PART TWO
THE BEGINNING AND
SPREADING OF WAHHABISM[113]
36 - During the time when the Ottoman reign was dominant in the Arabian Peninsula, each state was governed by an official selected from the state. Later on, every region except the Hijaz came into the possession of whomever could usurp it and was governed as shaikhdoms.
The tenets of Wahhâbism disseminated by Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb changed into a political form in a short time in 1150 A.H. (1737) and spread all over Arabia. Later, by the order of the Caliph in Istanbul, Muhammad ’Alî Pasha, the Governor of Egypt, liberated Arabia from them with the armed forces of Egypt.
’Abd al-’Azîz ibn Muhammad, who believed in the Wahhabîs, declared war for the first time in 1205 A.H. (1791) against the amîr of Mecca, Sharîf Ghâlib Effendi. They had disseminated Wahhâbism secretly till then. They had killed and tortured many Muslims, enslaved their women and children and usurped their possessions.
Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb belonged to the Banî Tamîm tribe. He was born in Uyaina village near the town of Huraimila in the Najd Desert in 1111 A.H. (1699) and died in 1206 (1792). Formerly, with the idea of trading, he went to Basra, Baghdad, Iran, India and Damascus, where he won the name “Shaikh an-Najdî” due to his clever and aggressive attitude. He saw and learnt a great deal at these places and set his heart on the idea of becoming a chief. In 1125 (1713 A.D.), he met Hempher, a British syp, in Basra, who understood that this unexperienced young person (ibn 'Abd al-Wahhâb) has a desire to be a chief by way of revolution, established a long-term friendship with him. He inspired him the trics and lies that he had learned from the British Ministry of the Commonwealth. Seeing that Muhammad enjoys these inspirations, he proposed him to establish a new religion. So, the spy and Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab got what they were looking for. He had thought it proper to found a new tarîqa or reach his goal, and, in preparation for this goal, attended the lectures of the Hanbalî ’ulamâ’ in the blessed city of Medina and later in Damascus for some time. When he went back to the Najd, he wrote pamphlets on religious subjects for villagers. He wrote what he learned from the British spy and mixed corrupt information from the Mu’tazila and other groups of bid’a. Many ignorant villagers, particularly the inhabitants of Dar’iyya and their ignorant chief, Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd, followed him. The Arabs esteemed ancestral distinctions very highly, and because he did not belong to a wellknown family, he used Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd as a tool to disseminate his tarîqa, which he named Wahhâbism. He introduced himself as the Qâdî (Head of the Religious Affairs) and Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd as the Hâkim (Ruler). He had it passed in their constitution that both would be succeeded only by their children.
In 1306 (1888) when the book Mir’ât al-Haramain was written, the amîr of the Najd was ’Abdullâh ibn Faysal, a descendant of Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd, and the qâdî was a descendant of Muhammad ibn ’abd al-Wahhâb.
Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s father, ’Abd al-Wahhâb, who was a pious, pure ’âlim in Medina, his brother Sulaimân ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb and his teachers had apprehended from his statements, behaviour and ideas, which he frequently had put forward as questions to them when he was a student in Medina, that he would become a heretic who would harm Islam from the inside in the future. They advised him to correct his ideas and advised the Muslims to avoid him. But they soon encountered the very thing they were afraid of, and he started disseminating his heretical ideas openly under the name of Wahhâbism. To deceive ignorant and stupid people, he came forward with reforms and innovations incompatible with the books of the ’ulamâ’ of Islam. He dared to be so impetuous as to deem the true Muslims of Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a as disbelievers. He regarded it as polytheism to ask Allâhu ta’âlâ for something through the mediation of our Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) or other prophets or awliyâ’, or to visit their graves.
According to what Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb learned from the British spy, he who talks to the dead while praying near a grave becomes a polytheist. He asserted that Muslims who said that someone or something beside Allah did something, for example, saying “such-und-such medicine cured” or “I obtained what I asked through our masterRasûlullâh” or “such-and-such walî” were polytheists. Although the documents Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb made up to support such statements were nothing but lies and slanders, the ignorant people who could not distinguish right from wrong, the unemployed, raiders, ignoramuses, opportunists and the hard-hearted soon assented to his ideas and took their part on his side and regarded the pious Muslims of the right path as disbelievers.
When Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb applied to the rulers of Dar’iyya with the view of disseminating his heresies easily through them, they willingly cooperated with him with the hope of extending their territories and increasing their power. They strove with all their might do disseminate his ideas everywhere. They declared war against those who refused and opposed them. The bestial people and pillagers of the desert competed with one another in joining the army of Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd when it was said that it was halâl to plunder and kill Muslims. In 1143 (1730), Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd and Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb hand in hand arrived at the conclusion that those who would not accept Wahhâbism were disbelievers and polytheists, and that it was halâl to kill them and confiscate their possessions, and publicly announced their declaration seven years later. Then, Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb started fabricating ijtihâd when he was thirty-two years old and announced his false ijtihâds at the age of forty.
As-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zainî Dahlân (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaihi), Muftî of the blessed city of Mecca, described under the topic “Al-fitnat al-Wahhâbiyya” the tenets of Wahhâbism and the tortures the Wahhâbis inflicted upon Muslims?[114] He wrote: “To deceive the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna in Mecca and Medina, they sent their men to these cities, but these men could not answer the questions of the Muslim ’ulamâ’. It became evident that they were ignorant heretics. A verdict declaring them disbelievers was written and distributed everywhere. Sharîf Mas’ûd ibn Sa’îd, Amîr of Mecca, ordered that the Wahhâbîs should be imprisoned. Some Wahhâbîs fled to Dar’iyya and recounted what had happened to them.”[115]
The ’ulamâ’ of the Hijaz belonging to all the four madhhabs, including Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s brother Sulaimân and also his teachers who had trained him, studied Muhammad’s books, prepared answers to his disunionist writings, which were destructive to Islam, and wrote, to call to the attention of Muslims, well-documented books in refutation to his heretical writings.[116]
These books did not help much but rather increased the Wahhâbîs’ resentment against Muslims and excited Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd to attack Muslims and augment the bloodshed. He belonged to the Banî Hanîfa tribe, so was a descendant of a stupid race that believed in the prophethood of Musailamat al-Kadhdhâb. Muhammad ibn Sa’ûd died in 1178 (1765), and his son ’Abd al-’Azîz succeeded him. ’Abd al-’Azîz was assasinated, stabbed in the abdomen by a Shî’ite, in the Dar’iyya Mosque in 1217 (1830). Then, his son Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz became the chief of the Wahhâbîs. All three strove very hard, as if competing with one another, to shed Muslim blood in order to deceive the Arabs and to disseminate Wahhâbism.
The Wahhâbîs say that Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb disseminated his thoughts in order to attain sincerity in his belief in the unity of Allah and to rescue Muslims from polytheism. They allege that Muslims had been committing polytheism for six centuries and that he came forth to renew and reform the religion of Muslims. He put forward the 5th, 106th and 14th âyats of the respective Sûras al-Ahqâf, Yûnus and ar-Ra’d as documents to make everyone believe his ideas. However, there are many similar âyats, and the ’ulamâ’ of tafsîr unanimously declared that all these âyats were about idolatrous unbelievers or polytheists.
According to Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb, a Muslim becomes an idolatrous polytheist (mushrik) if he receives istighâtha from our-Prophet (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), from another prophet, a walî or a pious person near the Prophet’s grave or far away from it, that is, if he asks for help from him to relieve him of a burden or trouble, or if he asks for his intercession by mentioning his name or if he wants to visit his grave. Allâhu ta’âlâ describes the situation of idolatrous disbelievers in the third âyat al-karîma of Sûrat az-Zumar, but the Wahhâbîs display this âyat as a document to justify their using the word “mushrik” for a Muslim who prays by putting a prophet or a walî as an intermediary. They say that the idolaters, too, believed that not the idols but Allâhu ta’âlâ created everything. They further say that Allâhu ta’âlâ declared, “They [idolaters] say, ‘Of course, Allah created them,’ when you ask who created them,” in the 61st and 87th âyats of Sûrat al-’Ankabût and Sûrat az-Zuhruf, respectively. They say that the idolaters were polytheistic disbelievers not because they believed as such but because they spoke as quoted in the third âyat of Sûrat az-Zumar: “Those who make friends with those other than Allah say, ‘They help us approach [Allâhu ta’âlâ] by interceding for us with Allâhu ta’âlâ.’ ” They claim that Muslims who ask at the graves of prophets and awliyâ’ for intercession and help become polytheists by saying such.
