Video

Refuting Misconceptions: Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Ottoman Authority

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Question:

May Allah treat you well, your eminence. This questioner asks: “Some people who are hostile to the call (Da’wah) of Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab—may Allah have mercy on him—say that Shaykh al-Islam and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud rebelled against the ruler at the time, the Ottoman Empire, and broke the oath of obedience, which contradicts the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah. What is your view on this statement? May Allah reward you.”

Answer:

Does the person making this claim actually adhere to listening and obeying the rulers?! Most of those who make this claim actually justify rebelling against current leaders today, and they neither adhere to nor recognize the authority of the rulers.

That is one aspect.

The second aspect is that Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab—may Allah have mercy on him—and Imam Muhammad ibn Saud did not rebel against the ruler of their time, because the Ottoman Empire held no authority over the land of Najd. Rather, the land of Najd was under the control of its own local rulers. Every town in Najd had an independent ruler governing it, and when he died, one of his sons or relatives succeeded him. The Ottomans had no control over Najd and cared nothing about it. The Ottoman Empire did not care about Najd because it lacked resources or production at that time.

They fought the Saudi state not because they had rebelled against them, but out of fear of them. They fought the Saudi state because as its status grew and its influence expanded, they became afraid that the Saudi state would invade them in their own territories. That was their motive. Otherwise, they had no authority over the land of Najd.

Najd remained in the hands of its local rulers and chiefs generation after generation until Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab—may Allah have mercy on him—came with his call, supported by Muhammad ibn Saud. Together, they established their authority over all of Najd and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, enabled them because they stood up for the call of Muhammad—may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him—and spread Islam. Consequently, all the emirates that were previously fragmented across Najd came under a single authority.

Only then did the Ottoman Empire fear that they would reach them in their lands—in Iraq and Syria—and became anxious for themselves. Furthermore, they held superstitious beliefs, venerated shrines, and practiced Sufism and religious innovations (bid’ah). They feared that the Shaykh’s call would put an end to these practices, which is why they fought the Saudi state. Yes.

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