Sheikh-ul-Najd said:
(1) All Muslims for the last six hundred years were Kafirs.
(2) He wrote his first book "Kitab-ul-Tawheed" in which he labelled all Ayats about Idol Worshippers, Munafeqeens and Mushreqeens on the Ahle Sunnah and stereotyped them as Kafir and Mushriks to get them killed. (This was foretold in a Tradition in Bukhari)
(3) Like the Prophets he claimed that anybody who did not believe in him was Kafir and be executed.
(4) Anybody who accepted his religion was told to renew his shahadah and Hajj, if he had already done Hajj because he was previously Mushrik and Kafir.
He was made to confess that his parents, all Muslims and prominent Ulama in the last 600 years were Kafirs.
Anyone who refused this declaration was declared as Mushrik and would be slain even though he was a Mutaqi and all his possessions were forfeited. While on the other hand, anyone who accepted his command would be declared as Momin even though he was a Fasiq or Fajir.
(5) He used to call the Holy Prophet as Tarish (postman). (Allah forbid)
(6) He used to claim that there were so many lies in Sulah Hudaybia.
(7) His stick could kill a snake and was better than The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) who was dead and was of no use to them (Allah forbid).
Note: Because of his beliefs 4, 5 and 6 above Ulama gave the Fatwa of Kufr on Sheikh-ul- Najd.
(8) He disliked and felt troubled if anyone recitedDarud Sharif.
(9) He used to severely punish those who recited Darud Sharif on Friday evenings and from Minarets after Adhan.
He even got one blind Muezzin tortured and killed because of this.
He used to say that reciting Darud Sharif from the minarets of mosques is more sinful than the sound of singing with music from the house of a prostitute.
(10) He burnt all the books of Darud Sharif and Dalael-ul-Khairrat and claimed that their reading was Bidah.
(11) He got all books of Fiqah, Tafseer and Traditions burnt and used to do interpretation of Quran according to his choice and advised his deputies to do the same.
(12) He claimed that he was Hanbali but that was a lie, camouflage and disguise to cheat people. His brother Sheikh Suleman was a Hanbali scholar who wrote a book criticising and condemning the Sheikh-ul-Najd and his beliefs.
(13) He used to stop Muslims from visiting the grave of The Holy Prophet and he used to torture and get the beard shaved of the person whom he came to know had visited.
(14) He denied the Wasili (means) of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
*He used to quote the case of Hadhrat Umar(Raddi Allahu Unho), taking Hadhrat Abbas and other Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) to an open field for Salat-Istasqa (the prayer for rain) through the Wasila of Hadhrat Abbas (Raddi Allahu Unho), being the uncle of the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), as a pretext that Wasila of The holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was not called for because the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) had passed away. (*see below)
But he became speechless when refereed to the Tradition narrated by Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (Raddi Allahu Anhum), according to which the Jews used to pray through the Wasila of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and their prayers were answered even before the holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was born (1). (also see here)
This fact is also mentioned in The Holy Quran (2).
There is also a tradition that in a time of a severe draught when the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) came to Hadhrat Aisha (Raddi Allahu Unha) asking her to pray for rain, she advised to make a hole in the roof of the tomb of the holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and beg Allah for rain which they did and got plenty of rain (6a).
Moreover, the Salat-Istasqa is only prayed in an open field and not in any mosque, neither in Masjad-e-Nabvi nor in Haram-e-Kaaba.
(15) He believed in the material sort of body of Allah, which occupied space (3).
Astaghfirullah!
(1) Tafseer Ibn-e- Kathir, page 604, by Imam Fakhar-ud-din Razi.
(2) Holy Quran, Ayat 89, Sura Baqra. (The text is also on the back cover page).
(3) The Doctrine of Ahle-Sunnah verses the Salafi Movement by Jamal Afandi-ul-Iraqi-
al Sidqi al Zahawi.
Atrocities of the Sheikh-ul-Najd and Wahhabis against Muslim Ummah during their three periods of domination in the Arabian Peninsula:
The Wahhabis demolished the tombs and graves of the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum), Tabayen (those who had the honour of meeting the Prophet's Companions) and Awliyas ( the holy saints) all around Arabia, wherever they could lay their hands on including Janat-ul-Baqi. He got toilets built on many graves of the Awliyas. They shed the blood of the Muslims, who loved the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), from Taif to Karbala and from Mecca to Madina.
The first period (1745 to 1818). During this period:
(1) The Sheikh-ul-Najd and his followers got the graves of the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) grounded in Jabilia.
(2) The first tomb grounded by the Sheikh-ul-Najd himself was of Hadhrat Zaid bin Khatab(Raddi Allahu Unho),, the brother of Caliph Hadhrat Ummar (Raddi Allahu Unho).
The Alliance:
The Sheikh-ul-Najd entered into an alliance with Ibn-e-Saud, according to which, the Sheikh-ul-Najd would be the Imam while Ibn-e-Saud would be the head of the new state and both would share the bounties of wealth, the women as concubines and children as slaves gathered from killings of the Ahle Sunnah. After that alliance, Wahhabis started attacking Ahle Sunnah towns vigorously.
