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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and goes clearly
against his own admonition, when he said,
�ﻪﹸﻟﻮ�ﺳ�ﺭ�ﻭ �ﻪﱠﻠﻟﺍ �ﺪ�ﺒ�ﻋ ﺍﻮﹸﻟﻮﹸﻘﹶﻓ �ﻩ�ﺪ�ﺒ�ﻋ ﺎ�ﻧﹶﺃ ﺎ�ﻤ�ﻧﹺﺈﹶﻓ �ﻢ�ﻳ�ﺮ�ﻣ �ﻦ�ﺑﺍ ﻯ�ﺭﺎ�ﺼ�ﻨﻟﺍ �ﺕ�ﺮﹾﻃﹶﺃ ﺎ�ﻤﹶﻛ ﻲﹺﻧﻭ�ﺮﹾﻄ�ﺗ ﻻ
“Do not overly praise me like the Christians overly praised the son of
Mary. I am His slave-servant, so say, ‘Servant of Allah and His
Messenger.’” (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) Furthermore, when one
realizes that the Sufis rely more on “mystical experience, visions”
than what is actually stated in the Quran and Sunnah, it is not
surprising that there is going to be some conflict between them and
ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.
It is interesting to note that although ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s
reputation is that of one who rejects Sufism in its totality 1, in reality,
he actually rarely even mentioned or discussed Sufism. In fact, in his
study of the leaders of the Salafi teachings’ views of Sufism, al-Makki
covered ibn Abdul-Wahhaab in just four pages. He began his
discussion by referring to the thirteen volume collection of ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab’s writings which, he states, are available for anyone to buy
in the marketplace. He said he meticulously read through those
volumes page by page and he found no stance, no attack and no
refutation of Sufism or any Sufi shaikh from ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. 2 It
seems that Sufism was not very strong in Najd, although ibn Abdul-
Wahhaab did mention some people who were following the extreme
views of ibn Arabi and ibn al-Faaradhi. 3 He also referred to the
readings of Dalaail al-Khairaat 4 and Raudh al-Riyaaheen, both can be
considered Sufi texts. 5 However, and this point must be emphasized, it
1 Many examples of such statements could be given. For example, Sirriyeh
writes, “The Wahhabi movement affords an exceptional example of a stern and
total rejection of Sufism and its organized expression in the orders.” Elizabeth
Sirriyeh, Sufis and Anti-Sufis: The Defence, Rethinking and Rejection of
Sufism in the Modern World (Richmond, England: Curzon Press, 1999), p. 22.
2 Abdul-Hafeedh al-Makki, Mauqaf Aimmah al-Harakah al-Salafiyyah min al-
Tasawwuf wa al-Soofiyyah (Cairo: Daar al-Salaam, 1988), p. 15.
3 Cf., Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat, vol. 7, p. 189.
4 Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab’s biggest complaint about this work is that the people
treated it with greater respect and admiration than the Quran. See
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat, vol. 7, p. 37.
5 Cf., Abdullah al-Uthaimeen, “al-Rasaail al-Shakhsiyyah li-l-Shaikh Muhammad
ibn Abdil-Wahhaab,” in Buhooth Nadwah Dawah al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn
Abdil-Wahhaab (Riyadh: Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, 1991), vol.
1, pp.102-103.