Ibn Taymiyyah

 Ibn Taymiyyah

Arrogance, self conceit and wanting to be

 "Shaikhul Islam"

On page 38 of the book, Zaghlul 'Ilm, Adh Dhahabi said about his teacher

 Ibn Taymiyyah:

وقد تعبت في وزنه وفتشته حتى مللت في سنين متطاولة ، فما وجدت قد أخره بين أهل مصر والشام ومقتته نفوسهم وازدروا به وكذبوه وكفروه إلا الكبر والعجب ، وفرط الغرام في رياسة المشيخة والازدراء بالكبار ، فانظر كيف وبال الدعاوي ومحبة الظهور ، نسأل الله تعالى المسامحة ، فقد قام عليه أناس ليسوا بأورع منه ولا أعلم منه ولا أزهد منه ، بل يتجاوزون عن ذنوب أصحابهم وآثام أصدقائهم ، وما سلطهم الله عليه بتقواهم وجلالتهم بل بذنوبه ، وما دفعه الله عنه وعن أتباعه أكثر ، وما جرى عليهم إلا بعض ما يستحقون ، فلا تكن فى ريب من ذلك. أهـــ

"And I have tired myself from weighing him and examining him, until over the long years I became exausted. At last, what I found to be holding him back among the scholars of Egypt and Syria (Shaam), caused their souls to loathe him, and them to disdain him, and call him a liar and accuse him of disbelief was nothing else but arrogance (kibr), self admiration ('ujb), the ardent desire to be the "head shaikh", and belittling the eminent (figures in Islam)! So look at the outcome of false claims and love of fame! We ask Allah, the Exalted, for pardon. For indeed, the people who confronted him were not more pious than he, or more knowledgeble or more ascetic. On the other hand, they would overlook the sins of their companions and the misdeeds of their friends. Allah did not afflict him with them due to their piety (taqwa) and their nobility, but because of his sins. And what Allah deflected from him and his followers was even greater. And nothing befell them except for some of what they deserved, so do not be in doubt concerning this."

Adh Dhahabi: NO ONE PRECEDED HIM TO HIS STATEMENTS!

 Adh Dhahabi also said about his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah:

ولقد نصر السنة المحضة، والطريقة السلفية، واحتج لها ببراهين ومقدمات، وأمور لم يسبق إليها، وأطلق عبارات أحجم عنها الأولون والآخرون وهابوا، وجسر هو عليها، حتى قام عليه خلق من علماء مصر والشام قياماً لا مزيد عليه. أهـــ

"And he supported the pure Sunnah, and the Salafi methodology. And he argued using proofs, premises and matters that he was not preceded to. And he made statements that the earlier and later people refrained from saying and were afraid to utter. Yet he boldly said those things, until a huge group of Scholars from Egypt and Syria confronted him most sternly."

See pg. 243: Here


Adh Dhahabi:

"I disagree with him in issues of Creed and Law..."

Adh Dhahabi also said about his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah:

مع أني مخالف له في مسائل أصلية وفرعية

"However I disagree with him in creedal and legal issues."

See pg 329 of Dhayl Tareekh Al Islam: Here

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Adh Dhahabi: He was rightfully and wrongfully accused!

Ibn Taymiyyah's companion and student, Al Imam Adh Dhahabi said in his book called Zaghlul 'Ilm:

فما أظنك فى ذلك تبلغ رتبة ابن تيمية ولا والله تقربها وقد رأيت ما اَل أمره إليه من الحط عليه والهجر والتضليل والتكفير والتكذيب بحق و بباطل فقد كان قبل أن يدخل فى هذة الصناعة منوراً مضيئاً على محياه سيما السلف ثم صار مظلماً مكسوفاً عليه قتمة عند خلائق من الناس ودجالاً أفاكاً كافرا عند أعدائه ومبتدعاً فاضلاً محققا بارعا عند طوائف من عقلاء الفضلاء وحامل راية الإسلام وحامى حوزة الدين ومحي السنة عند عوام أصحابه هو ما أقول لك. أهـــ

"...I still don't believe you would reach the level of Ibn Taymiyyah nor, by Allah, would you even come close to it. And I have witnessed what his affair led to, with people putting him down, abandoning him, declaring him to be a deviant, declaring him to be a disbeliever, and accusing him of lying, rightfully and wrongfully. But before he got into this field he was radiant, shining, and bearing the appearance of the Salaf on his face..."