(3) The first attack, after this alliance was on Riyadh. The town was captured after many years of siege killing hundreds of Ahle Sunnah Muslims.
(4) The second attack was on Alhasa, in which hundreds of Muslims were also killed.
(5) In 1801, Wahhabis attacked Karbala and Baladal Hussain. Over 2000 Muslims were massacred filling the bazaars and streets with the blood and corpses of innocent Muslims. They demolished all tombs and graves near Jamia Zubair and around the city including tombs of Hadhrat Talha, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (Raddi Allahu Anhum). Wahhabis looted all diamonds and precious stones decorating the tombs and took them to Najd.
(6) The Destruction of Taif and Massacre of Muslims
After taking over Taif , Wahhabis killed the Muslims, young, old , women and children and filled the streets and bazaars of Taif with blood and dead bodies of innocent Muslims. The Wahhabis took all their possessions, gold, silver and precious things and distributed amongst them and sent one fifth to Ibn-e-Saud.
(7) Attack on Mecca Mukarama
In 1803, Saud attacked Mecca Mukarama. Saud took over Mecca Mukarama without fight but massacred Muslims in the Haram Sharif, even against the command of Allah according to which no blood be ever shed inside the Haram, the Sanctuary of peace. He burnt all the four praying mats of four Ahle Sunnah Imams, demolished all places of homage, graves and tombs, urinated and defecated on many of them. He also destroyed the tombs on the birth place of The Holy Prophet, (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) Abu Bakar Siddique, Ali bin Abu Tallib and Khadija Kubra (Raddi Allahu Anhum). He even burnt the cloth covering the Kabaa.
(8) Capture of Madina Munawara
Saud repeated the same massacre and bloodshed of Ahle-sunnah Muslims, destroyed all graves and tombs and Muslim heritage all around the Madina Munawara. Saud tore the cloth covering the grave of the Holy Prophet (salallah-ho-alehay-wasam), destroyed the Hujra Sharif and the ceiling of the Tomb of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) to steal the precious stones and metals and took 60 camels loaded with treasures with him.
Some Wahhabis even climbed on the Tomb of The Holy Prophet to demolish it but they fell with their faces down and died. A big ball of fire and a serpent appeared and attacked the Wahhabis scaring them to take to their heels.
(9) In 1806, Wahhabis seiged the town of Najaf-e-Ashraf but could not take it. In retreat, they destroyed and made a havoc in the outskirts of Baghdad.
(10) In 1810, Wahhabis advanced as far as Horan which is two days horse journey from Damascus killing innocent Muslims and looting many towns and villages. When huge waves of cries erupted in the Arabian Peninsula and the Muslim world against the Wahhabis barbaric atrocities, Ali Pasha and his sons, commanded by the Ottomans, crushed the Wahhabis regime in 1818.
The Effect of Wahhabism in Indo-Pak Sub-continent: Here
Tareekh-e-Najd-o-Hijaz
Imam Muhammad Abu Zahra
Explains Wahhabism
Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya
("History of the Islamic Schools")
(1898–1974CE)
"I. They did not restrain themselves to view worship (`ibada) in the same way that Islam had stipulated in the Qur'an and Sunna and as Ibn Taymiyya had mentioned, but they wished to include customs (`adat) also into the province of Islam so that Muslims would be bound by them. Thus they declared cigarette smoking haram and exaggerated this ruling to the point that their general public considered the smoker a mushrik [idolater]. As a result they resembled the Khawarij who used to declare apostate whoever committed a sin.
"II. In the beginning of their sway they would also declare coffee and whatever resembled it as haram [categorically prohibited] to themselves but it seems that they became more lenient on this point as time went by.
"III. The Wahhabis did not restrain themselves to proselytism only, but resorted to warmongering against whoever disagreed with them on the grounds that they were fighting innovation (bid`a), and innovations are an evil that must be fought, and it is obligatory to command good and forbid evil.1 [...]
The leader of Wahhabi thought in the field of war and battle was Muhammad ibn Sa`ud, the ancestor of the ruling Sa`udi family in the Arabian lands. He was a brother-in-law to Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab and embraced his madhhab, defending it fervently and calling unto it by force of arms. He announced that he was doing this so as to uphold the Sunna and eradicate bid`a. Perhaps, this religious mission that took a violent turn was carrying with itself a rebellion against Ottoman rule. [...]
Until the governor of Egypt, Muhammad `Ali Basha al-Albani, faced them and pounced on the Wahhabis with his strong army, routing them in the course of several battles. At that time their military force was reduced and confined to the Arabian tribes. Riyadh and its vicinity was the center for this permanent da`wa that would turn violent whenever they found the strength and then lie still whenever they found violent opposition.
"IV. Whenever they were able to seize a town or city they would come to the tombs and turn them into ruins and destruction [...] and they would destroy whatever mosques were with the tombs also. [...]
