from 1158
A.H. until he died in 1206. He resorted to all methods of his mission - Jihad,
preaching, resistance, debates and arguments until people adhered to obedience
and demolished the domes and mosques built by them on the graves and agreed to
run their affairs in accordance with Islamic Law, discarding all rules and laws
which had been applied by their fathers and forefathers. Then after the death of
the Shaykh, his sons, grandson and supporters continued his mission and struggle
in the cause of Allah.
Sources: ahya.org
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