See page 42 and 43: Here

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He had unique fatawas that were from his sins and mistakes

In his book, Tadhkiratul Huffaadh pg 1497, Al Imam Adh Dhahabi continues about his teacher Ibn Taymiyyah in the vein of "he made statements that no one preceded him to":  
Pdf Here

وقد انفرد بفتاوى نيل من عرضه لأجلها وهي مغمورة في بحر علمه, فالله تعالى يسامحه ويرضى عنه فما رأيت مثله. وكل واحد من الأمة فيؤخذ من قوله ويترك فكان ماذا؟ أهـــ

"And he went alone to make unique fatawas, due to which his repute came under fire. Yet they are submerged in the ocean of his knowledge. So may Allah forgive him and be pleased with him, for I have never seen anyone like him. And since the case with everyone in the Muslim Ummah is that some of their statements may be accepted and others may be rejected, what is the problem?" 

He also said in Al Mu'jam Al Mukhtass bil Muhadditheen, on page 25 (pg 45 in the PDF reader), bio #22: 
Here

وانفرد بمسائل فنيل من عرضه لأجلها, وهو بشر له ذنوب وخطأ ومع هذا فوالله ما مقلت عينِي مثله ولا رأى هو مثله نفسه. أهــ

"And he went alone on issues that, because of them his repute was under fire. And he is a man. He has sins and mistakes. Yet despite this, by Allah, my eyes have never seen the likes of him, nor has he seen the likes of himself."

He also said in Dhuyool Al 'Ibar fee Khabari man Ghabar, page 84:
Here

وله مسائل غريبة نيل من عرضه لأجلها

"And he has strange (rulings on) issues, due to which his repute was under fire"

And he said on page 327 and 328 of his book Dhailu Tareekhil Islam: 
Pdf Here

وإن أنت عذرت كبار الائمة فى معضلاتهم ولم تعذر ابن تيمية فى مفرداته فقد أقررت على نفسك بالهوى و عدم الانصاف. أهـــ

"If you were to excuse the eminent Scholars for their problematic verdicts yet not excuse Ibn Taymiyyah for his unique fatawas, you would be acknowledging that you yourself have leanings and unfairness."

Ibn Rajab Al Hanbali, the student of Ibn Taymiyyah's student Ibn Qayyim Al Jawziyyah, also acknowledged that Ibn Taymiyyah had unique rulings when he said in his update of Al Qaadi Abu Ya'la's son's book on biographies of the Hanbalis called Dhaylu Tabaqaatil Hanaabilah Vol: 4 pg. 505 (507 on the PDF reader)

ولكن كان هو وجماعة من خواص أصحابه ربما أنكروا من الشيخ كلامه في بعض الأئمة الأكابر الأعيان، أو في أهل التخلي والانقطاع ونحو ذلك.
وكان الشيخ رحمه اللّه لا يقصد بذلك إلا الخير، والانتصار للحق إن شاء الله تعالى.
وطوائف من أئمة أهل الحديث وحفاظهم وفقهائهم: كانوا يحبون الشيخ ويعظمونه، ولم يكونوا يحبون له التوغل مع أهل الكلام ولا الفلاسفة، كما هو طريق أئمة أهل الحديث المتقدمين، كالشافعي وأحمد وإسحاق وأبي عبيد ونحوهم، وكذلك كثير هن العلماء من الفقهاء والمحدثين والصالحين كرهوا له التفرد ببعض شذوذ المسائل التي أنكرها السلف على من شذ بها، حتى إن بعض قضاة العدل من أصحابنا منعه من الإفتاء ببعض ذلك. أهـــ

"However he ('Imaad Ad Deen Al Waasiti) and a group of Ibn Taymiyyah's closest companions disapproved of the Shaikh's statements about some of the eminent and high-standing Imams, or the likes of those people who would disconnect themselves from the world to be alone with their Lord (the Sufis). And the Shaikh may Allah have mercy on him did not intend anything by that but good, and defense of the truth Inshaa Allahu ta'aala. And various circles of the people of Hadeeth; including Imams, Huffaadh (memorizers of more than 100,000 hadeeths) and Fuqahaa (Jurists) used to love the Shaikh (i.e. Ibn Taymiyyah) and hold him in high regard. But they did not like for him to go into in-depth issues with the theologians and philosophers - as was the methodology of the Imams of Ahlul Hadeeth like Ash Shaafi'ee, Ahmad, Ishaaq, Abu 'Ubaid and others like them. Additionally, many 'Ulamaa, Fuqahaa, Muhadditheen, and Saaliheen (Righteous people) disliked that he go on his own with some of his unique rulings that the Salaf disapproved of whoever went alone with. Until one of the just judges from our colleages prevented him from making those fatawas."

