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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
organisation of devotional exercises, having all served to awake and
keep alive the innate proselytising spirit of Islam. 1
Introductory Comments
Having quoted Arnold’s statement, it is still difficult to write
conclusively about the extent of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s
influence. This is so for the following reasons:
(1) Those who are truly students and “influenced” have to be
distinguished from those who are supporters and along the same path,
having come to that path independent of the influence of ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab. This category would have to include people like
Muhammad ibn Ismaaeel al-Sanaani and Muhammad ibn Ali al-
Shaukaani, both of Yemen, as well as ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s direct
teachers, such as al-Sindi, Ibrahim ibn Saif and so on. These people
are still of great importance because they agreed with ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab, if not verbally then in their teachings, that this path is the
one true path.
(2) Those who liked some aspects of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s
reform but were not actually truly followers, in the sense that just one
aspect does not make one “influenced” especially when the entire
portion of one’s teachings goes against what he said. In particular,
mention will be made later of Iqbal and Muhammad Abduh.
(3) Any time a Muslim individual, organization or group
appeared that was displeasing to the colonial powers or some sectors
of Muslims, they would be termed “Wahhabis,” even if they had no
contact with the teachings of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab or very little in
common with ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. This was simply a propaganda
device to drive Muslims away from that movement. In some cases,
there may have been no substance whatever to said claim. In other
cases, the movement may have had many of the same teachings of ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab, leading the people truly back to the Quran and
Sunnah. The question then arises: How can people be prevented from
being attracted to a call that is so consistent with the clear revelations
that no doubt many will accept that movement? The answer: Give that
movement a name that will drive people away from it. In the past, that
1 T. W. Arnold, The Preaching of Islam (Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1975), p.
431.
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