"V. Their brutality did not stop there but they also came to whatever graves were visible and destroyed them also. And when the ruler of the Hijaz regions caved in to them they destroyed all the graves of the Companions and razed them to the ground [...]
"VI. They would cling to small matters which they condemned although they had nothing to do with idolatry nor with whatever leads to idolatry, such as photography. We found this in their fatwas and epistles at the hands of their Ulama, although their rulers ignore this saying of theirs completely and cast it by the wayside.
"VII. They expanded the meaning of bid`a [innovation] to strange proportions, to the point that they actually claimed that draping the walls of the noble Rawda [near the Prophet's chamber in Madina] is an innovated matter.
Hence they forbade the renewal of the drapes that were in it, until they fell in tatters and became unsightly, were it not for the light that pours out to all that are in the presence of the Prophet - upon him peace - or feels that in this place was the abode of Revelation on the Master of Messengers. In fact, we find among them, on top of this, those who consider that the Muslim's expression "our Master Muhammad" (sayyiduna Muhammad) is an impermissible bid`a / and they show true extremism about this and, for the sake of their mission, use foul and furious language until most people actually flee from them as fast as they can.
"VIII. In truth, the Wahhabis have actualized the opinions of Ibn Taymiyya and are extremely zealous followers and supporters of those views. They adopted the positions of Ibn Taymiyya that we explained in our discussion of those who call themselves "Salafiyya."
However, they expanded the meaning of bid`a and construed as innovations things that have no relation to worship. [...]
In fact, it has been noticed that the Ulama of the Wahhabis consider their own opinions correct and not possibly wrong, while they consider the opinions of others wrong and not possibly correct.
More than that, they consider what others than themselves do in the way of erecting tombs and circumambulating them, as near to idolatry.2
In this respect they are near the Khawarij who used to declare those who dissented with them apostate and fight them as we already mentioned. This was a relatively harmless matter in the days when they were cloistered in the desert and not trespassing its boundaries; but when they mixed with others until the Hijaz country was in the hand of the Sa`ud family,3 the matter became of the utmost gravity.
This is why the late King `Abd al-`Aziz of the Sa`ud family opposed them, and treated their opinions as confined to themselves and irrelevant to others."4
[End of the text quoted from Imam Abu Zahra's book
Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya
("History of the Islamic Schools").]
Among the titles Wahhabis gave themselves are the names:
Muwahhidun ("Monotheists"),
Islahiyyun ("Reformists"), and
Salafiyyun ("Followers of the Pious Predecessors")
while their opponents name them
Hashwiyya ("Illiterates" lit. "Visceralists"),
Mujassima ("Anthropomorphists") and
Khawarij ("Seceders").
They name Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab "Shaykh al-Islam" - although he is by his own Hanbali Madhhab's account a minor figure - and name his descendants Al al-Shaykh [House of the Shaykh] while his brother Sulayman ibn `Abd al-Wahhab declares him an heretic in his fatwa printed under the title:
Fasl al-Khitab min Kitab Allah wa-Hadith al-Rasul (Sallallahu `alayhi wa-Sallam) wa-Kalam Uli al-Albab fi Madhhab Ibni `Abd al-Wahhab
("The Final Word from the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the Sayings of the Scholars Concerning the School of Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab"),
also known as al-Sawa`iq al-Ilahiyya fi Madhhab al-Wahhabiyya
("The Divine ThunderboltsConcerning the Wahhabi School").
This book is the earliest refutation of the Wahhabi sect in print, consisting in over forty-five concise chapters spanning 120 pages that show beyond doubt the fundamental divergence of the Wahhabi school, not only from the Consensus and Usul of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama`a and the fiqh of the Hanbali madhhab, but also from their putative Imams, Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim on most or all the issues reviewed.5
The last point shows the fundamental dishonesty of Salafism toward the very Imams they claim as their true link to the Salaf.
Other reliable literature on that sect includes:
- The Yemeni contemporary of Muhammad Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab: Sayyid `Alawi ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Qutb `Abd Allah al-Haddad's Misbah al-Anam fi Radd Shubuhat al-Bid`i al-Najdi al-Ladhi Adalla biha al-`Awamm ("The Lamp of Mankind in Refuting the Insinuations Used by the Innovator from Najd to Misguide the Public" 1216);
I have translated the introduction and outline of this important book in full and it is available in the UK appended to Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa`i's 1999CE pamphlet:
"Advice to our brethren the Scholars of Najd" (see excerpts of the latter at Advice to the Ulama of Najd - Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa'i).