Al Imam Ibnul Wazeer also mentioned something on these lines on pg. 331 of the 3rd volume of his book 'Awaasim minal Qawaasim when he said:

ومذهب الإمام أحمد وأمثاله من أئمة الحديث وهم طائفتان:
الطائفة الأولى: أهل الحديث والأثر وأتباع السنن والسلف الذين ينهون عن الخوض في علم الكلام
ثم قال...
الطائفة الثانية أهل النظر في علم الكلام والمنطق والمعقولات وهم فرقتان:
أحدهما: الأشعرية
والفرقة الثانية من المتكلمين منهم: الأثرية كابن تيمية وأصحابه فهؤلاء من أهل الحديث لا يخالفونهم إلا في استحسان الخوض في الكلام, وفي التجاسر على بعض العبارات, وفيما تفرد به من الخوض في الدقائق الخفيات والمحدثون ينكرون ذلك عليهم لأنه ربما أدى ذلك إلى بدعة أو قدح في الدين. أهـــ

"And the madhhab of Al Imam Ahmad and others like him from the the Imams of Hadeeth, and they are two groups:
The first group is: Ahlul Hadeeth wal Athar and the followers of the Prophetic traditions and the Salaf, who forbid theological discussion ('Ilmul Kalaam)."
Later, after discussing them in detail in several pages, Ibnul Wazeer said:
"The second group is: The people of research in Theology ('Ilmul Kalaam), Logic, and intellectual sciences. And they subdivide into two groups:
The first group is the Ash'aris.
The second group of theologians include the Athariyyah like Ibn Taymiyyah and his companions. For they are from Ahlul Hadeeth. They do not differ with them except about the permissibility of indulging in theology, and in boldly making certain statements, and in the discussion of intricate complex issues that he (Ibn Taymiyyah) went alone with. 

The scholars of Hadeeth disapproved of them doing so because it could possibly lead to innovation or a violation of the Deen."

Adh Dhahabi describes the position of Ibn Taymiyyah's closest companions and "fans" from the unique opinions that he has, in previous quotes, deemed to be errors and mistakes and asked Allah to forgive Ibn Taymiyyah for:
Dhayl Tareekhil Islam pg. 328 - 329

ولا ريب انه لا اعتبار بمدح خواصه والغلاة فيه فان الحب يحملهم على تغطية هناته بل قد يعدونها محاسن. أهـــ

And without doubt, no consideration should be given to the praise or his closest companions or those who are extreme in their admiration for him. Their love for him will make them cover his mistakes, nay they may even count them to be from his good deeds."

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His temper with those who disagreed with him...

Adh Dhahabi mentioned that Ibn Taymiyyah had clashes with the scholars of his time; that their souls despised him and that they abandoned him etc. He mentioned that it was due to arrogance, self admiration, desire to be "Shaikhul Islam" - all of which are inner feelings and actions of the heart. Fourthly, he mentioned an outer action which was a result of and an indication of those inner qualities when he said, "and belittling the eminent (figures in Islam)". Here, he goes into more detail about his teacher's conduct with his opponents during debate... 

On page 326 and 327 of his book Dhaylu Tareekhil Islam, Al Imam Adh Dhahabi said:Pdf:Here

مع اننى لا اعتقد فيه العصمة كلا فانه مع سعة علمه و فرط شجاعته و سيلان ذهنه و تعظيمه لحرمات الدين بشر من البشر تعتريه حدة فى البحث و غضب وشظف للخصم يزرع له عداوة فى النفوس و نفورا عنه وإلا والله لو لاطف الخصوم و رفق بهم ولزم المجاملة و حسن المكالمة لكان كلمة اجماع

"...although I do not believe him to be infallible (ma'soom). Most definitely not! Because despite his vast knowledge, extreme courage, overflowing intellect, and reverence for the sanctities of the religion, he was but a man. During debates he would be overcome with harshness, hot temper, and toughness with his opponents which would plant in the souls the seeds of enmity, aversion, and dislike for him. Otherwise, had he been polite and kind with his opponents and observed etiquette and a graceful mode of speech, he would have been a word of consensus."

---

Adh Dhahabi's bio of Ibn Taymiyyah included in the compilation called,

 "From the Legacy of Shaikhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah", found here:

The following 3 quotes are from page 244

وله حدة قوية تعتريه في البحث حتى كأنه ليث حرب. أهـــ

"He had an acute harshness that would overcome him during debate, making him like a lion of war." 

وفيه قلة مداراة وعدم تؤدة غالبًا , والله يغفر له. أهـــ

"He often lacked congeniality and prudence. May Allah forgive him."

وَقَدْ يُعَظِّمُ جليسه مرة ويهينه في المحاورة مرات. أهـــ

"He may honor his company once, yet disrespect them during debate repeatedly."

