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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
In Morocco, according to the French historian Julian, Sidi
Muhammad ibn Abdulllah al-Alawi (1757-1790 C.E.) was very much
influenced by the pilgrims returning from Makkah who had studied
under the “Wahhabi” scholars. He said about himself, “I am Maliki in
my school of fiqh, Wahhabi in my beliefs.” He set out to destroy the
books having incorrect beliefs and some of the zaawiyah (Sufi
cloisters). He called the people to ijtihaad and the Sunnah. 1
Then there was Maula Sulaimaan ibn Muhammad ibn
Abdullah (1792-1822 C.E.). Al-Zirikili and many Western references
mention that he was greatly influenced by the “Wahhabis” after the
year 1225 A.H. (1810 C.E.) and he afterwards opposed the
innovations of the various Sufi orders. He was in direct contact with
Abdullah ibn Saud and sent delegations to Makkah to make Hajj and
study under the scholars there. However, he did not meet with much
success in spreading the beliefs of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. 2
In Marakesh, there was also Abu al-Abbaas al-Tijaani who
opposed heresies and prevented people from traveling to gravesites. It
is said that his followers reached in the hundreds of thousands. 3
Abu Shuaib al-Dakaali was a great scholar of hadith who lived
in Makkah for many years. He returned to North Africa (Morocco)
and became the leader of the Salafi teachers for over a quarter of a
century.
A very important movement in North Africa was the Sannusi
movement, which for obvious reasons is most closely tied to the
history of Libya. Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sannusi (b. 1202 A.H./1887
C.E.-d. 1959 C.E.), originally from Algeria, made Hajj in 1829, when
Makkah was under the control of the followers of ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab. He might have been somewhat influenced, in that he was
able to purify his movement from some of the extreme aspects of the
Shaadhili order. He emphasized a return to the Quran and Sunnah and
also emphasized the importance of a political structure and military
strength. However, there were many ways in which al-Sannusi’s
Islaami al-Islaahi bi-l-Jazaair (Bahrain: Maktabah ibn Taimiyyah, 1985),
passim.
1 See al-Husain, p. 425; al-Zuhaili, vol. 2, p. 323; Jumuah, p. 235; Muhammad al-
Shuwair, Tasheeh Khata Tareekhi Haul al-Wahhaabiyyah (Riyadh: Daar al-
Habeeb, 2000), pp. 24-34.
2 See al-Husain, p. 426; al-Zuhaili, vol. 2, p. 324; Jumuah, pp. 235-237.
3 Al-Zuhaili, vol. 2, p. 324.