 Sonya wrote:
As salaamu'alikum wr wb
Currently, i am having a debate in a forum where i say that wahabbis are sunnis but ppl over there say that they are not sunnis. they are a totally different sect. i dont believe this.. i live in UAE and i have seen wahabbis. they are just like myself.
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Assalam Aleikum Sonya.
A wahabi is a term given to those who follow the teachings espoused by the 18th century sectarian, self proclaimed scholar and leader named Muhammad ibn Abd'l wahab. The movement became well known on the Arabian Peninsula as it took on a political tone as part of an ethical Arab uprising to the tired Ottoman regime. Using its tenets as being those that would purify the land, the political synthesis gave rise to the chieftain Muhammad ibn Saud, who was the political power to move the sectarian tenets of uneducated followers to an actual movement as a way to move the local masses to rebel against the acting Caliph, under the guise of "purifying" the faith and the land. In reality they were mostly bandits and created a great fitnah that would eventually aid the enemies of Islam.
The British used this sect that had become a faith/political synthesis to help finish off the Ottomans (a religious sect is an efficient way to mobilize a grass roots uprising). The nature of a sect is to be in constant tension with those around it. By nature, they declare that everyone has been wrong and only they, and the founder, have it right, and it is their religious duty to bring about change, sometimes violently as with the early roots of "wahabism". It is this constant tension that can maintain harsh feelings between a sect and the mainstream, in general, depending on the ideas that a sect uses to separate itself from others.
Without any use of an actual judicial system, Imam An-Najdi simply declared hundreds of Muslims as apostates for issues that were 1) not a matter of aqida and were only apparent under his irrational guidelines of "shirk", and 2) not actually proven under an official "qadi", this gave rise to the free taking of property and "pious murder".
Wahabism, through the use of oil revenue, had some small successes moving out from the Arabian peninsula, but the successes did not match the amount of money put behind the attempt to make the teachings of Imam An-Najdi mainstream.
My understanding is that "wahabis" are Sunni, but are considered to be a sect due to their abuse and over arguing of various concepts in aqida, and relegating certain beliefs of Sunni Muslims as a matter of aqida when they were never a matter of a aqida before. This has caused a great deal of "tension" and anger within the Ahl As-sunnah and this why you may find high animosity towards "wahabis" from Sunnis.
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the only difference is they are a bit more ultra strict when it comes to music and thats something good ofcourse. i was told by these ppl on the forum that wahabis are not even strict with their sunnah prayers. please help me because i strongly believe that i am right. i need solid proofs to support my claim.
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The differences are actually a bit more complicated, and depending upon the various shades of the adherents of the "wahabi"/"neo-salaf" path. At the core of "wahabism" is an inflated focus on aqida, which is where they derive their rhetorical takfir's on thousands of adherent muslims. Sunni Muslims claim to follow in line with the teachings of the Prophet (saw), some of the "sunnah" prayers are deemed important, though not defined as "fard", but their value is extremely high due to the strong hadiths that tell us about this particular practice of the Prophet (saw). The Sahaba knew that the Prophet (saw) was the "target", as far as how we should act and worship, and if the prophet (saw) considered something important, then it is only reasonable that it is something we should also value as important, especially if we strive to love the Messenger (saw). To try and make such a silly point of ignoring a very important sunnah prayer simply to claim that you are protecting Islam against innovation, is an extremely juvenile point and the price to pay for such a silly point (wasting a precious moment that you can never get back to bring yourself closer to God) is too great. I have prayed behind an Imam who made such an idiotic statement after the fard prayer. I was simply floored.
Being strict with the shariah is not a trophy nor should it be a way to show how you are different from others. Riya has a nasty way of creeping into our every day practices and we should be always vigilant. We should be harder on ourselves than others, and not distinguish ourselves from others by showing how zealous we are with outward appearances and practices.
In general, another area of dispute has also divided "wahabis" from Sunnis, and that is in regard to the science of tasawuuf. The propaganda and cheap polemics have been an avenue the group has tried to use to smear an acceptable part of the deen, and it has been more "fitnah". The cheap polemics usually amount to taking statements from Sunni scholars out of context, displaying ignorant men who are mistakenly practicing something not considered a part of "tasawuuf", and then labeling it "sufi" so they can claim how deviated Sufis are.
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I also know its wrong to use the term 'wahabi' but Allah knows that i did it only for the sake of clarity. my intention was not to discriminate between Muslims. One question that is raised is why did Mohammad ibn Abdul Wahab declare jihad against Muslims of those days?
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Because he was not qualified to make the claims he did and made great errors, and his followers were no different than bandits. By re-inventing aqida, he could have the power to make takfir as he pleased.
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why did he rise against Ottoman Empire which belonged to Muslims? i was told by a frend that back in those days.. ppl had somewhat started grave worshipping and so he had to claim that they are polytheists. he even demolished tomb of a companion (r.a).
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Not only did he rise up again the Caliph, but his later followers aided the British in taking out the last of the Ottomans. They installed regimes more corrupt than the Ottomans were at the end of their 700 reign, and they (the fruit of those who used this movement to take power) currently aid kafir governments, and they waste the oil revenue. The idea that the "wahabis" were just cleaning up the land is a strawman argument used by the official historians to sugar coat the actual truth. Who actually knew if any of the hundreds of Muslims that were declared kafirs and murdered through Imam An-Najdi's delusional ijtihad were actually committing shirk?
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this makes sense but isnt it that we cant declare war against our fellow muslims? isnt it that we have to make them understand in a more peaceful way?
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Any man who single handedly tampers with matters of aqida and then declares thousands of Muslims to be "kafirs" should be a wake up call.
In the end, "wahabis" are Sunni, but some of their ideas create a huge fitnah and a constant tension within Sunni Islam, which is why you will find some who will resent you if you will declare yourself to follow the teachings and ideas that are found in the expressions of Muhammad ibn abd'l wahab.
Assalam Aleikum
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