Wahhabism (ritual, reject, Ramadan, tradition, beliefs)

[Green Gaia]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wahhabism (sometimes spelled Wahabbism or Wahabism) is a movement of Islam named after Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792). It is a fundamentalist Sunni form of Islam and has become an object of increased interest because it is the major sect of the government and society of oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Wahhabism is an offending synonym for one form of Salafism.

Origin of the term "Wahhabi"

The term "Wahhab" is derived from its founder Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab - although wahhabis link it to Al-Wahhab: a name of Allah in Islam.

Many Wahhabi Muslims do not approve of this name. Historically, members of this movement call themselves al-Muwahhiddun, ("the monotheists") or al-Ikhwan ("the brethren"). (The name al-Muwahhidun should not be confused with the 12th century al-Muwahhidun movement and dynasty of Morocco.)

The Wahhabis claim to call to the way of the "Salaf as-Salih", the 'rightly guided or pious predecessors' as understood mainly by Ibn Taimiyya and later by Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahab and his followers.

They are also known as Salafis, i.e. people who are upon the way of the pious predecessors.

Texts

Wahhabism follows Islam, so the Qur'an and the Hadiths are its basic text. It also uses explanations of Qur'an and Hadiths from the writings of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, from such books as Kitab al-Tawhid (Arabic, "Book of Monotheism") and works of scholars before him such as Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328).

Origin

Wahhabi theology advocates a fundamentalist and legalistic stance in matters of faith and religious practice.

Wahhabism traces its origins and call all the way back to Prophet Mohammed and his Companions. They see their role as a movement to restore Islam from what they perceive to be innovations, superstitions, deviances, heresies and idolatries. During the time of Mohammed Ibn Abdul Wahhab, whose prominence gave name to this movement, there were many practices that they believed were contrary to Islam, such as:

* That invoking any prophet, saint or angel in prayer, other than Allah alone, is polytheism
* Grave worship, whether to saints' graves, or the prophet's grave
* Celebrating annual feasts for dead saints
* Wearing of charms, and believing in their healing power
* Practicing magic, or going to sorcerers or witches seeking healing
* Innovation in matters of religion (e.g. new methods of worship)
* Erecting elaborate monuments over any grave

The opponents argue that these practices have adequate proofs from the Qur'an and Sunnah and have been accepted by Sunni scholars since the early days of Islam. They also see grave worship as intermediation (tawassul), and claim this is accepted and called for practice in Islam.

Wahhabism is often maligned and attacked by adherents the Ash'ari and Maturidis as being anthropomorphist.

Early history of Wahhabism

Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia began with a surge of reformers seeking to reclaim orthodox Islam from innovation by various sects of Sunni Muslims. In the 18th century, it spread in Najd along with the expansion of the First Saudi State under Muhammad bin Saud and his successors.

Modern spread of Wahhabism

Wahhabism is the official form of Islam in Saudi Arabia. In 1924 the Wahhabi al-Saud dynasty conquered Mecca and Medina, cities holy to Muslims, creating the Saudi state. The spread of Wahhabi Islam has been facilitated by Saudi oil revenues; Saudi laypeople, government officials and clerics have donated many tens of millions of dollars to create Wahhabi-oriented religious schools, newspapers and outreach organizations.

Some Wahhabis believe that many Muslim Brotherhood scholars — Sayyed Qutb and Yusuf al-Qaradawi are sometimes cited — are corrupted due to their innovations in Islam, and their call to revolution and rebellion against the rulers of Muslim countries. For the same reason, they often hold that Osama bin Laden is not a true Wahhabi, but a Qutbee (follower of Sayyed Qutb), due to his rebellion against the rulers of Saudi Arabia.

Wahhabis ban pictures, photographs, musical instruments, singing, video, suicide bombings (not to suggest that any strand of Islam specifically condones it), and celebrating Mohammed's birthday, among many other things, based on their interpretation of the hadiths (classical collections of sayings) of Mohammad.

Many contend that Wahhabism is or has become a dominant form of Islam through proselytization driven by Saudi funding; others contend that its influence is less widespread and that the practice and observance of Wahhabism and the political manifestations that flow therefrom are more nuanced than its most doctrinaire interpretations.

Differences between Wahhabis and traditional Sunni Muslims

There are three main differences between Wahhabi Muslims and Sunni Muslims. These three differences are jurispudence (fiqh), beliefs (aqeedah), and Sufism (tassawuf). Wahhabi Muslims do not believe in blind following (taqleed) of one of the 4 mainstream schools of Sunni Islamic law: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii, and Hanbali; while Sunnis hold this necessary and essential. In beliefs, Wahhabi Muslims take the entire Qur'an literally, even statements such as "Allah's hand" and therefore have anthropomorphic tendencies. Sunni Muslims either take these statements with figurative interpretations or use the principle of "billa kayf" or "without asking how." Wahhabi Muslims hold Sufism as gross innovation, even going as far as calling many Sufis pagans while Sunni Muslims hold Sufism is an essential part of Islam.

