Stop lying about the Sheikh, may he rest in peace

A group of prominent preachers and reformers are today facing defamation of their history and legacy. Indeed, we believe that they were and are not infallible; they are human beings who err and are correct. This humanity should not negate their merits due to mistakes that perhaps do not exceed 10 percent of their ijtihad (independent legal reasoning).

Among these preachers whose minds are being hijacked by deviant thinkers is Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, may Allah have mercy on him. They insist on portraying "Wahhabism" as a school of thought (madhhab) akin to the well-known jurisprudential schools we are familiar with.

When you read his book "At-Tawhid," in which he outlined the three fundamentals of monotheism, the distortion of the deviant and liars becomes apparent. Indeed, you discover this distortion when you observe the clarity of his presentation of the concept (Tawhid) and its connection to the Quran and the Sunnah.

Wahhabism is not a madhhab, as the liars claim. They strive to frame it as a sect that deviates from the established schools of thought, and consequently, from the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah (People of the Sunnah and the Community).

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Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was a preacher with a living conscience and a sincere commitment to action, calling people back to the truth and monotheism. He was Hanbali in jurisprudence and Sunni in creed; he was greatly influenced by Imam Ibn Taymiyyah. He led a major reformist movement that unified the Arabian Peninsula and restored its societies to the correct understanding of monotheism and adherence to the Quran and Sunnah.

I say to everyone who repeats the phrase "the Wahhabi madhhab": There is no such thing as a "Wahhabi madhhab." The Sheikh, may Allah have mercy on him, was not at the level of the four great Imams of jurisprudence to establish a new legal school. Rather, he was a sincere preacher who carried his reformist call and bore the concerns of his society at that time, which he saw as steeped in shirk (polytheism) and doctrinal deviation.

Indeed, the mistakes committed by some of his followers do not mean that he is as morally degraded as some seek to portray, in an effort to tarnish the reputation of this man and his magnificent history. This has today become exposed to the youth and the Muslim street.

Indeed, a movement of hostility toward him and other sincere, reformist preachers has emerged. This hostile movement has ironically awakened many young people to positively reflect on the Sheikh’s thought and his call for pure monotheism, and to understand comprehensively the call of him and similar prominent preachers, who never deviated from the methodology of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah and the people of truth. Furthermore, this attack proved the opposite of what its enemies expected; it confirmed that his call, and that of figures like Ibn Taymiyyah and similar great preachers of the 20th century, were on the right path. They are the greatest threat to the enemy in their support for the Ummah. Consequently, we find a consensus among deviant groups in their hostility toward him, and they approach from uncalculated angles, such as claiming that tolerance is better than extremism.

They have created groups and preachers who claim to follow the Sheikh and his likes, but they are furthest from him. This is done to defame their history and reputation through the actions of these impostors, who claim to be on his methodology while being liars. This is similar to today’s attacks on Palestinian mujahideen and the defamation of their ideas and call, although the entire world has come to respect "Jihad" and "Hamas." "And they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners."

Kuwaiti journalist