Demolition of Shrines
Around the year 1744 CE, the proponent of Wahabi Islam, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab climbed onto the dome of the shrine of Hazrat Zayd ibn Khattab in the village of Al-Uyaynah in the Najd region of Saudi Arabia and began to destroy it. Hazrat Zayd ibn Khattab was actually the brother of Islam’s second caliph, Hazrat Umar ibn Khattab, and a companion of the Prophet Muhammad. He was martyred in the Battle of Yamama, and his shrine was built in the Najed region. Being a companion of the Prophet, the local people held his shrine in high regard. They would pray for blessings and barakah (divine grace). However, all of this was considered shirk (polytheism) and bid’ah (innovation) by the young local scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Therefore, he arrived at the shrine with his companions, climbed onto its dome, and demolished it. He declared that whatever one wishes to ask for should be sought directly from Allah, as seeking from shrines is akin to idol worship, which is strictly prohibited in Islam.
Cutting of Sacred Trees
In the same year, in Al-Uyaynah, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his companions began cutting down two trees. The local people considered these trees sacred and would make vows there, tie threads, and distribute charity when their wishes were fulfilled. To Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his companions, these practices were against the fundamental Islamic belief of Tawheed (monotheism). Therefore, they cut down the trees.
The followers of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab later demolished the dome of the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussain in Karbala, as well as destroyed many shrines in Jannat al-Baqi in Medina.
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab strictly enforced the punishment of stoning for those who committed adultery. Due to these events, the influence of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s ideas began to grow. The local tribal leader, Muhammad ibn Saud, formed an alliance with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Together, they established an Islamic state based on the Islamic teachings of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Later, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s teachings came to be known as Wahhabi Islam, while Muhammad ibn Saud’s kingdom became known as Saudi Arabia.
Crucial Questions
What is Wahhabi Islam?
Who was Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab?
And how did the Al Saud family build their kingdom by allying with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and how did they spread Wahhabi Islam?
Let’s talk about this.
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Muhammad Bin Abdul Wahab
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was born in 1702 or 1703 in the village of Al-Uyaynah in the Najd region of Saudi Arabia, in the house of a Hanbali scholar and judge, Abdul Wahhab. His family was a well-known family in Najd. His grandfather, Sulaiman bin Ali bin Musharraf, was also a famous judge of his time. His uncle, Ibrahim bin Sulaiman, was a respected scholar and mufti.
Coming from a religious family, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab quickly memorized the Quran by the age of ten. He also performed Hajj in Mecca during his youth.
Wahabi Islam
After returning from Hajj, he went to Medina for two months, where he pursued further religious education. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab soon studied Quranic interpretation (Tafsir), Hadith, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and the works of renowned scholars. It is said that he began to focus more deeply on understanding the “foundations” of Islam.
For this purpose, he emphasized the two primary sources of Islam: the Quran and Hadith.
He quickly concluded that when people ask for help from Imams, saints, or spiritual leaders instead of Allah, they commit shirk (polytheism). They should only ask from Allah. Secondly, he concluded that the solutions to Muslims’ issues and problems lie not in Fiqh but in the Quran, Hadith, and the lives of the early Muslims (Salaf). He argued that since the founders of Fiqh were not infallible, they could make mistakes. Therefore, blindly following Fiqh is an innovation (bid’ah).
It is important to note that in Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s region, both Shia and Sunni Muslims, particularly Hanafi Sunnis, were present in large numbers. Shias were concentrated in the Al-Hasa region. Meanwhile, Sufi Sunnis and Hanafi Sunnis were located in the western part of Najd. Shias were inclined toward the shrines of their Imams and related beliefs, while Sunni Muslims leaned toward Sufism. Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab considered both these tendencies unacceptable from an Islamic perspective.
Another noteworthy point is that during this time, the region of Mecca and Medina, known as Hejaz, as well as the region of Iraq, were under the control of the Ottoman Caliphate, which followed the Hanafi school of Fiqh.
Expulsion
When Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab began preaching his ideas, he was expelled from his hometown, Al-Uyaynah, and he moved to Medina. There, two scholars deeply influenced his teachings: Sheikh Abdullah Najdi, who was from Ibn Wahhab’s region, and Muhammad Hayat al-Sindhi, who had come from India.