It is very unsound, foolish and ridiculous of Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb to liken Muslims to disbelievers and polytheists in the light of this âyat. Because, disbelievers worship idols so that idols may intercede for them; they leave aside Allâhu ta’âlâ and ask only idols to give them their wishes, whereas we Muslims worship neither prophets nor awliyâ’ but expect everything only from Allâhu ta’âlâ. We wish awliyâ’ to be a wâsita or wasîla for us. Disbelievers believe that idols intercede for whatever they wish and make Allâhu ta’âlâ create everything they want. Whereas, Muslims ask intercession and help of awliyâ’ whom they know as the beloved servants of Allâhu ta’âlâ, because Allâhu ta’âlâ has revealed in the Qur’ân al-karîm that He will permit His beloved servants to intercede and will accept their intercession and prayers and because Muslims believe this good news stated in theQur’ân al-karîm. There is no analogy between disbelievers’ worshipping idols and Muslims’ asking help of awliyâ’. Muslims and disbelievers are human beings in appearance; they are similar in being human beings, but Muslims are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s friends and will remain in Paradise eternally, whereas disbelievers are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s enemies and will remain eternally in Hell. Their superficial resemblance does not prove that they will always remain the same. Those who entreat idols who are Allâhu ta’âlâ’s enemies and those who entreat Allâhu ta’âlâ’s beloved servants may look alike in appearance, but entreating idols leads one to Hell and entreating awliyâ’ causes Allâhu ta’âlâ to forgive and show Mercy. Thehadîth ash-sharîf, “Allahu ta’âlâ’s Mercy descends where His beloved servants are mentioned,” too, indicates that Allâhu ta’âlâ will show Mercy and forgive when prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salawâtu wa’t-taslîmât) and awliyâ’ are entreated.[117]
Muslims believe that prophets and awliyâ’ are not to be worshipped and are not gods or Allâhu ta’âlâ’s partners. Muslims believe that they are Allah’s powerless servants who do not deserve to be worshipped or performed ’ibâda or prayed towards. Muslims believe that they are Allah’s beloved servants whose prayers He accepts. The 35th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-Ma’ida says, “Look for a wasîla to approach Me.” Allâhu ta’âlâ means that He will accept the prayers of His pious servants and endow them with what they wish. A hadîth sharîf quoted by al-Bukhârî, Muslim and in Kunûz ad-daqâiq declares, “Verily, there are such human servants of Allâhu ta’âlâ that He creates it if they swear for something; He does not belie them.” Muslims take awliyâ’ as wasîlas and expect prayers and help from them because they believe the above âyats and hadîths.
Although some disbelievers state that idol-statues are not creators and that Allâhu ta’âlâ creates everything, they claim that idols deserve to be worshipped and are able to do and make Allah to do whatever they wish. They attribute idols as partners to Allâhu ta’âlâ. If someone asks help of a person beside Allah and says that he will certainly help him and that whatever he wishes will happen in any case, this person becomes a disbeliever. But, he who says, “My wish will not be granted for sure through his will. He is only a cause. Allâhu ta’âlâ likes those who hold fast to the causes. It is His Custom to create as consequences of causes. I ask this person for help so as to be holding fast to the cause, but expect my wish to be granted from Allah. Rasûlullâh, too, held fast to the causes, and I am following the Sunna of that exalted Prophet by holding fast to the causes,” he gains thawâb. If he obtains his wish, he thanks Allâhu ta’âlâ; if not, he resigns himself to Allâhu ta’âlâ’s qadâ’ and qadar. The idolatry of disbelievers is not like Muslims’ asking awliyâ’ for prayers, intercession and help. A wise, reasonable person cannot liken these two to each other but fully comprehends that they are different. Allâhu ta’âlâ alone creates both what is useful and what is harmful. No one but He deserves to be worshipped. No prophet, walî or creature can ever create anything. There is no creator besides Allah. Only, Allâhu ta’âlâ shows Mercy to those who mention the names of Hisprophets, awliyâ’ and pious, beloved servants and who regard them as mediators, and He grants them their wish. He and His Prophet revealed this, and Muslims, therefore, believe as they revealed.