- Sayyid `Abd Allah ibn Hasan ibn Fadl Ba `Alawi's Sidq al-Khabar fi Khawarij al-Qarn al-Thani `Ashar ("The Truthful News Concerning the Kharijis of the Twelfth Century");
- Hasan ibn `Umar ibn Ma`ruf al-Shatti al-Hanbali's (1205-1274) al-Nuqul al-Shar`iyya fil-Radd `alal-Wahhabiyya ("The Legal Texts that Refute the Wahhabis");
- Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zayni Dahlan's (d 1304) al-Durar al-Saniyya fil-Radd `ala al-Wahhabiyya ("The Resplendent Pearls in Refuting the Wahhabis");
- Ibrahim al-Samannudi al-Mansuri's (d 1314) Sa`adat al-Darayn fil-Radd `ala al-Firqatayn al-Wahhabiyya wal-Zahiriyya ("The Bliss of the Two Abodes in the Refutation of the Two Sects: Wahhabis and Zahiris");
- Shaykh Salamat al-`Azzami's (d 1376) al-Barahin al-Sati`a fi Radd Ba`d al-Bida` al-Sha'i`a ("The Radiant Proofs in Refuting Certain Widespread Innovations");
- and the esteemed contemporary Yemeni Shaykh of Jeddah, al-Habib Zayn al-`Abidin Al Sumayt al-`Alawi's al-Ajwiba al-Ghaliya fi `Aqidat al-Firqat al-Najiya ("The Precious Replies Concerning the Doctrine of the Saved Group [= mainstream Sunnis]").
NOTES
1 To this day, the Khawarij include al-amr bil-ma`ruf wal-nahi `an al-munkar in their books of fiqh.
2 Ironically, the Wahhabis do not consider it idolatry to plaster pictures of their kings, set up kingdoms, and name a land after a king.
3 Through non-Muslim money and arms.
4 Abu Zahra, Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (p. 235-238).
5 The Fasl/Sawa`iq received the following editions: [1] Bombay: Matba`a Nukhbat al-Akhbar, 1306/1889; [2] Cairo; [3] Istanbul: Ishik reprints at Wakf Ihlas, 1399/1979; [4] (Unannotated) Damascus, 1418/1997 (al-Sawa`iq); [5] (Annotated) Damascus, 1420/1999 (Fasl).
---
(*) The Arabic of the hadith of Abbas bin Abdul Mutlib (Radhi'Allah Anho) is this:
كان إذا قحطوا استسقى بالعباس بن عبد المطلب فقال اللهم إنا كنانتوسلإليك بنبينا]فتسقينا وإنانتوسلإليك بعم نبينا فاسقنا قال فيسقون
And correct translation is this:
O Allah! We would use our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)as a means(Waseela) to You and You then sent us rain; now we use our Prophet's uncle as a means(Waseela)to You.
Hazrat Umar's asking through Hazrat Abbas does not prove that Waseela of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is prohibited.
اللهم إنه لم ينزل بلاء إلا بذنب , ولم يكشف إلا بتوبة , وقد توجه القوم بي إليك لمكاني من نبيك
O Allah, calamity (and trouble) comes as a result of sin and only penitence lifts this calamity, and the people, because of my relation with Your Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), have offered me to You as a means of seeking Your help, and these hands of ours, besmeared in sins, are before You and our foreheads are bowed down with penitence. So give us rain
►Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalānī narrated it in Fath-ul-bārī (2:497)
► Subkī, Shifā’-us-siqām fī ziyārat khayr-il-anām (p.128)
►Qastallānī, al-Mawāhib-ul-laduniyyah (4:277)
►Zurqānī in his Commentary (11:152)
Why Al Abbas (RA) was asked to do Dua?
Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani (Rah):
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرى للعباس ما يرى الولد للوالد , فاقتدوا أيها الناس برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في عمه العباس واتخذوه وسيلة إلى الله
Rasul Ullah(salallaho alaihi wasalam) used to take Al-Abbas(RA)like a son takes his father. O People You should also follow the Prophet (s) incase of Al-Abbas(RA) and make him an Intercessor to Allah.
[Fath al Bari 2:497]
Ibn Hajar `Asqalani writes more about this Tawasul of Ibn e Abbas (ra)
"The episode involving `Abbâs makes it clear that to seek intercession from the virtuous, the pious and members of the Prophet's family is a desirable act.In addition, this event proves the high status of `Abbâs as well as reveals `Umar's respect for him and the acknowledgement of his status."
►Ibn Hajar `Asqalânî, Fath-ul-bârî, 2:497;
►Zurqânî, Sharh-ul-Mawâhib, 11:152
Imam Suyuti (rah)
"In the year 17 `Umar enlarged the Prophetic mosque. That year there was a drought in the Hijaz. It was named the Year of Cinders (`am al-ramada). `Umar prayed for rain for the people by means of al-`Abbas. Ibn Sa`d narrated from [the Sahabi] Niyar al-Aslami that when`Umar came came out to pray for rain, he came out wearing the cloaks (burd) of the Messenger of Allah, upon him blessings and peace.
Al-Suyuti mentions the context of this event in his Tarikh al-Khulafa' (Beirut, 1992 Ahmad Fares ed. p. 140)]
Intercession through this cloak , Even Hadrat Umar (RA) was wearing Prophet's (salehalawaalihi wasalam) cloak at the time, , Now what is importance of the cloak?
