Muham mad bin `Abdu l- Wahha b

Muham mad bin `Abdu l- Wahha b


His Birth and Lineage

Shaik hul- Islam , Muham mad bin `Abdu l- Wahha b, was born in 1115H in the city of Uyain ah, seven ty kilom eters north west of Riyad h, the capit al of Kingd om of Saudi Arabi a. He belon ged to a highl y respe ctabl e and schol arly famil y; his fathe r Shaik h `Abdu l- Wahha b bin Sulai man, chara cteri zed by his profo und schol arshi p and right eousn ess, inher ited an exalt ed statu s from his ances tor Shaik h Sulai man bin `Ali, the chief of the schol ars and well verse d in teach ing, writi ng and givin g verdi ct.


Educa tion

Shaik hul- Islam acqui red his prima ry educa tion from his estee med fathe r at his nativ e place and was nurtu red under his guida nce. He was intel ligen t enoug h to memor ize the Quran by heart at a very tende r age of ten only. He read outse t, he was great ly inter ested in study ing the works of early schol ars, parti cular ly those of Shaik hul- Islam Ibn Taimi yah and his noble disci ple Allam ah Ibn Qaiyi m. He went throu gh all those books and well grasp ed the conte nts.


On attai ning the age of matur ity, he set out to perfo rm Hajj at Makka h and deriv ed benef its from the schol ars there . He then proce eded to Al- Madin ah, met the learn ed ones there , and adopt ed the stude ntshi p of two renow ned erudi te, Shaikh Abdul lah bin Ibrahim bin Sa'id and Shaik h Muham mad Hayat Sindh i for a long perio d. Out of the curio sity for highe r educa tion, he took also the journ ey to Iraq and Basra h and got himse lf benef ited there .


Condi tion of Najd

In those days, the peopl e of Najd ere indul ged in polytheist ic deeds and un- islamic practices. They were compl etely overw helmed with polytheism . The graves, trees , stones, caves , evil spirits, and insane persons were regarded as deities. The baseless stories and tales were ascribed to them to manifest their excellence . The world ly `Ulam a' too had misguided them for the fulfillment of their mater ialistic lust. The sooth sayers and magicians were having their influence over the society.


None could dare chall enge their holds on the commo ners. Same condi tion was preva iling in both Makka h and Al- Madin ah also. Yemen was also in the same line. Polyt heism , erect ion of struc tures on the grave s, seeki ng refug e and assis tance of the dead, saint s, and jinns were the commo n relig ious featu res.


Missi on of Da'wa h

Havin g studi ed this pitia ble condi tion of the natio n, Shaik h was highl y moved . More pitia ble was the situa tion that no one was ready to take troub le to guide the peopl e to t he Right Path. It is obvio us that to take this task meant to chall enge those evild oers who had their provi sions throu gh these pract ices. It meant to make onese lf prepa red to face very tortu re and atroc ities from these selfi sh misgu iders and there follo wers. But Shaik h resol ed to make every effor t to fight again st the circu mstan ces up to the exten t of Jihad .


Shaik h was a man of coura ge and enthu siasm . He start ed his preac hing, made corre spond ence with relig ious schol ars invit ing them to lend helpi ng hands in eradi catio n of the preva iling absur ditie s and defil ement s of relig ious matte rs. A numbe r of schol ars from Makka h, Al- Madin ah and Yemen accep ted his invit ation , and suppo rted him. But apart from them, there were also such ignor ant and selfi sh schol ars who criti cized him and kept thems elves aloof .


The so- calle d learn ed ones rose again st the Shaik h as t hey were being affec ted by his Da'wa h in terms of their world ly gains . Even then he took journ ey to diffe rent place s to conve y this messa ge to the peopl e given to error . Trave ling throu gh Zabir , Ahsa, Hurai mala, he reach ed `Uyai nah.


Arriv al at `Uyai nah

That was the perio d when the ruler of `Uyai nah was `Uthm an bin Hamd bin Ma'ma r. he welco med the Shaik h gladl y, and assur ed him every help in his missi on of Islam ic Da'wa h. Shaik h devot ed himse lf to his great work of refor matio n for the sake fo Allah . He gaine d the popul arity far and wide. Peopl e start ed resor ting to him in large numbe rs. He becam e engag ed in their guida nce and teach ings.


Shaik h, howev er, conti nued his strug gle to free the envir onmen t from all the defil ement s and pollu tions . There were numer ous tombs , grave s, caves , trees , etc. , which were worsh ipped by the Musli ms. With the help of Amir `Uthm an bin Ma'ma r, most of them were extir pated by the Shaik h. He becam e engag ed in purif ying the peopl e from polyt heist ic and heret ic ritua ls in `Uyai nah and its surro undin gs.