Polytheists and disbelievers, however, regard idols as ilâhs (gods) or ma’bûds (one to be worshipped) and worship them though they know that idols do not create anything. Some of them become polytheists by regarding idols as ilâhs while some others by worshipping or regarding them as ma’bûds. They are polytheists not because they say their idols would intercede for them and make them closer to Allah, but because they regard them as ma’bûds and because they worship them.
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declared, “A time will come when the âyats revealed about disbelievers will be used as documents to slander Muslims,”and “What I fear most is that some people will come to use the âyats for purposes which Allâhu ta’âlâ does not approve of.” These two hadîths, which were related by ’Abdullâh ibn ’Umar (radî-Allâhu ’anhumâ), foretold that the lâ-madhhabî people would appear and ascribe the âyats revealed about disbelievers to Muslims and calumniate theQur’ân al-karîm.
Muslims visit the graves of those whom, they believe, Allâhu ta’âlâ loves. They beg Allâhu ta’âlâ through the means of His beloved servants. Rasûlulâh and as-Sahâbat al-kirâm did so, too. Rasûlullâh said in his prayers, “Oh my Rabb! I ask You for the right (love) of Your servants to whom You grant their wishes.” He taught this prayer to his companions and ordered them to say it, and, therefore, Muslims pray as such.
Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) put Hadrat ’Alî’s mother Fâtima bint Asad’s corpse into the grave and prayed, “Oh my Rabb! Forgive Mother Fâtima bint Asad! Show much mercy unto her for the love of Your Prophet and the prophets who came before me!” He ordered a blind man, who wanted to gain his sight, to perform a salât of two rak’as and to pray, “Oh my Rabb! I ask You for the love of Your ProphetMuhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm) whom You, out of Mercy, sent to Your human servants, and I make him a wasîla. I entreat You. Oh the beloved Prophet, Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm)! I entreat my Rabb through you so that He may accept my prayer and grant me my wish. Oh my Rabb! Let that exalted Prophet be an intercessor for me so that my prayer may be accepted!”
Âdam (’alaihi ’s-salâm) prayed, “Oh my Rabb! Forgive me for the love of my son Muhammad (’alaihi ’s-salâm)!” When he had descended onto the Serandib Island (Ceylon) after he had eaten the fruit from the tree which Allâhu ta’âlâ had forbidden. And Allâhu ta’âlâ declared, “Oh Âdam! I would have accepted your intercession if you had asked for intercession through Muhammad for all beings on the earth and in the skies.”
Hadrat ’Umar took Hadrat ’Abbâs (radî-Allâhu ’anhumâ) with him to pray for rain with the intention of making him a wasîla, and his prayer was accepted.
The words “Oh... Muhammad!.. You...” in the above prayer, which Rasûlullâhordered a blind man to say, prove that it is permissible to mention the names of awliyâ’ when praying through them.
Biographies of the as-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the Tâbi’ûn (radî-Allâhu ’anhum) are full or documents which show that it is lawful and permissible to visit graves, to ask for intercession by mentioning the name of the dead person and to make the dead wasîlas.
Muhammad ibn Sulaiman Effendi (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih), who is well known for his annotation to Ibn Hajar al-Hîtamî’s Tukhfa, a commentary of Minhâj, proved well with documents that Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb was on a corrupt and heretical path and that he ascribed wrong meanings to âyats and hadîths. He wrote: “Oh Muhammad ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb! Do not slander Muslims! I advise you for Allah’s sake. Tell him the truth if there is anyone who says that there is a creator besides Allah! Lead him to the right path by proving through documents! Muslims cannot be said to be disbelievers! You are a Muslim, too. It is more correct to call one person a ‘disbeliever’ than calling millions.It is certain that one who departs from the community is in danger. The 114th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat an-Nisâ’ declares, ‘We will leave in disbelief and apostasy the person who, after learning the way to guidance, opposes the Prophet (’alaihi ’s-salâm) and deviates from the Believers’ path in îmân and ’amal, and then We will throw him into Hell, which is a a very terrible place.’ This âyat karîma points to the situation of those who have departed from Ahl as-Sunnat wa ’l-Jamâ’a.”