In Medina, he also objected to the pilgrims who were excessively venerating the Prophet’s tomb, fearing it could lead to shirk (polytheism). However, he could not speak too openly about this because Medina was under the control of the Hanafi Ottoman Caliphate at the time.
From Medina, Ibn Wahhab went to Basra, Iraq. There, his teacher, Muhammad al-Majmu’i, appreciated his ideas. In Basra, Ibn Wahhab closely observed Shia beliefs and later labeled some Shias as “Rafidis” based on their beliefs.
From Basra, Ibn Wahhab traveled to Syria, then returned to the Arabian region of Al-Hasa, and finally reached Huraymila. His father, Wahhab bin Sulaiman, lived in Huraymila. While staying with his father, he began writing and preaching about his views against bid’ah (innovation) and shirk (polytheism). While many people joined his group, others strongly opposed him.
During this time, he wrote his famous book, Kitab al-Tawhid (The Book of Monotheism), which argued against bid’ah and shirk and emphasized the importance of Tawhid (monotheism). This book became very well-known.
However, many people opposed him, and even his relationship with his father, Abdul Wahhab, became strained. For some time, Ibn Wahhab stopped writing and preaching. Then, when his father passed away in 1740, Ibn Wahhab resumed spreading his ideas.
During this time, he also faced an assassination attempt in Huraymila. After this, he returned to his ancestral village, Al-Uyaynah, where the local leader, Ibn Mu’ammar, gave him refuge.
Shrines: Between Monotheism and Polytheism
Around this time, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab put his ideas into practice by declaring the shrine of the Prophet’s companion, Hazrat Zayd ibn Khattab, in Al-Uyaynah as an innovation (bid’ah) and demolishing it. He also cut down some trees in the area that people considered sacred. In response, a powerful leader from the Al-Hasa region, Sulaiman bin Muhammad, wrote a letter to Ibn Mu’ammar, the leader of Al-Uyaynah, demanding that he expel Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab from his area immediately, or face the consequences.
Under pressure, Ibn Mu’ammar requested Ibn Wahhab to leave his territory.
Following this, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab moved to the nearby region of Diriyah, which was ruled by Muhammad ibn Saud.
After arriving in Diriyah, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab sent two blind elders and some women to Muhammad ibn Saud’s house to convey his message and request that he listen to his ideas. They were invited to the Saud household, where Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab preached his monotheistic beliefs.
Muhammad ibn Saud’s wife and his two brothers were the first to accept his teachings.
Wahabi-Saudi Alliance
Muhammad ibn Saud himself went to meet Ibn-e Abd al-Wahhab. There, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab welcomed him with the message of Tawhid (monotheism) and promised that if he dedicated himself to promoting Tawhid, eradicating shirk (polytheism), ignorance, and divisions among people, Allah would grant him and his descendants authority over Najd and its surrounding regions, as well as the people living there.
Muhammad ibn Saud assured him of his support.
And he promised him that from that day forward, the responsibility of his protection would lie with his tribe, and he could openly preach his ideas.
In 1744, a historic agreement was made between Ibn Saud and Ibn Wahhab, according to which they would establish an Islamic state where Ibn Wahhab’s teachings of Tawhid (monotheism) would be the primary focus, while the throne of the kingdom would belong to the Al Saud family.
After this, they divided their responsibilities. Politics and military affairs would be handled by Al Saud, while Ibn Wahhab would serve as the religious leader or imam.
In this way, they established the first Wahhabi state, the “Emirate of Diriyah.” They vowed to expand the boundaries of their state to bring more people under the umbrella of Tawhid and, of course, under the rule of Al Saud.
On the other hand, Ibn Saud expanded his kingdom by incorporating the regions of Riyadh and parts of the Levant (Sham) into his domain. Ibn Wahhab’s teachings began to spread in the newly acquired territories. Ibn Wahhab established a religious school in Diriyah, where students from other regions flocked to receive religious education. In some areas, Ibn Wahhab sent his teachers to promote Tawhid and combat bid’ah (innovations) and shirk (polytheism).
Due to this educational activity, Diriyah soon became an important center in Najd, which undoubtedly brought political benefits to Ibn Saud as well.
