The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ... - IslamHouse.com

313
The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
who is just throwing out dates [that is, he does not get any benefit from
his recital].” 1 Jundub ibn Abdullah al-Bajaly said, “We learned imaan
[faith] and then we learned the Quran and it increased our imaan.”
In reality, the correcting of aqeedah or one’s belief system—
not simply in a theoretical sense but in a real sense—is not only the
starting point of any true Islamic call, it is also the goal of the call and
teachings. When the understanding and the practice of aqeedah is
correct, the individual is fulfilling his purpose for which he was
created and he is pleasing Allah in the process. He becomes a true
servant of Allah and all consequential blessings from that flow to him.
Ibn Abdul-Wahhaab understood very well that it is via
correcting the aqeedah that one can then correct the acts of worship,
the behavior and manners, and all aspects of a person’s life. To correct
the “outer” without first correcting what is in a person’s mind and
heart will not have any true, long-lasting benefit. As noted earlier, this
is the aspect that rang through all of his teaching, writing and
communication. In particular, he stressed the very foundation of belief
in God and what contradicts that foundation. There is no question that
at the time of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab, spreading the correct belief about
the nature of the worship of God was the most important and also the
most difficult task that he had to fulfill.
As alluded to above, some of the essential practices that flow
from this proper aqeedah were seen in the Companions of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as well as in the closest
followers of ibn Abdul-Wahhaab. These aspects include the
following:
(1) The obligation of applying the law of Allah in one’s life
and in one’s society. Prayer, fasting, worshipping only Him, fulfilling
trust, business laws, inheritance and numerous other deeds touching
upon all spheres of life fall under this realm. These principles apply to
all of society, from the ruler to the ruled, from the rich to the poor and
so on.
(2) The importance of jihad or the willingness to sacrifice for
the sake of Allah. The love of Allah and the true worship of Him
alone requires that Allah be put above everything else in this life. The
love to see the law of Allah implemented and Him alone worshipped
1 Recorded by al-Baihaqi and al-Haakim.