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Another student of Ibn Taymiyyah, Salahud Deen As Safadi also said in his bio of Ibn Taymiyyah in his book, "Al Waafi bil Wafayaat":

وقال الصفدي أثناء ترجمة ابن تيمية في الوافي بالوفيات:
وحكى لي عنه الشيخ شمس الدين ابن قيم الجوزية قال: كان صغيرا عند بني المنجا فبحث معهم فادعوا شيئا أنكره فأحضروا النقل فلما وقف عليه ألقى المجلد من يده غيظا، فقالوا له: ما أنت إلا جريء ترمي المجلد من يدك وهو كتاب علم، فقال سريعا: أيما خير أنا أو موسى? فقالوا موسى، فقال: أيما خير هذا الكتاب أو ألواح الجوهر التي كان فيها العشر كلمات? قالوا: الألواح، فقال: إن موسى لما غضب ألقى الألواح من يده، أو كما قال. أهـــ

"Ash Shaikh Shamsud Deen Ibnu Qayyim Al Jawziyyah told me about him saying:

When he was young he was in the company of (the Hanbali family of Scholars) Banu Al Munajja, so he debated with them. So they claimed something he denied. Then they brought the quote. When he saw it, he threw the book down in anger.

 They said to him, "You sure are bold to throw down the book when it is a book of Religious Knowledge!" Whereupon he immediately said, "Who is better, me or Musa?" So they said, "Musa". Then he said, "Which is better, this book or the Tablets containing the Ten Commandments?" They said, "The Tablets." So Ibn Taymiyyah said, "Well, when Musa became angry he threw the Tablets down!" - or something to this effect"

This quote can also be found translated into English on page 110 and 111 of "Al Albani Unveiled", a book definitely worth owning.

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As Safadi: Ibn Taymiyyah's intellect was lacking!

In another quote, the direct student of Ibn Taymiyyah, Al Imam As Safadi said in his explanation of the poem called "Laamiyyatul 'Ajam":

شرح لامية العجم:
يقال إن الخليل بن أحمد اجتمع يوما هو وعبد الله بن المقفع فتحادثا إلى الغداة. فلما تفرقا قيل للخليل كيف رأيته قال رأيت رجلا علمه أكثر من عقله. وقيل لابن المقفع كيف رأيت الخليل قال رأيت رجلا عقله أكثر من علمه. وكذا كان فإن ابن المقفع قتله قلة عقله وكثرة كلامه شر قتلة وشر ميتة. قلت: وكذا كان الشيخ الإمام العلامة تقي الدين أحمد بن تيمية علمه متسع جدا إلى الغاية وعقله ناقص يورطه في المهالك ويوقعه في المضايق. أهـــ

“It’s been said that one day Al Khaleel bin Ahmad met Abdullah bin Al Muqaffa’, and they talked until the morning. When they dispersed, Al Khaleel was asked, what do you think about him? He answered, he’s a man whose knowledge exceeds his intellect. And Ibn Al Muqaffa’ was asked about Al Khaleel. He answered, “His intellect exceeds his knowledge.” And thus it was. For the lacking intellect and excessive speech of Ibn Al Muqaffa’ led him to a most terrible slaughter and horrible death. I’ll say (As Safadi) thus was the Shaikh, the Imam, the ‘Allaamah Taqiyyud Deen Ahmad bin Taymiyyah. His knowledge was extremely vast, yet his intellect was lacking. It would lead him to destruction and make him fall into tight spaces.”

The Beliefs of Sheikh-ul-Najd

The Beliefs of Sheikh-ul-Najd

The Atrocities committed by the Wahhabis against the Muslim Ummah!


 Sheikh-ul-Najd 

"Devil's Horn"

^Shaytan Came in the Form of the Najdi Sheikh

Hafiz Ibn Kathir writes:"When the kuffar of Makka had a meeting concerning the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace), an old man came claiming:

"I am a Najdi - whatever you want to know, I will be helpful."

This Najdi Sheikh then gave his view against the Prophet throughout the meeting"

[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, Volume 4]

 Sheikh-ul-Najd




said:

(1) All Muslims for the last six hundred years were Kafirs.
(2) He wrote his first book "Kitab-ul-Tawheed" in which he labelled all Ayats about Idol Worshippers, Munafeqeens and Mushreqeens on the Ahle Sunnah and stereotyped them as Kafir and Mushriks to get them killed. (This was foretold in a Tradition in Bukhari)
(3) Like the Prophets he claimed that anybody who did not believe in him was Kafir and be executed.
(4) Anybody who accepted his religion was told to renew his shahadah and Hajj, if he had already done Hajj because he was previously Mushrik and Kafir. 


He was made to confess that his parents, all Muslims and prominent Ulama in the last 600 years were Kafirs.
Anyone who refused this declaration was declared as Mushrik and would be slain even though he was a Mutaqi and all his possessions were forfeited. While on the other hand, anyone who accepted his command would be declared as Momin even though he was a Fasiq or Fajir.
(5) He used to call the Holy Prophet as Tarish (postman). (Allah forbid)
(6) He used to claim that there were so many lies in Sulah Hudaybia.
(7) His stick could kill a snake and was better than The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) who was dead and was of no use to them (Allah forbid).

Note: Because of his beliefs 4, 5 and 6 above Ulama gave the Fatwa of Kufr on Sheikh-ul- Najd.