There are a great number of hadîths which explain that it is permissible and useful to visit graves. As-Sahâbat al-kirâm and the Tâbi’ûn (radî-Allâhu ’anhum) frequently visitedRasûlullâh’s (sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’alaihi wa sallam) blessed shrine, and many books have been written on the way and uses of this visiting.
It is never harmful to pray by holding a walî as a mediator (wasîla), to ask for his help by mentioning his name. It is disbelief to believe that the person who is mentioned would be influential and certainly do what he is asked for and would know the ghaib. Muslims should not be accused of having such a tenet since they do not believe so. Muslims ask a beloved servant of Allâhu ta’âlâ only to be a mediator, to intercede and to pray for them. He who creates what is asked for is only Allâhu ta’âlâ. His beloved servants are asked for prayers because He has declared in the 27th âyat al-karîma of Sûrat al-Mâ’ida, “I accept the prayers of those whom I love.” The dead are not asked to grant the wish asked for but to be an intermediary (wâsita) for Allâhu ta’âlâ’s granting the wish. It is not permissible to ask the dead to grant anything, and Muslims do not do so. It is permissible to ask for their mediation for that wish to be granted. The words istighâtha, istishfâ’ and tawassul all mean ‘asking for wâsita or wasîla.’
Allâhu ta’âlâ alone is the One who creates everything. It is His Custom that He makes a creature of His an intermediary or a cause in creating another thing. He who wishes Allâhu ta’âlâ to create something should hang on to the intermediary which is the cause for the creation of that thing. Prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salâtu wa ’s-salâm) all hang on to the causes.
Allâhu ta’âlâ commends the act of holding on to the causes, and prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salâtu wa ’s-salâm) ordered it. Daily events also indicates its necessity. One should cling to the causes in order to obtain the things one wishes for. It is necessary to believe that Allâhu ta’âlâ alone makes those causes be the causes of certain things, makes man hang on to those causes and creates them after man holds on to the causes. The one who believes so may say, “I obtained this thing by holding on to that cause.” This statement does not mean that the cause created the thing; it means that Allâhu ta’âlâ created the thing through that cause. For example, the statements, “The medicine I took relieved my pain”; “My sick relative recovered when I vowed a nadhr for Hadrat as-Sayyidat Nafîsa”; “The soup satiated me,” and “Water slaked my thirst,” all imply that these causes are only wasîlas or wâsitas. It is necessary to think that the Muslims who make similar statements believe in this manner, too. The one who believes so cannot be called a disbeliever. The Wahhâbîs, too, say that it is permissible to ask for something from those who are near and alive. They ask one another and the government officers for many things; they even entreat them to obtain their wishes. To them, it is polytheism to ask something from the dead or people far away, but it is not so to ask living people. However, to the ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna, the former is not polytheism since the latter is not, and there is no difference between them. Every Muslim believes the fundamentals of îmân and Islâm and that the fard are fard and the harâm are harâm. It is also obvious that every Muslim believes that Allah is the only One who creates and makes everything, that no one besides Him can create anything. If a Muslim says, “I won’t perform salât,” it should be understood that he means that he will not perform salât at that moment or in that place, or because he has already performed it. No one should slander him by alleging that he meant he did not want to perform salât any more. Because, his being a Muslim should prevent others from calling him a “disbeliever” or “polytheist.” No one has the right to use the word “disbeliever” or polytheist” for a Muslim who visits graves, asks the dead for help and intercession or says, “May my such-and-such wish be accepted,” or “Oh Rasûl-Allâh! Please intercede for me!” His being a Muslim indicates that his words and deeds are in accord with the permitted, lawful belief and intention.
Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s beliefs and writing will be demolished and refuted at their very foundation by the full comprehension and judgement of the preceding explanations. In addition, many books have been written to prove with documents that he was on a wrong path, that he slandered Muslims and tried to demolish Islam from within. Sayyid ’Abd ar-Rahmân (rahimah-Allâhu ta’âlâ), the muftî of Zabid, Yemen, wrote that it would suffice to quote nothing but the following hadîth ash-sharîf to show that he was on a wrong path:“Some people will appear in eastern Arabia. They will read the Qur’ân al-karîm. But the Qur’ân al-karîm will not go down their throats. They will leave Islam as the arrow leaves the bow. They shave their faces.” Their faces’ being shaved clearly indicates that those people reported to be on a wrong path are his followers. There is no need to read other books after seeing this hadîth sharîf. It is ordered in Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb’s books that his followers should shave the scalp and sides of the face. There is no such order in any of the seventy-two heretical groups.
