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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
Beyond the verses or hadith, there is very little actual discussion from
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.
(iii) Kitaab al-Tahaarah (“The Book of Ritual Purity”) 1: In
this work, Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab deals with major issues of
ritual purity. Here, he is very succinct but his conclusions reflect a
deep knowledge of the topic. Although he often presents different
opinions (such as the opinions of the four schools of fiqh) on a
particular issue, he dismisses weaker views with strong evidence in
very concise statements. His brevity is such that it seems that this
work was not intended for a novice but either for a teacher or as a
summary for a well-grounded student. For example, he wrote, “It is
not allowed to use gold or silver utensils in acts of purification or
other acts, based on the hadith of Hudhaifah that is agreed upon [by
al-Bukhari and Muslim].” 2 The novice may not be familiar with said
hadith and may feel somewhat at a loss, not knowing exactly what ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab was referring to. Once again in this work he refers
quite often to the conclusions of ibn Taimiyyah.
He also compiled smaller, very specific works such as Shuroot
al-Salaat wa Arkaanuhaa wa Waajibaatuhaa (“The Prerequisites,
Pillars and Obligatory Acts of the Prayer”), Adaab al-Maashi ila al-
Salaat (“The Manners of Walking to the Prayer,” which covers a
number of other topics, such as the manner in which the ill should
pray, the Friday Prayer, the prayer for rain and so forth 3) and Ahkaam
al-Salaat (“The Regulations of the Prayer,” two pages listing all of the
important aspects of the prayer, in the format, “The prerequisites for
the prayer are nine,” followed by a list of them, “The essential acts of
the prayer are fourteen,” followed by a list of them and so forth). 4
1 This work is the third work in volume three of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab,
Muallifaat. It comprises forty-three pages. (Each work in this volume has its
pages numbered separately.)
2 Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Kitaab al-Tahaarah, p. 8 (in volume 3 of
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat).
3 Ibn Bishr (vol. 1, p. 92) states that Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab wrote this
work to refute those who claimed that he ignored the four schools of fiqh and
founded his own school. Hence, this work is heavy in its Hanbali influence.
4 All of these works are found in volume three of Muhammad ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab, Muallifaat. Note that one of the works that is found in this same
volume is Ahkaam Tamanna al-Maut (“The Rulings Related to Wishing for
Death”). (This is mostly a collection of hadith and statements of early scholars
covering a wide range of topics, from wishing for death to the punishment of
the grave and the affairs of the soul.) Saalih al-Fauzaan did a study of this
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