(8) He disliked and felt troubled if anyone recitedDarud Sharif.
(9) He used to severely punish those who recited Darud Sharif on Friday evenings and from Minarets after Adhan. 

He even got one blind Muezzin tortured and killed because of this. 
He used to say that reciting Darud Sharif from the minarets of mosques is more sinful than the sound of singing with music from the house of a prostitute.

(10) He burnt all the books of Darud Sharif and Dalael-ul-Khairrat and claimed that their reading was Bidah.
(11) He got all books of Fiqah, Tafseer and Traditions burnt and used to do interpretation of Quran according to his choice and advised his deputies to do the same.
(12) He claimed that he was Hanbali but that was a lie, camouflage and disguise to cheat people. His brother Sheikh Suleman was a Hanbali scholar who wrote a book criticising and condemning the Sheikh-ul-Najd and his beliefs.
(13) He used to stop Muslims from visiting the grave of The Holy Prophet and he used to torture and get the beard shaved of the person whom he came to know had visited.

(14) He denied the Wasili (means) of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam). 


*He used to quote the case of Hadhrat Umar(Raddi Allahu Unho), taking Hadhrat Abbas and other Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) to an open field for Salat-Istasqa (the prayer for rain) through the Wasila of Hadhrat Abbas (Raddi Allahu Unho), being the uncle of the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), as a pretext that Wasila of The holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was not called for because the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) had passed away. (*see below)


But he became speechless when refereed to the Tradition narrated by Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (Raddi Allahu Anhum), according to which the Jews used to pray through the Wasila of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and their prayers were answered even before the holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) was born (1). (also see here)
 This fact is also mentioned in The Holy Quran (2).


There is also a tradition that in a time of a severe draught when the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) came to Hadhrat Aisha (Raddi Allahu Unha) asking her to pray for rain, she advised to make a hole in the roof of the tomb of the holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) and beg Allah for rain which they did and got plenty of rain (6a). 
Moreover, the Salat-Istasqa is only prayed in an open field and not in any mosque, neither in Masjad-e-Nabvi nor in Haram-e-Kaaba.
(15) He believed in the material sort of body of Allah, which occupied space (3).

Astaghfirullah!

(1) Tafseer Ibn-e- Kathir, page 604, by Imam Fakhar-ud-din Razi.
(2) Holy Quran, Ayat 89, Sura Baqra. (The text is also on the back cover page).
(3) The Doctrine of Ahle-Sunnah verses the Salafi Movement by Jamal Afandi-ul-Iraqi-
al Sidqi al Zahawi.

Atrocities of the Sheikh-ul-Najd and Wahhabis against Muslim Ummah during their three periods of domination in the Arabian Peninsula: 

The Wahhabis demolished the tombs and graves of the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum), Tabayen (those who had the honour of meeting the Prophet's Companions) and Awliyas ( the holy saints) all around Arabia, wherever they could lay their hands on including Janat-ul-Baqi. He got toilets built on many graves of the Awliyas. They shed the blood of the Muslims, who loved the Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam), from Taif to Karbala and from Mecca to Madina.
The first period (1745 to 1818). During this period:

(1) The Sheikh-ul-Najd and his followers got the graves of the Companions (Raddi Allahu Anhum) grounded in Jabilia.
(2) The first tomb grounded by the Sheikh-ul-Najd himself was of Hadhrat Zaid bin Khatab(Raddi Allahu Unho),, the brother of Caliph Hadhrat Ummar (Raddi Allahu Unho).

The Alliance:


 The Sheikh-ul-Najd entered into an alliance with Ibn-e-Saud, according to which, the Sheikh-ul-Najd would be the Imam while Ibn-e-Saud would be the head of the new state and both would share the bounties of wealth, the women as concubines and children as slaves gathered from killings of the Ahle Sunnah. After that alliance, Wahhabis started attacking Ahle Sunnah towns vigorously.

(3) The first attack, after this alliance was on Riyadh. The town was captured after many years of siege killing hundreds of Ahle Sunnah Muslims.
(4) The second attack was on Alhasa, in which hundreds of Muslims were also killed.
(5) In 1801, Wahhabis attacked Karbala and Baladal Hussain. Over 2000 Muslims were massacred filling the bazaars and streets with the blood and corpses of innocent Muslims. They demolished all tombs and graves near Jamia Zubair and around the city including tombs of Hadhrat Talha, Imam Hassan and Imam Hussain (Raddi Allahu Anhum). Wahhabis looted all diamonds and precious stones decorating the tombs and took them to Najd.