A WOMAN’S SILENCING IBN ’ABD AL-WAHHÂB:
Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb also ordered women to shave off their hair. A woman said to him: “Hair is the precious ornament of a female as is the beard for a male. Is it apt to leave human beings deprived of their ornaments bestowed upon them by Allâhu ta’âlâ?” Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb was unable to give any answer to her.
Although many wrong, heretical beliefs exist in the path led by Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb, there are three main beliefs:
1. He taught that rites (’a’mâl) make up a part of îmân and that he who omits a fard (for example, does not perform salât once because of laziness or does not give the zakât of one year because of stinginess, though he believes that salât and zakât are fard) becomes a disbeliever, and he must be killed and his possessions must be distributed among the Wahhâbîs.
2. They believe that it is polytheism to make wasîla of the souls of prophets (’alaihimu ’s-salawâtu wa ’t-taslîmât) and awliyâ’ (rahimahum-Allâhu ta’âlâ) and to ask them to pray on behalf of one who, thus, may attain his wish or be safe against what he fears. They say that it is forbidden to read the prayer book Dalâ’il al-khairât.
3. They believe that it is polytheism to build a dome over a grave, to light oil-lamps for those who perform ’ibâda and serve in shrines and to vow alms or nadhr of an animal for the souls of the dead. To them, each of these acts is a form of worshipping a person besides Allâhu ta’âlâ.
All the shrines of as-Sahâbat al-kirâm, Ahl al-Bait (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ ’anhum ajma’în), awliyâ’ and martyrs (ridwân-Allâhi ’alaihim ajma’în), except that of our master Rasûlullâh(sall-allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), were destroyed when Sa’ûd ibn ’Abd al-’Azîz attacked Mecca and Medina. The graves became indistinct. Although they attemped to pull downRasûlullâh’s shrine, too, those who took hold of pickaxes either went mad or suffered paralysis, and they were not able to commit that crime. When they captured Medina, Ibn Sa’ûd assembled Muslims and, slandering them, said, “Your religion is now completed by Wahhâbism, and Allah became pleased with you. Your fathers were disbelievers and polytheists. Do not follow their religion! Tell everybody that they were disbelievers! It is forbidden to stand and beg in front of Rasûlullâh’s shrine. You may only say ‘As-salâmu ’alâ Muhammad’ when passing by the shrine. He is not to be asked for intercession.”
37 - ’Abd al-’Azîz ibn Muhammad, who ruthlessly massacred Muslims in order to disseminate Wahhâbism, sent three Wahhâbîs to Mecca in 1210 A.H. (1795). The ’ulamâ’ of Ahl as-Sunna responded to them with âyats and hadîths and the Wahhâbite representatives could not make any rejoinder. They could not find any way out but to admit the truth. They wrote and signed a long declaration which stated that Ahl as-Sunna was right and that they themselves were on a wrong, aberrant path. But ’Abd al-’Azîz did not even lend an ear to the advice of the men of religious authority, for he was running after political ambitions and had set his heart on increasing the taste of his chieftain. He increased his torture of the Muslims day by day behind the curtain of religiousness.
The three Wahhâbîs put forward twenty points to convince Meccan Muslims. These twenty points are summarized in the three main groups in the above. Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb said that it was Imâm Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s (rahmat-Allâhi ’alaih) ijtihâd that ’ibâdât formed a part of îmân. However, all of Imâm Ahmad’s ijtihâds were recorded in books and the Meccan ’ulamâ’ knew all of them in detail, so they easily proved and convinced the three Wahhâbîs that this allegation of Ibn ’Abd al-Wahhâb was false.
The three Wahhâbîs were extremely sure that they were right in their second belief. They said, “Muslims in Mecca visit the graves of Rasûlullâh (sall-Allâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), ’Abdullâh ibn ’Abbâs and Mahjûb