"...Here is the cloak of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and she brought out to me that cloak made of Persian cloth with a hem of brocade, and its sleeves bordered with brocade and said: This wall Allah's Messenger's cloak with 'A'isha until she died, and when she died. I got possession of it. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to wear that, and we washed it for the sick and sought cure thereby. Sahih Muslim Book 024, Number 5149
(1) All Muslims for the last six hundred years were Kafirs.
(3) Like the Prophets he claimed that anybody who did not believe in him was Kafir and be executed.
(4) Anybody who accepted his religion was told to renew his shahadah and Hajj, if he had already done Hajj because he was previously Mushrik and Kafir.
He was made to confess that his parents, all Muslims and prominent Ulama in the last 600 years were Kafirs.
Anyone who refused this declaration was declared as Mushrik and would be slain even though he was a Mutaqi and all his possessions were forfeited. While on the other hand, anyone who accepted his command would be declared as Momin even though he was a Fasiq or Fajir.
(5) He used to call the Holy Prophet as Tarish (postman). (Allah forbid)
(6) He used to claim that there were so many lies in Sulah Hudaybia.
(7) His stick could kill a snake and was better than The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) who was dead and was of no use to them (Allah forbid).
Note: Because of his beliefs 4, 5 and 6 above Ulama gave the Fatwa of Kufr on Sheikh-ul- Najd.
(8) He disliked and felt troubled if anyone recitedDarud Sharif.
(9) He used to severely punish those who recited Darud Sharif on Friday evenings and from Minarets after Adhan.
He even got one blind Muezzin tortured and killed because of this.
He used to say that reciting Darud Sharif from the minarets of mosques is more sinful than the sound of singing with music from the house of a prostitute.
(10) He burnt all the books of Darud Sharif and Dalael-ul-Khairrat and claimed that their reading was Bidah.
(11) He got all books of Fiqah, Tafseer and Traditions burnt and used to do interpretation of Quran according to his choice and advised his deputies to do the same.
(12) He claimed that he was Hanbali but that was a lie, camouflage and disguise to cheat people. His brother Sheikh Suleman was a Hanbali scholar who wrote a book criticising and condemning the Sheikh-ul-Najd and his beliefs.
(13) He used to stop Muslims from visiting the grave of The Holy Prophet and he used to torture and get the beard shaved of the person whom he came to know had visited.
(14) He denied the Wasili (means) of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam).
*He used to quote the case of Hadhrat Umar(Raddi Allahu Unho), taking Hadhrat Abbas and other Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) to an open field for Salat-Istasqa (the prayer for rain) through the Wasila of Hadhrat Abbas (Raddi Allahu Unho), being the uncle of the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), as a pretext that Wasila of The holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was not called for because the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) had passed away. (*see below)
But he became speechless when refereed to the Tradition narrated by Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (Raddi Allahu Anhum), according to which the Jews used to pray through the Wasila of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and their prayers were answered even before the holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was born (1). (also see here)
This fact is also mentioned in The Holy Quran (2).
There is also a tradition that in a time of a severe draught when the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) came to Hadhrat Aisha (Raddi Allahu Unha) asking her to pray for rain, she advised to make a hole in the roof of the tomb of the holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and beg Allah for rain which they did and got plenty of rain (6a).
Moreover, the Salat-Istasqa is only prayed in an open field and not in any mosque, neither in Masjad-e-Nabvi nor in Haram-e-Kaaba.
(15) He believed in the material sort of body of Allah, which occupied space (3).
Astaghfirullah!
(1) Tafseer Ibn-e- Kathir, page 604, by Imam Fakhar-ud-din Razi.
(2) Holy Quran, Ayat 89, Sura Baqra. (The text is also on the back cover page).
(3) The Doctrine of Ahle-Sunnah verses the Salafi Movement by Jamal Afandi-ul-Iraqi-
al Sidqi al Zahawi.
Atrocities of the Sheikh-ul-Najd and Wahhabis against Muslim Ummah during their three periods of domination in the Arabian Peninsula:
The Wahhabis demolished the tombs and graves of the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum), Tabayen (those who had the honour of meeting the Prophet's Companions) and Awliyas ( the holy saints) all around Arabia, wherever they could lay their hands on including Janat-ul-Baqi. He got toilets built on many graves of the Awliyas. They shed the blood of the Muslims, who loved the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), from Taif to Karbala and from Mecca to Madina.
The first period (1745 to 1818). During this period:
(1) The Sheikh-ul-Najd and his followers got the graves of the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) grounded in Jabilia.
(2) The first tomb grounded by the Sheikh-ul-Najd himself was of Hadhrat Zaid bin Khatab(Raddi Allahu Unho),, the brother of Caliph Hadhrat Ummar (Raddi Allahu Unho).
The Alliance:
The Sheikh-ul-Najd entered into an alliance with Ibn-e-Saud, according to which, the Sheikh-ul-Najd would be the Imam while Ibn-e-Saud would be the head of the new state and both would share the bounties of wealth, the women as concubines and children as slaves gathered from killings of the Ahle Sunnah. After that alliance, Wahhabis started attacking Ahle Sunnah towns vigorously.
