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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
rulers, and explained to him Islam and the principles upon which he
wished to work. The two entered into an alliance, although there
existed those who opposed Uthmaan. He eventually was able to unite
his people under his political authority. He took part in a number of
jihads to spread the faith, starting in 1802 A.H. By 1804, he had
established the Sultanate of Sokono, a relatively large Islamic empire,
that continued after Uthmaan Dan Fodio’s death.
Of all the movements that are ascribed as having been
influenced by ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Uthmaan Dan Fodio was
definitely the closest to ibn Abdul-Wahhaab in his teachings and
approach, leaving very little doubt that the influence was quite strong.
In fact, Uthmaan’s brother Abdullah ibn Muhammad explicitly stated
that Uthmaan started his movement after returning from the Hajj and
leaving the practices of his people that contradicted the Shareeah. 1
Another famous movement in a nearby region was the Mahdi
movement of the Sudan, founded by Muhammad Ahmad ibn Abdullah
(b. circa 1260 A.H.-1302 A.H./1885 C.E.). He wished to remove the
Sufi orders and the different schools of fiqh and unite everyone
around the Quran and Sunnah. He took part in jihad and established a
government, attempting to completely free his land from the
colonialists. His way of running the government was very similar to
the government of al-Diriyyah and the priority he gave to removing
the excesses of Sufism was also similar to that of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab,
leading Hasan Ahmad Mahmood to conclude that there was a clear
influence there. 2 Al-Zuhaili, also, concludes that although there were
some major differences in the two sets of teachings, the Mahdi’s
movement was definitely influenced by ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s
teachings. 3
1 He is quoted in Jumuah, p. 114. For more details concerning Uthmaan Dan
Fodio and ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s influence upon him, see Abdul-Fattaah al-
Ghunaimi, “Athar Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-Wahhaab fi Gharb
Afreeqiya” in Buhooth Nadwah Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-
Wahhaab (Riyadh: Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, 1991), vol. 2, pp.
343-368. Mustafa Masad, “Athar Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-
Wahhaab fi Harakah Uthmaan ibn Faudi al-Islaahiyyah fi Gharb Ifreeqiyaa”
in Buhooth Nadwah Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil-Wahhaab
(Riyadh: Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, 1991), vol. 2, pp. 423-444;
Jumuah, pp. 103-116.
2 Quoted in Jumuah, p. 221.
3 See al-Zuhaili, vol. 2, pp. 329-331; Jumuah, pp. 221-226.