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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
and given power?’ He answered, ‘Trials come first and then being
established.’ Imam al-Shafi’ee, may Allah have mercy on him, was
also asked, ‘Which is better for a person, that he be established and
given power or that he be tested and tried?’ He replied, ‘There is no
establishment for him until he is tested. Allah tried the most resolute
of his Messengers. When they displayed patience, he established
them.’” 1
Note that the struggle that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab took part in
was one of the greatest of struggles. It is much easier to identify an
external opponent and call people to reject or revolt against the
outsiders. However, ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s struggle was for the most
part against people who were Muslims but who had lost the true vision
of Islam. Much of what they were doing, no matter how wrong or evil
it was, was done under the name of Islam and with the blessings of the
“scholars” and rulers. Assuredly the reader can imagine what it would
be like for someone to come and say that this way of following Islam
that the people are following is not the proper Islam. This is the uphill
battle that ibn Abdul-Wahhaab had to wage. There was no question
that many would try to defend the “status quo” and that they did.
A Note on Methodology
Upon studying the life and teachings of Muhammad ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab, one quickly discovers that what has been stated
about him is extremely contradicting. Some consider him a great
Muslim leader while others declare him the greatest heretic or
disbeliever. This then brings up a question of methodology or, in other
words, the logical and sound approach to resolving such conflicting
views. In the case of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, one finds controversies
concerning historical as well as Islamic issues.
The historical issues can be dealt with based on some very
basic and obvious principles:
(1) Any claim should have some historical veracity to it. It
must be traceable back to the actual events, either via eyewitnesses or
known, acceptable transmitters. When taking this step, one
immediately finds that many claims have no acceptable basis to them
1 Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat, vol. 3, Mukhtasar Zaad al-Maad,
p. 164.