Also known as: Wahābī, Wahhābīyah, Wahhābism, al-Muwaḥḥidūn
Quick Facts Also spelled: Wahābī Date: c. 1744 – presentAreas Of Involvement: Islamextremism Related People: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb
Wahhābī, any adherent of the Islamic reform movement founded by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb in the 18th century in Najd, central Arabia, and adopted in 1744 by the Saudi family. In the 20th and 21st centuries, Wahhābism is prevalent in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The term Wahhābī is used primarily by outsiders to distinguish the movement; adherents often refer to themselves as salafīs (“followers of the pious forebears”), a term used by followers of other Islamic reform movements as well. They characterize themselves as muwaḥḥidūn (“unitarians”), a term derived from their emphasis on the absolute oneness of God (tawḥīd). They reject all acts that they see as implying polytheism (shirk), such as visiting tombs and venerating saints, and advocate a return to the original teachings of Islam as incorporated in the Qurʾān and the Sunnah (traditions of Muhammad), with condemnation of all other sources of doctrine (uṣūl al-fiqh) as innovations (bidʿah). Wahhābī theology and jurisprudence—based, respectively, on the teachings of the theologian Ibn Taymiyyah and the legal school of Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—stress literal interpretation of the Qurʾān and Sunnah and the establishment of an Islamic society based only on these two bodies of literature.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb began promulgating his teachings in the oasis town of Ḥuraymilāʾ about 1740. Although his father was a Ḥanbalī jurist and his ideas were rooted in the Ḥanbalī school of law, they were rejected by local Ḥanbalī officials and he was expelled, first from Ḥuraymilāʾ and then from ʿUyaynah.Britannica QuizIslam
In 1744 he arrived in al-Dirʿiyyah, where his movement was encouraged by the emir, Muhammad ibn Saud. From then on, the political fortunes of the Wahhābī movement were closely allied to those of the Saudi dynasty. By the end of the 18th century, they had brought all of Najd under their control; attacked Karbala, Iraq, a holy city of the Shiʿi branch of Islam; and occupied Mecca and Medina in western Arabia. The Ottoman sultan brought an end to the first Wahhābī empire in 1818, but the sect revived under the leadership of the Saudi Fayṣal I. The empire was then somewhat restored until once again destroyed, at the end of the 19th century by the Rashīdiyyah of northern Arabia. The activities of Ibn Saud in the 20th century eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932 and assured Wahhābī religious and political dominance on the Arabian Peninsula.
In the late 20th and 21st centuries, the preeminence of the Wahhābī religious establishment has ensured that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains markedly more conservative than other states in the region. A large religious police force (known as the Muṭawwaʿūn) enforces strict codes of public behaviour—including, for example, mandatory observance of Islamic rituals and gender segregation.
Because Wahhābism prohibits the veneration of shrines, tombs, and sacred objects, many sites associated with the early history of Islam, such as the homes and graves of companions of Muhammad, were demolished under Saudi rule. Preservationists have estimated that as many as 95 percent of the historic sites around Mecca and Medina have been razed.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Zeidan.
Table of Contents
IntroductionReferences & Edit HistoryQuick Facts & Related TopicsPhilosophy & ReligionReligious Personages & Scholars
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb
Muslim theologian
Written and fact-checked by
Quick FactsBorn: 1703, ʿUyaynah, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia]Died: 1792, Al-Dirʿiyyah (aged 89)Founder: WahhābīSubjects Of Study: Wahhābī
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (born 1703, ʿUyaynah, Arabia [now in Saudi Arabia]—died 1792, Al-Dirʿiyyah) was a theologian and founder of the Wahhābī movement, which attempted a return to the principles of Islam as practiced by its early forebears (salaf).
Having completed his formal education in the holy city of Medina, in Arabia, ʿAbd al-Wahhāb lived abroad for many years. He taught for four years in Basra, Iraq, and in Baghdad he married an affluent woman whose property he inherited when she died. In 1736, in Iran, he began to teach against what he considered to be the extreme ideas of various exponents of Sufi doctrines. On returning to his native city, he wrote the Kitāb al-tawḥīd (“Book of the Oneness [of God]”), which is the main text for Wahhābī doctrines. The centrality of the tawḥīd principle to his way of thinking led adherents to characterize themselves as muwaḥḥidūn, meaning “unitarians” or “those who assert tawḥīd.”
ʿAbd al-Wahhāb’s teachings have been characterized as puritanical and traditional, representing the early era of the Islamic religion. He rejected sources of doctrine (uṣūl al-fiqh) apart from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah (traditions of Muhammad). He made a clear stand against traditions and practices not rooted in these two sources, characterizing them as innovations (bidʿah) in Islamic faith. He insisted that the original grandeur of Islam could be regained if the Islamic community would return to the principles enunciated by the Prophet Muhammad. Wahhābī doctrines, therefore, do not allow for an intermediary between the faithful and God and condemn any such practice as polytheism (shirk). The decoration of mosques, the veneration of saints, and even the smoking of tobacco were condemned.More From BritannicaSaudi Arabia: Origins and early expansion
When the preaching of these doctrines led to controversy, ʿAbd al-Wahhāb was expelled from ʿUyaynah in 1744. He then settled in Al-Dirʿiyyah, capital of Muhammad ibn Saud, a ruler of the Najd (now in Saudi Arabia) and the progenitor of the Saud dynasty.
The spread of Wahhābīsm originated from the alliance that was formed between ʿAbd al-Wahhāb and Muhammad ibn Saud, who, by initiating a campaign of conquest that was continued by his heirs, made Wahhābīsm the dominant force in Arabia from 1800.
source and more: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wahhabi
Categories: Arab World, Muslims, Saudi Arabia