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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
Islamic movement and to smear its name. Muhammad Ismaeel al-
Nadwi notes that Ahmad and his partner al-Shaheed Ismaael were still
greatly influenced by Sufism, precluding a direct and close connection
to the teachings of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. 1
Nadwi noted that he has seen a great deal of lies and false
allegations stated about ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. Among them he includes
the notion that Al-Shaheed Ahmad’s movement was like a branch of
the Wahhabi teachings in Najd. He states that the sources and goals of
the two tendencies are one, being derived from the teachings of the
Quran and Sunnah. He also noted that both Ahmad and ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab were strivers (mujaahid) striving for the sake of Allah. But
that in itself does not mean that there was ever any relationship
between the two. In many ways, he states, that there was no similarity
between the two of them even though the foundations for the two calls
were the same. 2
Furthermore, Masood al-Nadwi stated that according to
Sulaimaan al-Nadwi both Shah Waliullah of Delhi and ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab learned from the same fountain of knowledge in Madinah.
Perhaps, Sulaimaan al-Nadwi was trying to imply some commonality
between the two. Masood al-Nadwi notes that there is no doubt that
they learned at the same “school” (the Prophet’s mosque) and that the
source of their knowledge (the Quran and Sunnah) was the same, but
there is no evidence that they ever learned from any of the same
people. 3
Qeyamuddin Ahmad, in his extensive work on this movement
in India, also doubts any strong connection between ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab of Najd and those called Wahhabis in India. Both Bareli and
ibn Abdul-Wahhaab derived their teachings from the same revelation
and there were some commonalties between them but there were also
some marked differences between them, such as the influence of Sufi
thought on Bareli. Qeyamuddin Ahmad though seems to accept the
conclusion that it is difficult to either affirm or deny any true
connection between the two calls. 4
1 Cf., Jumuah, pp. 63-81.
2 Al-Nadwi, p. 20.
3 Al-Nadwi, p. 40.
4 Qeyamuddin Ahmad, The Wahhabi Movement in India (New Delhi, India:
Manohar Publishers, 1994), pp. 31-32.