(3) The first attack, after this alliance was on Riyadh. The town was captured after many years of siege killing hundreds of Ahle Sunnah Muslims.
(4) The second attack was on Alhasa, in which hundreds of Muslims were also killed.
(5) In 1801, Wahhabis attacked Karbala and Baladal Hussain. Over 2000 Muslims were massacred filling the bazaars and streets with the blood and corpses of innocent Muslims. They demolished all tombs and graves near Jamia Zubair and around the city including tombs of Hadhrat Talha, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (Raddi Allahu Anhum). Wahhabis looted all diamonds and precious stones decorating the tombs and took them to Najd.
(6) The Destruction of Taif and Massacre of Muslims
After taking over Taif , Wahhabis killed the Muslims, young, old , women and children and filled the streets and bazaars of Taif with blood and dead bodies of innocent Muslims. The Wahhabis took all their possessions, gold, silver and precious things and distributed amongst them and sent one fifth to Ibn-e-Saud.
(7) Attack on Mecca Mukarama
In 1803, Saud attacked Mecca Mukarama. Saud took over Mecca Mukarama without fight but massacred Muslims in the Haram Sharif, even against the command of Allah according to which no blood be ever shed inside the Haram, the Sanctuary of peace. He burnt all the four praying mats of four Ahle Sunnah Imams, demolished all places of homage, graves and tombs, urinated and defecated on many of them. He also destroyed the tombs on the birth place of The Holy Prophet, (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) Abu Bakar Siddique, Ali bin Abu Tallib and Khadija Kubra (Raddi Allahu Anhum). He even burnt the cloth covering the Kabaa.
(8) Capture of Madina Munawara
Saud repeated the same massacre and bloodshed of Ahle-sunnah Muslims, destroyed all graves and tombs and Muslim heritage all around the Madina Munawara. Saud tore the cloth covering the grave of the Holy Prophet (salallah-ho-alehay-wasam), destroyed the Hujra Sharif and the ceiling of the Tomb of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) to steal the precious stones and metals and took 60 camels loaded with treasures with him.
Some Wahhabis even climbed on the Tomb of The Holy Prophet to demolish it but they fell with their faces down and died. A big ball of fire and a serpent appeared and attacked the Wahhabis scaring them to take to their heels.
(9) In 1806, Wahhabis seiged the town of Najaf-e-Ashraf but could not take it. In retreat, they destroyed and made a havoc in the outskirts of Baghdad.
(10) In 1810, Wahhabis advanced as far as Horan which is two days horse journey from Damascus killing innocent Muslims and looting many towns and villages. When huge waves of cries erupted in the Arabian Peninsula and the Muslim world against the Wahhabis barbaric atrocities, Ali Pasha and his sons, commanded by the Ottomans, crushed the Wahhabis regime in 1818.
The Effect of Wahhabism in Indo-Pak Sub-continent: Here
Tareekh-e-Najd-o-Hijaz
Imam Muhammad Abu Zahra
Explains Wahhabism
Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya
("History of the Islamic Schools")
(1898–1974CE)
"I. They did not restrain themselves to view worship (`ibada) in the same way that Islam had stipulated in the Qur'an and Sunna and as Ibn Taymiyya had mentioned, but they wished to include customs (`adat) also into the province of Islam so that Muslims would be bound by them. Thus they declared cigarette smoking haram and exaggerated this ruling to the point that their general public considered the smoker a mushrik [idolater]. As a result they resembled the Khawarij who used to declare apostate whoever committed a sin.
"II. In the beginning of their sway they would also declare coffee and whatever resembled it as haram [categorically prohibited] to themselves but it seems that they became more lenient on this point as time went by.
"III. The Wahhabis did not restrain themselves to proselytism only, but resorted to warmongering against whoever disagreed with them on the grounds that they were fighting innovation (bid`a), and innovations are an evil that must be fought, and it is obligatory to command good and forbid evil.1 [...]
The leader of Wahhabi thought in the field of war and battle was Muhammad ibn Sa`ud, the ancestor of the ruling Sa`udi family in the Arabian lands. He was a brother-in-law to Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab and embraced his madhhab, defending it fervently and calling unto it by force of arms. He announced that he was doing this so as to uphold the Sunna and eradicate bid`a. Perhaps, this religious mission that took a violent turn was carrying with itself a rebellion against Ottoman rule. [...]
Until the governor of Egypt, Muhammad `Ali Basha al-Albani, faced them and pounced on the Wahhabis with his strong army, routing them in the course of several battles. At that time their military force was reduced and confined to the Arabian tribes. Riyadh and its vicinity was the center for this permanent da`wa that would turn violent whenever they found the strength and then lie still whenever they found violent opposition.
"IV. Whenever they were able to seize a town or city they would come to the tombs and turn them into ruins and destruction [...] and they would destroy whatever mosques were with the tombs also. [...]
"V. Their brutality did not stop there but they also came to whatever graves were visible and destroyed them also. And when the ruler of the Hijaz regions caved in to them they destroyed all the graves of the Companions and razed them to the ground [...]