(6) The Destruction of Taif and Massacre of Muslims
After taking over Taif , Wahhabis killed the Muslims, young, old , women and children and filled the streets and bazaars of Taif with blood and dead bodies of innocent Muslims. The Wahhabis took all their possessions, gold, silver and precious things and distributed amongst them and sent one fifth to Ibn-e-Saud.
(7) Attack on Mecca Mukarama

In 1803, Saud attacked Mecca Mukarama. Saud took over Mecca Mukarama without fight but massacred Muslims in the Haram Sharif, even against the command of Allah according to which no blood be ever shed inside the Haram, the Sanctuary of peace. He burnt all the four praying mats of four Ahle Sunnah Imams, demolished all places of homage, graves and tombs, urinated and defecated on many of them. He also destroyed the tombs on the birth place of The Holy Prophet, (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) Abu Bakar Siddique, Ali bin Abu Tallib and Khadija Kubra (Raddi Allahu Anhum). He even burnt the cloth covering the Kabaa.

(8) Capture of Madina Munawara

Saud repeated the same massacre and bloodshed of Ahle-sunnah Muslims, destroyed all graves and tombs and Muslim heritage all around the Madina Munawara. Saud tore the cloth covering the grave of the Holy Prophet (salallah-ho-alehay-wasam), destroyed the Hujra Sharif and the ceiling of the Tomb of The Holy Prophet (Sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) to steal the precious stones and metals and took 60 camels loaded with treasures with him. 
Some Wahhabis even climbed on the Tomb of The Holy Prophet to demolish it but they fell with their faces down and died. A big ball of fire and a serpent appeared and attacked the Wahhabis scaring them to take to their heels.

(9) In 1806, Wahhabis seiged the town of Najaf-e-Ashraf but could not take it. In retreat, they destroyed and made a havoc in the outskirts of Baghdad.
(10) In 1810, Wahhabis advanced as far as Horan which is two days horse journey from Damascus killing innocent Muslims and looting many towns and villages. When huge waves of cries erupted in the Arabian Peninsula and the Muslim world against the Wahhabis barbaric atrocities, Ali Pasha and his sons, commanded by the Ottomans, crushed the Wahhabis regime in 1818.

The Effect of Wahhabism in Indo-Pak Sub-continent: Here


Tareekh-e-Najd-o-Hijaz

---

Imam Muhammad Abu Zahra 

Explains Wahhabism

Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya

("History of the Islamic Schools")

(1898–1974CE)

"I. They did not restrain themselves to view worship (`ibada) in the same way that Islam had stipulated in the Qur'an and Sunna and as Ibn Taymiyya had mentioned, but they wished to include customs (`adat) also into the province of Islam so that Muslims would be bound by them. Thus they declared cigarette smoking haram and exaggerated this ruling to the point that their general public considered the smoker a mushrik [idolater]. As a result they resembled the Khawarij who used to declare apostate whoever committed a sin.

"II. In the beginning of their sway they would also declare coffee and whatever resembled it as haram [categorically prohibited] to themselves but it seems that they became more lenient on this point as time went by.

"III. The Wahhabis did not restrain themselves to proselytism only, but resorted to warmongering against whoever disagreed with them on the grounds that they were fighting innovation (bid`a), and innovations are an evil that must be fought, and it is obligatory to command good and forbid evil.1 [...] 

The leader of Wahhabi thought in the field of war and battle was Muhammad ibn Sa`ud, the ancestor of the ruling Sa`udi family in the Arabian lands. He was a brother-in-law to Shaykh Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab and embraced his madhhab, defending it fervently and calling unto it by force of arms. He announced that he was doing this so as to uphold the Sunna and eradicate bid`a. Perhaps, this religious mission that took a violent turn was carrying with itself a rebellion against Ottoman rule. [...]

Until the governor of Egypt, Muhammad `Ali Basha al-Albani, faced them and pounced on the Wahhabis with his strong army, routing them in the course of several battles. At that time their military force was reduced and confined to the Arabian tribes. Riyadh and its vicinity was the center for this permanent da`wa that would turn violent whenever they found the strength and then lie still whenever they found violent opposition.

"IV. Whenever they were able to seize a town or city they would come to the tombs and turn them into ruins and destruction [...] and they would destroy whatever mosques were with the tombs also. [...]

"V. Their brutality did not stop there but they also came to whatever graves were visible and destroyed them also. And when the ruler of the Hijaz regions caved in to them they destroyed all the graves of the Companions and razed them to the ground [...]

"VI. They would cling to small matters which they condemned although they had nothing to do with idolatry nor with whatever leads to idolatry, such as photography. We found this in their fatwas and epistles at the hands of their Ulama, although their rulers ignore this saying of theirs completely and cast it by the wayside.

"VII. They expanded the meaning of bid`a [innovation] to strange proportions, to the point that they actually claimed that draping the walls of the noble Rawda [near the Prophet's chamber in Madina] is an innovated matter. 