[almifkhar]

i am new to islam myself but my understanding of the wahhabis are that it was more or less highjacked by the brittish back in the day and that they (powers that be in saudi and the brittish) twisted it to fit their political agenda. i admit that i am not the authority on this subject but it seems to make sense to me when you consider the rise of the saud kingship and the tight fisted control the brittish wanted to keep in the oil rich arabian peninnsula.

[andddd]

may ALlah be pleased with us..

[polite]

You should note that one of the ways in which Allaah deals with His chosen slaves is to test them according to the level of their faith, to show who is sincere and who is not. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Alif‑Laam‑Meem.

[These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur’aan, and none but Allaah (Alone) knows their meanings.]

2. Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: ‘We believe,’ and will not be tested.

3. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allaah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allaah knows all that before putting them to test)”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:1-3]

Those who are most severely tested are the Prophets, then the next best and the next best, as it says in the saheeh hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

If you study the seerah (biography) of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), you will see that he went through severe tests; he was even accused of being a liar, a sorcerer and a madman; garbage and filth were thrown on his back; he was expelled from Makkah; and his feet bled in al-Taa’if. This was the situation of all the Prophets who were rejected before him (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy on him) suffered the same as other sincere scholars and daa’iyahs, but in the end the message of truth that he brought prevailed. How could it be otherwise? How could the light of truth be extinguished? Think about this man and how Allaah helped him to sow the seeds of Tawheed throughout the Arabian Peninsula and put an end to all kinds of shirk. If this indicates anything, it indicates that he was sincere in his call and made sacrifices for that cause as far as we can tell, and of course his efforts were supported and helped by Allaah.

But the enemies of this call have spared no effort to make false accusations concerning it. They claimed – falsely – that the Shaykh claimed to be a prophet, and that he did not respect the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) properly, and that he condemned all the ummah as kaafirs… and other fabrications and lies that were told about him. Anyone who examines these claims will realize for sure that they are all lies and fabrications. The books of the Shaykh which are widely circulated bear the greatest witness to that, and his followers who answered his call never mentioned anything to that effect. If the matter were as they claim, his followers would have conveyed the same ideas, otherwise they would have been disloyal to him. If you want to know more details about this and to clarify the matter, you should read the book Da’aawa al-Manaawi’een li Da’wah al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab by Dr ‘Abd al-‘Azeez al-‘Abd al-Lateef, which will answer all your questions, if Allaah wills.

With regard to calling his followers Wahhaabis, this is just another in a long series of fabrications made up by the enemies of his call, to divert people away from the call of truth and to place a barrier between his call and the people so that the call will not reach them. If you study the story of how al-Tufayl ibn ‘Amr al-Dawsi (may Allaah be pleased with him) became Muslim, you will see the parallels with what happened in the case of Imam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab.

Ibn Hishaam narrated in his Seerah (1/394) that al-Tufayl set out towards Makkah, but Quraysh intercepted him at the gates of the city and warned him against listening to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They made him think that he was a sorcerer who could cause division between man and wife… they kept on at him until he took some cotton and put it in his ears. Then when he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he thought to himself that he would take out the cotton and listen to him, and if what he said was true then he would accept it from him, and if he what he said was false and abhorrent, he would reject it. When he listened to him, all he could do was become Muslim on the spot.

Yes, he became Muslim after putting cotton in his ears. Those who oppose the call of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab fabricated lies the same way Quraysh did. Quraysh understood full well that the call of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had the power to reach people’s hearts and minds, so they exaggerated in their lies about the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in an attempt to stop the truth reaching people. Similarly we see that those who speak against Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab and his followers repeat the same lies that were told against the original call.

You should – if you follow the truth – not pay any attention to these lies and fabrications. You should look for the truth of the matter by reading the books of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab, for his books are the greatest proof that these people are lying, praise be to Allaah.

There is another subtle point that should be noted, which is that the Shaykh’s name was Muhammad, the attributive of which is Muhammadi. The word Wahhabi is the attributive derived from al-Wahhaab (the Bestower), who is Allaah, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower [al-Wahhaab]”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:8]

As al-Zajjaaj said in Ishtiqaaq Asma’-Allaah, p. 126, al-Wahhaab “is the One Who gives a great deal. This form (fa’’aal) in Arabic is indicative of something that is done to a great extent. Allaah is al-Wahhaab (the Bestower) Who gives to His slaves one after another.”