"VI. They would cling to small matters which they condemned although they had nothing to do with idolatry nor with whatever leads to idolatry, such as photography. We found this in their fatwas and epistles at the hands of their Ulama, although their rulers ignore this saying of theirs completely and cast it by the wayside.
"VII. They expanded the meaning of bid`a [innovation] to strange proportions, to the point that they actually claimed that draping the walls of the noble Rawda [near the Prophet's chamber in Madina] is an innovated matter.
Hence they forbade the renewal of the drapes that were in it, until they fell in tatters and became unsightly, were it not for the light that pours out to all that are in the presence of the Prophet - upon him peace - or feels that in this place was the abode of Revelation on the Master of Messengers. In fact, we find among them, on top of this, those who consider that the Muslim's expression "our Master Muhammad" (sayyiduna Muhammad) is an impermissible bid`a / and they show true extremism about this and, for the sake of their mission, use foul and furious language until most people actually flee from them as fast as they can.
"VIII. In truth, the Wahhabis have actualized the opinions of Ibn Taymiyya and are extremely zealous followers and supporters of those views. They adopted the positions of Ibn Taymiyya that we explained in our discussion of those who call themselves "Salafiyya."
However, they expanded the meaning of bid`a and construed as innovations things that have no relation to worship. [...]
In fact, it has been noticed that the Ulama of the Wahhabis consider their own opinions correct and not possibly wrong, while they consider the opinions of others wrong and not possibly correct.
More than that, they consider what others than themselves do in the way of erecting tombs and circumambulating them, as near to idolatry.2
In this respect they are near the Khawarij who used to declare those who dissented with them apostate and fight them as we already mentioned. This was a relatively harmless matter in the days when they were cloistered in the desert and not trespassing its boundaries; but when they mixed with others until the Hijaz country was in the hand of the Sa`ud family,3 the matter became of the utmost gravity.
This is why the late King `Abd al-`Aziz of the Sa`ud family opposed them, and treated their opinions as confined to themselves and irrelevant to others."4
[End of the text quoted from Imam Abu Zahra's book
Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya
("History of the Islamic Schools").]
Among the titles Wahhabis gave themselves are the names:
Muwahhidun ("Monotheists"),
Islahiyyun ("Reformists"), and
Salafiyyun ("Followers of the Pious Predecessors")
while their opponents name them
Hashwiyya ("Illiterates" lit. "Visceralists"),
Mujassima ("Anthropomorphists") and
Khawarij ("Seceders").
They name Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab "Shaykh al-Islam" - although he is by his own Hanbali Madhhab's account a minor figure - and name his descendants Al al-Shaykh [House of the Shaykh] while his brother Sulayman ibn `Abd al-Wahhab declares him an heretic in his fatwa printed under the title:
Fasl al-Khitab min Kitab Allah wa-Hadith al-Rasul (Sallallahu `alayhi wa-Sallam) wa-Kalam Uli al-Albab fi Madhhab Ibni `Abd al-Wahhab
("The Final Word from the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the Sayings of the Scholars Concerning the School of Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab"),
also known as al-Sawa`iq al-Ilahiyya fi Madhhab al-Wahhabiyya
("The Divine ThunderboltsConcerning the Wahhabi School").
This book is the earliest refutation of the Wahhabi sect in print, consisting in over forty-five concise chapters spanning 120 pages that show beyond doubt the fundamental divergence of the Wahhabi school, not only from the Consensus and Usul of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama`a and the fiqh of the Hanbali madhhab, but also from their putative Imams, Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim on most or all the issues reviewed.5
The last point shows the fundamental dishonesty of Salafism toward the very Imams they claim as their true link to the Salaf.
Other reliable literature on that sect includes:
- The Yemeni contemporary of Muhammad Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab: Sayyid `Alawi ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Qutb `Abd Allah al-Haddad's Misbah al-Anam fi Radd Shubuhat al-Bid`i al-Najdi al-Ladhi Adalla biha al-`Awamm ("The Lamp of Mankind in Refuting the Insinuations Used by the Innovator from Najd to Misguide the Public" 1216);
I have translated the introduction and outline of this important book in full and it is available in the UK appended to Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa`i's 1999CE pamphlet:
"Advice to our brethren the Scholars of Najd" (see excerpts of the latter at Advice to the Ulama of Najd - Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa'i).