In the mean time, a woman came to him for purif icati on from the sin of commi tting adult ery. Inves tigat ions were made as to wheth er she was menta lly sound or not and also that wheth er she had chose for the punis hment under some press ure or volun taril y. When it was confi rmed that she was doing that volun taril y out of repen tance , Shaik hh order ed for her Rajm (to kill by throw ing stone s – punis hment for adult ery) . Owing to these event s – disma ntlin g of tombs , self- surre nderi ng of the woman for punis hment and migra tion of the peopl e to `Uyai nah to seek guida nce from the Shaik h – the reput ation of the Shaik h sprea d far and wide.


Exit from `Uyai nah and Entra nce to Dar'i yah

When the ruler of Al- Ahsa and its surro undin gs, Sulai man bin Urai' ar came to know about the popul arity of the Shaik h among the peopl e, he becam e afrai d of the growi ng stren gth of the Shaik h and resol ved to crush him at the very outse t, lest he shoul d overt hrow him from his power . So he threa tened Amir `Uthm an, with whom Shaik h was livin g, and asked him to kill the Shaik h. Amir `Uthm an was no in a posit ion to withs tand Sulai man, hence he becam e panic ky. Appre hendi ng that if he disob eyed the order , Sulai man would punis h him and overp ower him, he made Shaik h acqua inted with the whole situa tion and submi tted him to migra te to any other place . And Shaik h migra ted from `Uyai nah to Dar'i yah.


The peopl e of Dar'i yah knew the Shaik h very well and they were also aware of his missi on. When the ruler of Dar'i yah amir Muham mad bin Sa'ud came to know about the arriv al of the Shaik h in his terri tory, he was much pleas ed and visit ed the Shaik h at his place . Muham mad bin Sa'ud belon ged to a pious famil y and himse lf was a pract ical Musli m. He excha nged his views with the Shaik h and was rejoi ced to know that Shaik h's missi on aimed to reviv e the Quran and Sunna h and the Islam ic teach ings in its origi nal form; he desir ed to promo te him the belie f in the Onene ss of Allah and true guida nce of the Proph et Muham mad ( pbuh) .


[ Note: for those who don't now Muham mad ibn Sa'ud conqu ered other tribe s in the Arabi an Penin sula and made the Penin sula into one unite d stron g natio n known today as Saudi Arabi a]


Pledg e to Propa gate the Teach ing of Islam

Shaik h descr ibed befor e him the accou nts of the Proph et ( saws) and his Compa nions as to how did they striv e for the cause of Allah , endur ing all the diffi culti es and makin g their best effor ts with all the sacri fices . Shaik h persu aded the Amir also to the same and assur ed him of Allah 's Pleas ure in the Herea fter, and His favor and victo ry in this world . Ibn Sa'ud , being convi nced by the Shaik h, agree d with him and promi sed his full suppo rt to him and his missi on, provi ded when Allah would bless him with victo ry, he would not leave him. Shaik h also gave his words to this effec t, and thus Ibn Saud gave Shaik h his pledg e to propa gate the teach ings of Islam ( espec ially Tauhi d, the Onene ss of Allah ), mobil ize the adher ence to the Sunna h of Allah 's messe nger ( saws) , enjoi n the good deeds and forbi d the evils . Shaik h invok ed Allah to be his Guide and bless him to be firm in his deter minat ion, and to give him every succe ss in this life and Herea fter.


Dar' iyah, the Cente r of Da' wah

At this time Shaik h found himse lf in a peace ful envir onmen t, most suita ble for his work of Dawah . He seize d the golde n oppor tunit y and start ed to educa te the masse s. Peopl e of Dar' iyah and its surro undin gs resor ted to him for the lesso ns of in Islam . Amir Muham mad bin Saud prese nted himse lf befor e the membe rs of his famil y. Dar' iyah was crowd ed with the peopl e visit ing for learn ing. Shaik h start ed teach ing, preac hing and invit ing peopl e to Allah . He under took the task of deliv ering lectu res on diffe rent branc hes of knowl edge namel y, Tauhi d ( Islam ic Monot heism ), expos ition of Quran and Sunna h, knowl edge of Fiqh and Arabi c langu age etc.


Thus Dar' iyah turne d into a cente r of learn ing and Dawah , and peopl e start ed migra ting to it in a large numbe r.


The conco urse of peopl e and far- reach ing effec t of his missi on made him a far- famed which rende red his enemi es into jealo us. They start ed false propa ganda again st the Shaik h and even blame d him of blasp hemy, and brand ed him a Zindi q and sorce rer. Shaik h was a man of coura ge. He did not care for these blame s and conti nued his missi on with full enthu siasm . He even debat ed his oppon ents in the best manne r and in a polit e way. This attit ude prove d very effec tive and rende red his oppon ents to be his suppo rters . Shaik h, along with his work of dawah , plann ed for Jihad again st the overw helmi ng polyt heism and heret ic ideas and pract ices, and invit ed peopl e of all ranks to join in this missi on. Deleg ates from every corne r of the Arab Penin sula visit ed Dar' iyah to pledg e their suppo rt to the Shaik h and to take a lesso n of true monot heism of Islam . Then they would retur n back to their areas to teach the same to their peopl e and educa te them.