Hence they forbade the renewal of the drapes that were in it, until they fell in tatters and became unsightly, were it not for the light that pours out to all that are in the presence of the Prophet - upon him peace - or feels that in this place was the abode of Revelation on the Master of Messengers. In fact, we find among them, on top of this, those who consider that the Muslim's expression "our Master Muhammad" (sayyiduna Muhammad) is an impermissible bid`a / and they show true extremism about this and, for the sake of their mission, use foul and furious language until most people actually flee from them as fast as they can.

"VIII. In truth, the Wahhabis have actualized the opinions of Ibn Taymiyya and are extremely zealous followers and supporters of those views. They adopted the positions of Ibn Taymiyya that we explained in our discussion of those who call themselves "Salafiyya." 

However, they expanded the meaning of bid`a and construed as innovations things that have no relation to worship. [...] 

In fact, it has been noticed that the Ulama of the Wahhabis consider their own opinions correct and not possibly wrong, while they consider the opinions of others wrong and not possibly correct.

More than that, they consider what others than themselves do in the way of erecting tombs and circumambulating them, as near to idolatry.2 

In this respect they are near the Khawarij who used to declare those who dissented with them apostate and fight them as we already mentioned. This was a relatively harmless matter in the days when they were cloistered in the desert and not trespassing its boundaries; but when they mixed with others until the Hijaz country was in the hand of the Sa`ud family,3 the matter became of the utmost gravity. 

This is why the late King `Abd al-`Aziz of the Sa`ud family opposed them, and treated their opinions as confined to themselves and irrelevant to others."4

[End of the text quoted from Imam Abu Zahra's book

Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya

("History of the Islamic Schools").]

Among the titles Wahhabis gave themselves are the names:

Muwahhidun ("Monotheists"), 

Islahiyyun ("Reformists"), and 

Salafiyyun ("Followers of the Pious Predecessors") 

while their opponents name them 

Hashwiyya ("Illiterates" lit. "Visceralists"), 

Mujassima ("Anthropomorphists") and 

Khawarij ("Seceders"). 

They name Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab "Shaykh al-Islam" - although he is by his own Hanbali Madhhab's account a minor figure - and name his descendants Al al-Shaykh [House of the Shaykh] while his brother Sulayman ibn `Abd al-Wahhab declares him an heretic in his fatwa printed under the title:
Fasl al-Khitab min Kitab Allah wa-Hadith al-Rasul (Sallallahu `alayhi wa-Sallam) wa-Kalam Uli al-Albab fi Madhhab Ibni `Abd al-Wahhab
("The Final Word from the Qur'an, the Hadith, and the Sayings of the Scholars Concerning the School of Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab"),
also known as al-Sawa`iq al-Ilahiyya fi Madhhab al-Wahhabiyya
("The Divine ThunderboltsConcerning the Wahhabi School").

This book is the earliest refutation of the Wahhabi sect in print, consisting in over forty-five concise chapters spanning 120 pages that show beyond doubt the fundamental divergence of the Wahhabi school, not only from the Consensus and Usul of Ahl al-Sunna wal-Jama`a and the fiqh of the Hanbali madhhab, but also from their putative Imams, Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim on most or all the issues reviewed.5 

The last point shows the fundamental dishonesty of Salafism toward the very Imams they claim as their true link to the Salaf.

Other reliable literature on that sect includes:

- The Yemeni contemporary of Muhammad Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab: Sayyid `Alawi ibn Ahmad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Qutb `Abd Allah al-Haddad's Misbah al-Anam fi Radd Shubuhat al-Bid`i al-Najdi al-Ladhi Adalla biha al-`Awamm ("The Lamp of Mankind in Refuting the Insinuations Used by the Innovator from Najd to Misguide the Public" 1216); 

I have translated the introduction and outline of this important book in full and it is available in the UK appended to Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa`i's 1999CE pamphlet:

 "Advice to our brethren the Scholars of Najd" (see excerpts of the latter at Advice to the Ulama of Najd - Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa'i).

- Sayyid `Abd Allah ibn Hasan ibn Fadl Ba `Alawi's Sidq al-Khabar fi Khawarij al-Qarn al-Thani `Ashar ("The Truthful News Concerning the Kharijis of the Twelfth Century");

- Hasan ibn `Umar ibn Ma`ruf al-Shatti al-Hanbali's (1205-1274) al-Nuqul al-Shar`iyya fil-Radd `alal-Wahhabiyya ("The Legal Texts that Refute the Wahhabis");

- Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zayni Dahlan's (d 1304) al-Durar al-Saniyya fil-Radd `ala al-Wahhabiyya ("The Resplendent Pearls in Refuting the Wahhabis");

- Ibrahim al-Samannudi al-Mansuri's (d 1314) Sa`adat al-Darayn fil-Radd `ala al-Firqatayn al-Wahhabiyya wal-Zahiriyya ("The Bliss of the Two Abodes in the Refutation of the Two Sects: Wahhabis and Zahiris");

- Shaykh Salamat al-`Azzami's (d 1376) al-Barahin al-Sati`a fi Radd Ba`d al-Bida` al-Sha'i`a ("The Radiant Proofs in Refuting Certain Widespread Innovations");

- and the esteemed contemporary Yemeni Shaykh of Jeddah, al-Habib Zayn al-`Abidin Al Sumayt al-`Alawi's al-Ajwiba al-Ghaliya fi `Aqidat al-Firqat al-Najiya ("The Precious Replies Concerning the Doctrine of the Saved Group [= mainstream Sunnis]").

