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

The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
contributed to the success of the reform call itself. Idris noted this
aspect when he wrote,
Leaders of social reform movements usually come with ideas with
which people are not familiar, and they are therefore prone to
encounter challenge, criticism and opposition. While the leader
and the elite around him might be able to defend their new
thinking in the face of this opposition, the rank and file of the
movement cannot do so. But the movement consists mainly of
these common people, and the opposition might adopt a strategy of
defying and embarrassing them by asking them questions they
cannot answer, in the hope of weakening their hold on those new
beliefs, and thus weakening the movement. This happened to ‘Abd
al-Wahhab’s followers, and he realized the importance of giving
these people confidence in themselves and arming them with
simple arguments that they could understand and use effectively,
even against people who were much more learned than they were.
He encouraged them not to be intimidated by people who were
known to be more learned than they because a learned person is
weak as long as he is on the side of falsehood, and a lay person is
strong so long as he adheres to the truth. To this end he divided
arguments for them into two categories: general arguments which
even a lay person could use to answer any objection, and specific
answers to the most commonly raised questions. 1
Following the “Cause and Effect” in This World While Putting
One’s Complete Trust in Allah
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) was the example par excellence of understanding how one
must adhere to the apparent and material causes of this world while at
the same time putting all of one’s reliance and trust in Allah alone. For
example, in his battles against the disbelievers, he took all the
necessary steps that he could take and struggled, realizing that all the
results lay with Allah’s decree. When deciding a matter, as another
example, he would consult with his Companions and then once they
used all the resources they could to come to the proper conclusion,
they would put their trust and reliance in Allah to bring about the best
result. This was in obedience to Allah’s command,
1 Idris, p. 5.
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