The ruler of ' Uyain ah and the elite s took journ ey to pay visit and reque sted him to turn back to ' Uyain ah, but Shaik h rejec ted the propo sal. They also pledg ed to fight for the cause of Islam till their last. Shaik h also sent his disci ples to the diffe rent regio ns and count ries to preac h the teach ings of Islam based only on Quran and authe ntic Ahadi th of the Proph et ( pbuh) .


Corre spond ence with Ruler s

Shaik h drew the atten tion of the ruler s and schol ars of each regio n towar ds the polyt heism and heres y in which the peopl e were indul ged, and invit ed them for their eradi catio n. For the purpo se, he stepp ed into corre spond ence. He wrote lette rs to t he ruler s, elite s and schol ars of Najd, Riyad h, Kharj , towns of south ern regio n, Qasee m, Hayel , Washm , Sudai r, etc. He also wrote to the surro undin g ' Ulama ' of Ahsa, Makka h, and Al- Madin ah. Outsi de the Arab Penin sula, he made corre spond ence to the learn ed figur es of Syria , Iraq, India , Yemen as well. He maint ained his commu nicat ion with them, expla ined them the aims and objec ts of his missi on, subst antia ted the point s with Quran and Sunna h and invit ed their atten tion towar ds the eradi catio n of absur d and heret ical belie fs and pract ices in the masse s.


Shaik h's missi on sprea d far and wide. A large numbe r of schol ars and other peopl e throu ghout India , Indon esia, Afgha nista n, Afric a, Moroc co, Egypt , Syria , Iraq, etc. got influ enced and attra cted towar ds his dawah . They also stood up in their own regio ns, with a great zeal and enthu siasm , to invit e the peopl e towar ds Allah and to the pure and basic teach ings of Quran and Sunna h, free from all heres ies and misin terpr etati ons.


Death

Shaik h dedic ated his whole life for this Dawah and Jihad with his utmos t since rity and with the help of Muham mad bin Saud and his son ' Abdul - aziz, the ruler s of Dar' iyah. He breat hed his last on the last day of month of Dhul- Qa' dah in 1206 H ( 1792 CE).


Impac t of Dawah

As a resul t of conti nued Dawah , vigor ous strug gle and Jihad in the way of Allah for a long perio d of about fifty years from 1158 H to 1206 H, a compl ete victo ry over the entir e Najd was gaine d. Peopl e aband oned worsh ippin g grave s, tombs , shrin es, trees , etc. and all the more they deser ted all of them and pract iced the pure faith of Islam . Blind follo wing of the foref ather s, ances tors and tradi tions in vogue was aband oned; and Shari 'ah was reviv ed and estab lishe d. Oblig atory dutie s were being obser ved in the light of the Quran and Sunna h.


A frame work for enjoi ning good deeds and forbi dding bad ones was insti tuted . Mosqu es began to be visit ed by peopl e in abund ance for perfo rming Salat .


Peace and tranq uilit y preva iled every where , in towns as well as in villa ges. Peopl e becam e safe even in deser ts and on lonel y ways. The ignor ant and notor ious Bedou ins molde d their condu ct. The preac hers and prece ptors were sent to every corne r to teach and educa ted the commo n peopl e.


Thus a thoro ugh reviv al of compl ete relig ion came into exist ence. After the expir y of Shaik h, his sons, grand sons, disci ples, and suppo rters conti nued the work of Dawah and jihad in the way of Allah . Among his sons, the most arden t in these activ ities were: Shaik h Imam Abdul lah bin Muham mad, Shaik h Husai n bin Muham mad, Shaik h ali bin Muham mad, and Shaik h Ibrah im bin Muham mad; and among his grand sons were: Shaik h Abdur - Raman bin Abdul lah. Apart from them, a large group of his disci ples inclu ding Shaik h Hamd bin Nasir , schol ars from Dar' iyah and other s remai ned conti nuous ly engag ed in invit ing peopl e towar ds Allah 's true relig ion by writi ng and publi shing books , fight ing for the cause of Allah and makin g corre spond ence in this regar d.


Some of His Works

Despi te the fact that Shaik hul- Islam Muham mad bin Abdul lah- Wahha b was a refor mer and man of dawah , he still engag ed in writi ng also.
His some famou s works are as follo ws:

1.
Kitab At- Tauhi d
2.
Kitab Al- Kabaa ir
3.
kashf Ash- Shubh at
4.
Mukht asar Seera t Ar- Rasoo l
5.
Masai l Al- Jahil iyah
6.
Usool Al- Iman
7.
Fadai l Al- Quran
8.
Fadai l Al- Islam
9.
Majmu Al- Ahadi th
10.
Mukht asar Al- Insaf wa Ash- Sharh Al- Kabee r
11.
Al- Usool Ath- Thala tha
12.
Aadaa b Al- Mashi ilas- Salat

And other s

Sourc e: The Conci se Colle ction on Creed & Tauhi d by Darus salam ( This is an Engli sh trans latio n of the Shaik h's book "Kita b At- Tauhi d.")