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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
brotherhood, the concept of implementing Islam completely from its
true sources, then definitely the other movements that heard about ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab were effected by his outcome and his works. That,
though, can be true for any effective movement in the Muslim world:
when its news reaches other parts of the Muslim world, it will revive
their hope in Islam and reinvigorate their efforts to bring about the
true Islam. Furthermore, when they received the true news of what ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab stood for, then definitely this would engender a kind
of love and support for one’s fellow Muslim who stood and sacrificed
for the sake of Allah. If this is what is meant by “influence,” then it is
true that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab influenced—or perhaps more rightly
stated affected—the majority of the movements that came after his
time. 1
Furthermore, it is not necessary that everyone who makes the
same call that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab made was actually influenced by
ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. In reality, any and all who return to the true path
of the Quran and Sunnah as implemented and taught by the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his Companions will
come to virtually the same conclusions that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab came
to. Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab often would say that he is not coming with
anything new. That is true. Thus, someone else may come to the same
conclusions and teachings quite independent of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.
That, in itself, does not discount the value of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s
work. Indeed, it merely demonstrates once again that ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab was following the true Islam as passed down by the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and as recognized by
many scholars before his time and after his time. 2
Finally, it must be noted that the discussion of this chapter will
concentrate on movements and supporters before the mid-1900s. The
1 Cf., Abdul-Muhsin ibn Baaz, vol. 2, pp. 713-718.
2 Thus, in Jumuah’s study, he divides the categories of influenced peoples and
groups into the following categories: (1) Islamic movements that established
states on virtually the same principles as those of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab; (2)
Callers who supported the teachings of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab; (3) Movements
that established states that were influenced by the teachings of ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab; (4) Religious “revolutions” that were influenced by the call of ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab; (5) Religious reformers who were influenced by the teachings
of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. See Muhammad Kamaal Jumuah, Intishaar Dawah al-
Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-Wahhaab Khaarij al-Jazeerah al-Arabiyyah
(Riyadh: Matbooaat Daarah al-Malik Abdul-Azeez, 1981), passim.