The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ... - IslamHouse.com

The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
are words of blame or against you. By Allah, the One besides whom
there is no other deity, they are [words of] sincere advice.” 1
The Importance of Ordering Good and Eradicating Evil
According to ibn Bishr, there was no one in Najd before ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab who truly fulfilled this position of ordering good and
eradicating evil. Thus Najd reached the level that it reached. 2
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab clearly recognized the
importance for society as a whole of ordering good and eradicating
evil. As Jameelah noted, “[He] was not content merely to preach Islam
but was determined to build a society where Islam in its undiluted
purity would be embodied as a practical scheme of life.” 3 In order to
achieve that goal, it is not sufficient simply to purify one’s own soul.
Instead, one must spread the teachings as well as encourage others to
also purify their souls. However, when it comes to the rights of the
society, this must also include the next step of ordering what is good
and forbidding what is evil.
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab recognized that virtually all of the
opposition that he was facing was not due to the fact that he tried to
purify his own life but due to the fact that, for the sake of Allah, he
attempted to purify the society around him. For example, in reference
to the destruction of the mausoleums, he stated, “The trials that we are
experiencing that you and others have heard about it are the result of
the destruction of the tombs that were built over the graves of the
pious in our land.” 4
Furthermore, Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab displayed his contempt for
those people in positions of authority who did not object to even the
greatest of sins and shirk. He wrote to such people, “What is wrong
with you that you do not explain to the people that such practices are
disbelief in Allah that take them out of the fold of Islam?… How is it
permissible for you to conceal that and turn away from that while
Allah has taken a pact from those who have been given the Book that
1 Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat, vol. 7, p. 20.
2 Ibn Bishr, vol. 1, p. 169.
3 Jameelah, pp. 117-118.
4 Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat, vol. 7, p. 40.
112