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The Life, Teachings and Influence of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab
informed them, that such was exactly like what the Tribe of Israel
said to Moses… If this sternness came from the Messenger of Allah
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) toward the Companions
when they sought something similar to that of the polytheists, a
tree designated to hang their weapons on to get blessings from,
what would be the case with something much greater than that: the
greater shirk that most of the people perform today? 1
The above is truly just the tip of the iceberg concerning all of
the texts that show how the religion of Islam means to keep its
adherents away from any trace of shirk whatsoever. But it should not
be understood, as some opponents seem to imply, that all of this was
foreign to the Muslim Nation until ibn Abdul-Wahhaab came along
and taught these matters. No, indeed, this was something well-known
to the scholars and all four of the schools of fiqh made clear and
unequivocal statements that these kinds of acts are to be avoided. 2
For example, Malik disliked 3 that anyone should stand at the
Prophet’s grave and make supplications for himself. Instead, he
should just greet the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) and then move on. Malik and the other scholars of Madinah also
disliked for someone to go the Prophet’s grave and greet him every
time they entered the mosque. 4
Abu Hanifah and his companions stated that it is not allowed
to ask Allah by invoking any of His creation. They also stated that it is
prohibited to say in a prayer, “I ask of You by the right of Your
prophets.” Al-Qadoori, the later Hanafi scholar, after quoting Abu
1 Ibn Ghannaam, vol. 1, pp. 42-43.
2 Thus it was possible for ibn Abdul-Wahhaab to quote scholars from all four
schools of fiqh to support his opinions against those of his opponents. He even
explicitly stated (vol. 7, p. 38) that he debates with followers of each school
according to what their own books state, demonstrating that the acts of
disbelief are such according to their own scholars. See, in particular, the two
letters in which he quoted the different schools at length. Muhammad ibn
Abdul-Wahhaab, Muallifaat, vol. 7, pp. 176-180 and 250-267. It is amazing how
so many of the people who fall into these acts are adamant supporters of
taqleed or blindly following the dictates of their fiqh school. Al-Saabiq (p. 13)
noted that some of them even say that if one does not follow one of the four
schools, he has left Islam. Yet when it comes to these types of matters, the
foundations of the faith, they completely ignore their fiqh school, performing a
blatant contradiction that is obvious for all to see. Cf., al-Saabiq, pp. 13-14.
3 “Disliked” in the way these early scholars used this term means that the act is
actually prohibited.
4 Quoted in ibn Ghannaam, vol. 1, p. 50.
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