In 1767, Muhammad ibn Saud passed away, and his son Abdulaziz succeeded him.
Saudi Expansion and Abdul Wahab
Abdulaziz shifted his focus beyond the borders of Najd to the regions of Arabia, Iraq, and the Levant. His actions made it clear that the ultimate goal of the Al Saud family was to expand their kingdom and power, whether with religious justification or without it.
Abdulaziz began sending military campaigns to other regions to expand his kingdom and demanded that Ibn Wahhab declare jihad among the people. It is important to note that in Islam, only a religious scholar can declare jihad, not merely a state leader or ruler. However, Ibn Wahhab set strict conditions for declaring jihad, stating that it could only be done in the light of Islam, not merely at the ruler’s desire. This caused a rift between the two.
Regarding this, Natana J. DeLong-Bas, the author of a book on Wahhabi Islam, writes:
“Although critics and historians have assumed that all military actions taken by the Saudis after the 1744 alliance were essentially activities of jihad.”
By 1773, due to this, Ibn Wahhab either stepped down or was removed from his position as imam. After this, he focused on persuading people to join his beliefs through debate and dialogue rather than force.
At this point, Ibn Wahhab continued to work as an advisor to Abdulaziz. In 1791 or 1792, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab passed away. He left behind four sons, who became religious scholars, as well as hundreds of students who later promoted the ideas of Wahhabi Islam.
His teachings of promoting Tawhid (monotheism) and eliminating bid’ah (innovations) eventually became part of the political policy of the Saudi family. For example, in 1802, when Al Saud attacked Karbala, which was under Ottoman control in Iraq, and brought it under their kingdom, they declared the dome of the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet, as an innovation and demolished it.
Later, while expanding their kingdom from Najd to Hejaz, Al Saud captured Mecca and Medina in 1803-04 and brought them under Saudi rule. During this time, they declared the shrines of the Prophet’s companions in Medina as innovations and destroyed them. In Jannat al-Baqi, the domes of the shrines of the Prophet’s daughter, Hazrat Fatima, his grandson Hazrat Imam Hasan, and the fifth and sixth Shia Imams, Hazrat Imam Baqir and Hazrat Imam Jafar, were demolished.
Ottoman’s Counter Attack
In 1813, under the influence of the Ottoman Caliphate, the Egyptian Sultan Muhammad Ali Pasha launched an attack on Medina and Mecca, reclaiming Hejaz and bringing it under his control. Pasha pushed the Saudis back into the deserts of Najd. By 1818, Pasha’s forces reached the ancestral region of the Saudis, Diriyah, and completely destroyed the first Saudi state, the Emirate of Diriyah. At that time, the Saudi king, Abdullah, along with his brothers and sons, was captured and taken first to Cairo, Egypt, and then to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Caliphate.
In May 1819, Abdullah and his supporters were publicly executed in the square in front of the Hagia Sophia Mosque for crimes against Islamic holy cities and mosques. According to some authors, Abdullah’s four sons were also executed alongside him. Abdullah, who had banned listening to music, was forced to listen to the lute (an instrument) before his execution. On this occasion, the head of the Ottoman Caliphate organized a grand public celebration.
Wahabi World
However, on the other hand, Ibn Wahhab’s ideas of Tawhid (monotheism) spread beyond Arabia to regions such as Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, India, and more. When these ideas reached India, many local Muslims expressed hatred toward this group for destroying shrines and began calling them “Wahhabis” due to their association with Ibn Wahhab. However, the followers of these ideas referred to themselves as “Muwahhidun” (those who promote monotheism) or “Salafis” (those who follow the Quran, Hadith, and the footsteps of the first three generations of Muslims, known as the Salaf).
In India, the followers of this group named themselves “Ahl-e-Hadith.” If you want to learn more about Ahl-e-Hadith in India, you can watch the video on the history of Ahl-e-Hadith available on our channel.
Today, followers of Wahhabi Islam are abundant in Saudi Arabia. In fact, the current Saudi government is also from the lineage of the same Al Saud family that first allied with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab to promote Tawhid and oppose innovations while expanding their kingdom. Additionally, followers of Wahhabi Islam are present in significant numbers in Qatar, Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
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