- Sayyid `Abd Allah ibn Hasan ibn Fadl Ba `Alawi's Sidq al-Khabar fi Khawarij al-Qarn al-Thani `Ashar ("The Truthful News Concerning the Kharijis of the Twelfth Century");
- Hasan ibn `Umar ibn Ma`ruf al-Shatti al-Hanbali's (1205-1274) al-Nuqul al-Shar`iyya fil-Radd `alal-Wahhabiyya ("The Legal Texts that Refute the Wahhabis");
- Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zayni Dahlan's (d 1304) al-Durar al-Saniyya fil-Radd `ala al-Wahhabiyya ("The Resplendent Pearls in Refuting the Wahhabis");
- Ibrahim al-Samannudi al-Mansuri's (d 1314) Sa`adat al-Darayn fil-Radd `ala al-Firqatayn al-Wahhabiyya wal-Zahiriyya ("The Bliss of the Two Abodes in the Refutation of the Two Sects: Wahhabis and Zahiris");
- Shaykh Salamat al-`Azzami's (d 1376) al-Barahin al-Sati`a fi Radd Ba`d al-Bida` al-Sha'i`a ("The Radiant Proofs in Refuting Certain Widespread Innovations");
- and the esteemed contemporary Yemeni Shaykh of Jeddah, al-Habib Zayn al-`Abidin Al Sumayt al-`Alawi's al-Ajwiba al-Ghaliya fi `Aqidat al-Firqat al-Najiya ("The Precious Replies Concerning the Doctrine of the Saved Group [= mainstream Sunnis]").
NOTES
1 To this day, the Khawarij include al-amr bil-ma`ruf wal-nahi `an al-munkar in their books of fiqh.
2 Ironically, the Wahhabis do not consider it idolatry to plaster pictures of their kings, set up kingdoms, and name a land after a king.
3 Through non-Muslim money and arms.
4 Abu Zahra, Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (p. 235-238).
5 The Fasl/Sawa`iq received the following editions: [1] Bombay: Matba`a Nukhbat al-Akhbar, 1306/1889; [2] Cairo; [3] Istanbul: Ishik reprints at Wakf Ihlas, 1399/1979; [4] (Unannotated) Damascus, 1418/1997 (al-Sawa`iq); [5] (Annotated) Damascus, 1420/1999 (Fasl).
---
(*) The Arabic of the hadith of Abbas bin Abdul Mutlib (Radhi'Allah Anho) is this:
كان إذا قحطوا استسقى بالعباس بن عبد المطلب فقال اللهم إنا كنانتوسلإليك بنبينا]فتسقينا وإنانتوسلإليك بعم نبينا فاسقنا قال فيسقون
And correct translation is this:
O Allah! We would use our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)as a means(Waseela) to You and You then sent us rain; now we use our Prophet's uncle as a means(Waseela)to You.
Hazrat Umar's asking through Hazrat Abbas does not prove that Waseela of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is prohibited.
اللهم إنه لم ينزل بلاء إلا بذنب , ولم يكشف إلا بتوبة , وقد توجه القوم بي إليك لمكاني من نبيك
O Allah, calamity (and trouble) comes as a result of sin and only penitence lifts this calamity, and the people, because of my relation with Your Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), have offered me to You as a means of seeking Your help, and these hands of ours, besmeared in sins, are before You and our foreheads are bowed down with penitence. So give us rain
►Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalānī narrated it in Fath-ul-bārī (2:497)
► Subkī, Shifā’-us-siqām fī ziyārat khayr-il-anām (p.128)
►Qastallānī, al-Mawāhib-ul-laduniyyah (4:277)
►Zurqānī in his Commentary (11:152)
Why Al Abbas (RA) was asked to do Dua?
Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani (Rah):
إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرى للعباس ما يرى الولد للوالد , فاقتدوا أيها الناس برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في عمه العباس واتخذوه وسيلة إلى الله
Rasul Ullah(salallaho alaihi wasalam) used to take Al-Abbas(RA)like a son takes his father. O People You should also follow the Prophet (s) incase of Al-Abbas(RA) and make him an Intercessor to Allah.
[Fath al Bari 2:497]
Ibn Hajar `Asqalani writes more about this Tawasul of Ibn e Abbas (ra)
"The episode involving `Abbâs makes it clear that to seek intercession from the virtuous, the pious and members of the Prophet's family is a desirable act.In addition, this event proves the high status of `Abbâs as well as reveals `Umar's respect for him and the acknowledgement of his status."
►Ibn Hajar `Asqalânî, Fath-ul-bârî, 2:497;
►Zurqânî, Sharh-ul-Mawâhib, 11:152
Imam Suyuti (rah)
"In the year 17 `Umar enlarged the Prophetic mosque. That year there was a drought in the Hijaz. It was named the Year of Cinders (`am al-ramada). `Umar prayed for rain for the people by means of al-`Abbas. Ibn Sa`d narrated from [the Sahabi] Niyar al-Aslami that when`Umar came came out to pray for rain, he came out wearing the cloaks (burd) of the Messenger of Allah, upon him blessings and peace.
Al-Suyuti mentions the context of this event in his Tarikh al-Khulafa' (Beirut, 1992 Ahmad Fares ed. p. 140)]
Intercession through this cloak , Even Hadrat Umar (RA) was wearing Prophet's (salehalawaalihi wasalam) cloak at the time, , Now what is importance of the cloak?
"...Here is the cloak of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and she brought out to me that cloak made of Persian cloth with a hem of brocade, and its sleeves bordered with brocade and said: This wall Allah's Messenger's cloak with 'A'isha until she died, and when she died. I got possession of it. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to wear that, and we washed it for the sick and sought cure thereby. Sahih Muslim Book 024, Number 5149
