The Explanation of the Term
Presenter of Nūr ʿalā ad-Darb: A question from the listener Muḥammad Saʿīd Murād, from Dohuk in the Republic of Iraq. He says:
I hear many Muslims here say that so-and-so’s ʿaqīdah is ‘Wahhābism’, intending a practising person. What is this ʿaqīdah (creed), and where did this name come from?
Shaykh ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayd (d. 1402 AH/1982 CE) ؒ replied:
O brother Muḥammad Saʿīd Murād from Iraq, you say that you hear some people say that so-and-so’s ʿaqīdah is ‘Wahhābism’.
This is wrong, brother Muḥammad. They intend to disparage him and present this as one of his flaws. They believe that ‘Wahhābism’ is a fifth madhhab, or that its adherents are innovators, and they are not.
They are referring to the followers of Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (d. 1206 AH/1792 CE), one of the virtuous scholars, a Salafī man whose ʿaqīdah is that of Ahl as-Sunnah wa-l-Jamāʿah.
He emerged in his land, in Najd, at a time when people were worshipping idols such as trees, stones and caves, and associating partners with Allah. He prohibited this and clarified the clear ʿaqīdah and pure tawḥīd, which is the call of the Messengers:
اعبدوا الله ما لكم من إله غيره
“Worship Allah! You have no other ilāh [God] but Him.” [Q 23:23] (excerpt)
This was difficult for them and for others whose hearts were filled with love for worshipping graves, sacrificing to them, making vows to them and seeking aid from them. This undoubtedly opposes tawḥīd. All the Messengers, from the first to the last, were sent to their nations calling them to worship Allah exclusively.
He, the Exalted, said:
لقد أرسلنا نوحا إلى قومه فقال يا قوم اعبدوا الله ما لكم من إله غيره
“Indeed, We sent Nūḥ [Noah] to his people, and he said: ‘O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other ilāh [God] but Him.’” [Q 7:59] (excerpt)
وإلى عاد أخاهم هودا قال يا قوم اعبدوا الله ما لكم من إله غيره
“And to ʿĀd [We sent] their brother Hūd. He said: ‘O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other ilāh [God] but Him.’” [Q 7:65] (excerpt)
وإلى ثمود أخاهم صالحا قال يا قوم اعبدوا الله ما لكم من إله غيره
“And to Thamūd [We sent] their brother Ṣāliḥ. He said: ‘O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other ilāh [God] but Him.’” [Q 7:73] (excerpt)
وإلى مدين أخاهم شعيبا قال يا قوم اعبدوا الله ما لكم من إله غيره
“And to [the people of] Madyan [Midian, We sent] their brother Shuʿayb. He said: ‘O my people! Worship Allah! You have no other ilāh [God] but Him.’” [Q 7:85] (excerpt)
Allah said regarding our Prophet Muḥammad :
وما أرسلنا من قبلك من رسول إلا نوحي إليه أنه لا إله إلا أنا فاعبدون
“And We did not send any Messenger before you [O Muḥammad] except that We revealed to him: ‘There is no ilāh [none has the right to be worshipped] except Me, so worship Me alone.’” [Q 21:25]
This is the call of the Messengers. The meaning of ‘worship Me’ is ‘single Me out’, as ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās ؓ said.
The meaning of singling Allah out is to devote all acts of worship to Him: sacrifice, vows, supplication, seeking relief, trust and reliance, fear, humility, awe, turning in repentance, and all other acts of worship. None of these may be directed to anyone except Allah. Whenever a servant directs any of them to other than Allah, he is a polytheist and a disbeliever.
An example is someone seeking assistance from the dead in a grave by saying:
“Assist me, assist me, O so-and-so! Aid me, aid me, and remove hardship from me.”
This is something no one can do except Allah. It is not permissible to ask a dead person to remove distress, bring good or remove harm. This is for Allah alone, and it is not permissible to give any of Allah’s dues to others.
This is the message of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. He called people to it. It is the madhhab of the Salaf and the call of the Messengers, as we mentioned.
Anyone who rejects the worship of graves and orders that worship be directed only to Allah is called a ‘Wahhābī’ as a means of criticism and condemnation. This is the truth behind their statement.
‘Wahhābīs’ have no separate madhhab and have not invented unorthodox beliefs or practices in the religion. This is the ʿaqīdah we referred to. They are followers, not innovators, and they are correct, not criminals. The real innovation and crime is calling upon others alongside Allah and directing Allah’s right to others.
Worship is appropriate only for Allah. Some have defined it as a comprehensive term for:
كل ما يحبه الله ويرضاه من الأقوال والأعمال الباطنة والظاهرة
“Everything Allah loves and is pleased with, from statements and actions, both hidden and apparent.” Parallel wording in Taqī ad-Dīn Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH/1328 CE), Al-ʿUbūdiyyah.
Others have defined it as:
“That which has been commanded legislatively, without intellectual requirement or cultural influence.”
The meaning is one, even though the expressions differ.
Nevertheless, worship is wrong unless it is for Allah alone. Every monotheist who worships Allah alone and prohibits worshipping others is called ‘Wahhābī’. This is the reality of ‘Wahhābism’, O brother Muḥammad Saʿīd Murād, and Allah knows best.
References
Al-Qurʾān, 7:59, 7:65, 7:73, 7:85; 21:25; 23:23.
ʿAbd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayd, answer on the term ‘Wahhābism’, Nūr ʿalā ad-Darb, recording identified in the Project of Senior Scholars listing. – min: 00:00:45 – 00:06:20
Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-ʿUbūdiyyah, in Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, vol. 10, opening definition of worship, used to corroborate the first definition’s Arabic.