NOTES

1 To this day, the Khawarij include al-amr bil-ma`ruf wal-nahi `an al-munkar in their books of fiqh.

2 Ironically, the Wahhabis do not consider it idolatry to plaster pictures of their kings, set up kingdoms, and name a land after a king.

3 Through non-Muslim money and arms.

4 Abu Zahra, Tarikh al-Madhahib al-Islamiyya (p. 235-238).

5 The Fasl/Sawa`iq received the following editions: [1] Bombay: Matba`a Nukhbat al-Akhbar, 1306/1889; [2] Cairo; [3] Istanbul: Ishik reprints at Wakf Ihlas, 1399/1979; [4] (Unannotated) Damascus, 1418/1997 (al-Sawa`iq); [5] (Annotated) Damascus, 1420/1999 (Fasl).

---

(*) The Arabic of the hadith of Abbas bin Abdul Mutlib (Radhi'Allah Anho) is this:

كان إذا قحطوا استسقى ‏ ‏بالعباس بن عبد المطلب ‏ ‏فقال اللهم ‏ ‏إنا كنانتوسلإليك بنبينا]فتسقينا وإنانتوسلإليك بعم نبينا فاسقنا قال فيسقون

And correct translation is this:

O Allah! We would use our Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him)as a means(Waseela) to You and You then sent us rain; now we use our Prophet's uncle as a means(Waseela)to You.

Hazrat Umar's asking through Hazrat Abbas does not prove that Waseela of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is prohibited.

اللهم إنه لم ينزل بلاء إلا بذنب , ولم يكشف إلا بتوبة , وقد توجه القوم بي إليك لمكاني من نبيك

O Allah, calamity (and trouble) comes as a result of sin and only penitence lifts this calamity, and the people, because of my relation with Your Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), have offered me to You as a means of seeking Your help, and these hands of ours, besmeared in sins, are before You and our foreheads are bowed down with penitence. So give us rain

►Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalānī narrated it in Fath-ul-bārī (2:497)
► Subkī, Shifā’-us-siqām fī ziyārat khayr-il-anām (p.128)
►Qastallānī, al-Mawāhib-ul-laduniyyah (4:277)
►Zurqānī in his Commentary (11:152)

Why Al Abbas (RA) was asked to do Dua?

 Imam Ibn Hajar Asqalani (Rah):

إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يرى للعباس ما يرى الولد للوالد , فاقتدوا أيها الناس برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في عمه العباس واتخذوه وسيلة إلى الله
Rasul Ullah(salallaho alaihi wasalam) used to take Al-Abbas(RA)like a son takes his father. O People You should also follow the Prophet (s) incase of Al-Abbas(RA) and make him an Intercessor to Allah.
[Fath al Bari 2:497]

Ibn Hajar `Asqalani writes more about this Tawasul of Ibn e Abbas (ra)
 "The episode involving `Abbâs makes it clear that to seek intercession from the virtuous, the pious and members of the Prophet's family is a desirable act.In addition, this event proves the high status of `Abbâs as well as reveals `Umar's respect for him and the acknowledgement of his status."

►Ibn Hajar `Asqalânî, Fath-ul-bârî, 2:497;
►Zurqânî, Sharh-ul-Mawâhib, 11:152

Imam Suyuti (rah)
"In the year 17 `Umar enlarged the Prophetic mosque. That year there was a drought in the Hijaz. It was named the Year of Cinders (`am al-ramada). `Umar prayed for rain for the people by means of al-`Abbas. Ibn Sa`d narrated from [the Sahabi] Niyar al-Aslami that when`Umar came came out to pray for rain, he came out wearing the cloaks (burd) of the Messenger of Allah, upon him blessings and peace.
Al-Suyuti mentions the context of this event in his Tarikh al-Khulafa' (Beirut, 1992 Ahmad Fares ed. p. 140)]

Intercession through this cloak , Even Hadrat Umar (RA) was wearing Prophet's (salehalawaalihi wasalam) cloak at the time, , Now what is importance of the cloak?
"...Here is the cloak of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and she brought out to me that cloak made of Persian cloth with a hem of brocade, and its sleeves bordered with brocade and said: This wall Allah's Messenger's cloak with 'A'isha until she died, and when she died. I got possession of it. The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) used to wear that, and we washed it for the sick and sought cure thereby. Sahih Muslim Book 024, Number 5149