Page 31 - Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabi & Uman (1800-1870)

innovations, and promoted the principles of the pure Islamic religion taught by
the early generations of the Muslim community before the influence of Shl‘ism
and the encroachment of foreign ideas and beliefs.139
The intolerance of the Hanbalites toward the sects even led them to
campaign against one of their fellow Hanbalites, Abu al-Wafa b. ‘Aqfl (d.
513/1119), a great theologian and jurist.140 They accused him of inclining
towards Mu‘tazilism and Hallajism, which have no place in pristine Islam and
are thus considered as innovations. The campaign came to an end only when
Ibn ‘Aqll publicly denounced the heretical views of the sects, repented his
earlier inclinations, and promised to hold fast to Sunnism.141
Thanks to Ibn Taymlyah’s efforts, Hanbalism revived its militancy and was
to have far-reaching effects on Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s thought and
work. Ibn Taymlyah, a Hanbali theologian and jurist of the late thirteenth and
early fourteenth century, opposed the innovations connected with sufism, and
endeavoured to redirect his contemporaries to the pracuces of primitive Islam.
He rejected corrupt and lax Muslim society, denounced taqlid, and called for
the reinterpretation of the Qur’an and Sunnah, the very sources of Islamic law.
Ibn Taymlyah believed that Muslim society should be guided by the revealed
law, and he appealed for the cooperation of religion and state in putting
religious obligations into effect.142 Ibn Taymlyah’s preaching, however,
brought him more harm than good. It irritated the rulers of his time and
angered the ‘ulama\ most of whom were inclined towards sufism. He suffered
persecution, was put in prison several times, and finally died there.143
The disciples and admirers of Ibn Taymlyah in succeeding generations
continued to read his books, but they lacked the intellectual ability and
challenging spirit of their master. As a result, his ideas fell into temporary
disuse, especially when the Ottomans adopted the Hanafi school as the official
law in the land. Nevertheless, Hanbalism continued to survive in Egypt, Syria,
al-Traq and Arabia. It was the prevailing school in Najd in pre-Su‘udI-
Wahhabl times. The sources cite many names and provide biographies of
Hanbali *ulama9 and qadis in several towns of that district.144 Contacts between
the Hanbalites of Najd and those of other Arab countries were frequent during
the pilgrimage season, when they would meet at Makkah and al-Madlnah to
discuss legal matters and exchange newly-written books or treatises.145 Many
Najdis travelled to Cairo or Damascus to study under Hanbalite teachers in
those centres.
The qadis of Najd seem to have confined themselves to texts of a later period
of Hanbalism, following them in teaching and issuing legal opinions.146 The
texts deal with ibadat and mu'dmaldi issues, according to Hanbali law, in a very
short and concise style. Most of them were written for students who were
interested in fiqh, and who aspired to be faqihs or qadis. Several works by Ibn
Taymlyah on theology and public law were known to those who sought
knowledge and some of these works were accessible to certain students, but his
ideas did not seem to interest or affect them greatly. However, the views and
writings of Ibn Taymlyah came into prominence after the rise of Su‘udl-
Wahhabl power, largely because of their influence upon the life and character
of Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab.
Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s education began under his father’s
guidance. He learned Qur’an, studied Hadith and Hanbali doctrine, and
seems to have started preaching at an early age against the so-called paganism

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