Undoubtedly the path of al-Wahhaab is the path of truth in which there is no crookedness or fabrication, and His party is the one that will prevail. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And whosoever takes Allaah, His Messenger, and those who have believed, as Protectors, then the party of Allaah will be the victorious”

[al-Maa’idah 5:56]

“They are the party of Allaah. Verily, it is the party of Allaah that will be the successful”

[al-Mujaadilah 58:22]

Long ago they accused al-Shaafa’i of being a Raafidi (Shi’ah) and he refuted them by saying:

“If being a Raafidi means loving the family of Muhammad, then let the two races (of mankind and the jinn) bear witness that I am a Raafidi.”

We refute the claims of those who accuse us of being Wahhabis by quoting the words of Shaykh Mullah ‘Imraan who was a Shi’i but Allaah guided him to the Sunnah. He said:

“If the follower of Ahmad [the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)] is a Wahhaabi, then I affirm that I am a Wahhaabi

I reject the association of any other with Allaah, for I have no Lord except the Unique, the Bestower (al-Wahhaab)

Those who were called by the Prophet accused him of being a sorcerer and a liar.”

[letuschat]

Jazak Allah for your nice post ...

ARCH ANGEL GABRIEL’S DISCRIPTION OF THE PRINCIPALS OF ISLAM:
Omar , the son of Khattab narrated, “We were sitting with the Holy Prophet (sa) one day, when an unknown man appeared to
us. His clothes were brilliantly white, his hair jet black but there was no sign of traveling upon him.

1. SUBMISSION TO ALLAH (ISLAM)
He sat down in front of the Prophet (sa) and their knees touched. Placing his hands on his thighs he said, ‘Prophet Muhammad
(sa) tell me about Islam.’ The Prophet (sa) replied, ‘Islam is that you bear witness that there is no god except Allah, and that
Muhammad is His Messenger, and that you establish the prayer, pay the obligatory charity, fast the month of Ramadan, and
make the Pilgrimage to the House (Ka’ba) if you can afford it.’ Then to our surprise the man confirmed the correctness of the
answer saying, ‘That is right.’

2. FAITH AND BELIEF (IMAN)
Then the man said, ‘Tell me about faith.’ To this the Prophet (sa) replied, ‘ It is that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His
Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and that you believe in predestination.’

3. SPIRITUAL PERFECTION (IHSAN)
Again the man said, ‘That is right, now tell me about perfection.’ The Prophet (sa) replied, ‘It is that you worship Allah as if you
are seeing Him, and if you do not see Him, know that He is watching you.’ The man asked again, ‘Tell me about the Hour of
Judgement.’ The Prophet (sa) replied, ‘He who is being asked knows no more about it than the one who asks.’ So the man
asked, ‘Tell me about some of the signs of its approach.’ To this the Prophet (sa) replied, ‘The female slave will give birth to
her master, and the bare-footed, naked, penniless goat-herders will live arrogantly in high mansions.’ The man departed, and I
remained for a while. The Prophet (sa) asked me, ‘Omar, do you know who the inquirer was?’ I replied, ‘Allah and His
Messenger know best.’ So he told me, ‘It was Gabriel who came to teach you your Religion.’”



SOURCE ::

[TashaN]

Jazak Allah Khayran for the wonderful and comprehensive post brother polite and brother letuschat as well.

[AbuQuteiba]

"Wahhabism" is a title founded by the enemies of the sunna to those who stick to the true teachings of islam. Different Islamic sects. (shi'a) stuck (if not created) this title as a way to make people think that these "wahabis" are a sect. and are not following the sunna.

The imam Muhammed Ibn AbdulWahab was a renewer of islam in a time of great ignorence and shirk in Saudia Arabia. He is a righteous scholar as many others in Islam. May Allah have mercy on his soul.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by champion

"Wahhabism" is a title founded by the enemies of the sunna to those who stick to the true teachings of islam. Different Islamic sects. (shi'a) stuck (if not created) this title as a way to make people think that these "wahabis" are a sect. and are not following the sunna.

The imam Muhammed Ibn AbdulWahab was a renewer of islam in a time of great ignorence and shirk in Saudia Arabia. He is a righteous scholar as many others in Islam. May Allah have mercy on his soul.

I know Muslims who would definately disagree with this.

[TashaN]

Originally Posted by lilithu

I know Muslims who would definately disagree with this.

In term of?

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by The Truth

In term of?

Well for starters, the extremely literalist interpretation of the Qur'an, and the condemnation of the Sufis.

It may be the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia, but the Indonesian Muslims that I've met don't care for it, and are uncomfortable with the idea of it being presented as true Islam, as if their views are not.