Arabic Heritage 4 PDF Reformers of the 18th Century

Reformers of the 18th century The reformers of the 18th century included: Muhammad Ibn Abd alWahhab, of Arabia (1703-1787), Shah Wali Allah, of India (1703-1762), 'Uthman Ibn Fuidi, of west Africa (1754-1817), and the north African scholar Muhammad Ali al-Sanusi (1787- 1859) Though all sought to ref...

Reformers of the 18th century The reformers of the 18th century included: Muhammad Ibn Abd alWahhab, of Arabia (1703-1787), Shah Wali Allah, of India (1703-1762), 'Uthman Ibn Fuidi, of west Africa (1754-1817), and the north African scholar Muhammad Ali al-Sanusi (1787- 1859) Though all sought to reform different aspects of religious life they widely differed in their concerns and their methods. Wahhabism: The reformers The movement is named after Muhammad b. Abd alWahhab, an 18th century reformer who became famous for attacking ‘the blind acceptance of authority in religious matters. He was born in Najd to a family of Hanbali qadis. The alliance between Muhammad b. Sa’ud and Muhammad b. Abd al-Wahhab lead to the foundation of the first Saudi state. Wahhabism: M. bin Abdel Wahab He underlines the doctrine of tawḥīd. He states that the true Islam is that of the first generations (alSalaf al-Ṣāliḥ) and protests against all later innovations. He opposed the earlier ‘ulama’ for lack of independent thinking. By cutting a sacred tree that was visited by local community and the destruction of a monument over the tomb of one of the companions of the prophet, Muhammad b. 'abd al-Wahhab sought to demonstrate his point of adherence to tawhid (the doctrine of God's oneness). By stoning the adulteress he sought to demonstrate his adherence to shari’a. Wahhabism and politics The 18th century reformers, including Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, were not revolutionary and their purpose was not political. They did not seek to overthrow any governments or to replace any political power with another. They wished for Islam to be reflected in the political system and for the system to support Islam in both private and public life. And so, the reformers in turn supported the political rule and legitimized it. Examples of Wahhabi teachings The Wahhabis rejected all kinds of innovations, such as celebrating the Prophet’s birth, visiting the tombs of saints, introducing a name of a saint into a prayer, seeking intercession from any being but Allah, and more. They made attendance at public prayer obligatory, smoking of tobacco or shaving the beard or the use of abusive language punishable. They sought to cleanse the society from any foreign practices and adoptions and to create a system of ethics and morals based on the Sunna of the Prophet and with the Qurʾān and the Sharīʿa. Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Banna – the founder from Egypt The movement spread to different Arab countries Muslim Brotherhood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tis2SV-mHGs Please note that this topic is very controversial. This video is meant for discussion not as representing the truth necessarily as most of what you read or watch is ideologically/politically motivated.