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A critical analysis of Mohammed bin Abdulwahab's book 'Kitab al-Tawhid': Weak traditions and invented stories in a book of faith

By Sh. Muhannad Yusuf

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A critical analysis of Mohammed bin Abdulwahab's book 'Kitab al-Tawhid': Weak traditions and invented stories in a book of faith

A critical analysis of Mohammed bin Abdulwahab's book 'Kitab al-Tawhid': Weak traditions and invented stories in a book of faith

A critical analysis of Mohammed bin Abdulwahab's book 'Kitab al-Tawhid': Weak traditions and invented stories in a book of faith

To prove this, let's take an example from a book by Mohammed bin Abdulwahab. A person's language is an indicator of his intellect, and what he writes is the result of his thinking. The book in question, 'Kitab al-Tawhid', which means the servant's obligation to Allah, was written by Muhammad bin Abdulwahab and is especially revered by his followers. They sanctify it and distribute it free of charge. It is a small book in which there are no innovative ideas that would justify such attention.

I doubt that you can imagine that a book with such a title contains weak traditions, since it is a book of faith. Books of faith should be free of weak traditions. It not only relies on weak traditions but also contains fabricated stories on matters of faith. It creates many illusions and adds traditions to which false sources are attributed.

Here are some examples:
In the chapter 'When he brought good to both and they regarded it as partners' he mentions a story that questions the innocence of Adam and Eve (Hawwa) and associates them with polytheism.

This story is fabricated and is said to have been narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim. It is common knowledge that even novice Sharia students know that this story is worthless. The author tells the story that Adam and Hawwa were deceived and Hawwa became pregnant. Then Iblis came to them and said, 'I am your companion who brought you out of Paradise. Obey me, or I will grow horns from your belly and split it.
But they refused to obey him and the child was stillborn. Hawwa became pregnant again, and again Iblis came and said the same thing, but again they refused. Finally they were filled with love for the child and named him Abdul-Harith. This is the meaning of 'They made him a partner in what was given to them both'.

Ibn Kathir says in his Tafsir: "These reports are from the Ahl al-Kitab!" Ibn Hazm says in his book "Al-Fisal fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwaa wa al-Nihaal": "The story that Adam called his son Abdul-Harith is a fabricated lie... The tradition is not authentic, and the verse was apparently sent down to the polytheists in its literal meaning." Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Volume 2, page 287.

It is noteworthy that Ibn Abdulwahab is a self-satisfied scholar who considers himself a connoisseur. This was imparted to him both by his nature and by his Orientalist teachers. They wanted him to become a tool to defame Islam and deter Muslims from their jihad against the colonialists by using his limited and twisted jurisprudence and the jurisprudence of the people of Najd. In this way, Muslims become preoccupied with internal affairs and replace the pinnacle of Islamic commitment with the pretext of polytheism, grave worship and fighting against it, even though the noble Prophet peace and blessings upon him clearly stipulated that the devil is desperate for Muslims to worship him and that polytheism must not be accepted by the prophets or anyone else.

They are all acquitted of it, as the Ummah has unanimously stated. The scholars have rejected the story, as the venerable Imam Al-Qurtubi says in his Tafsir: 'Whoever relies on it has no heart'. Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Quran, Tafsir Surah Al-A'raf, verse 190. But I don't think Ibn Abdulwahab found time to read this!

How can such a booklet, which contains such a shameful error, be called a "book of monotheism"?

This story is a fabricated lie in this book of faith! It is amazing that the descendants of Ibn Abdulwahab and his defenders stick to his father, although the author Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Al-Sheikh, who wrote the book "Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid", has already come across the statement of Ibn Kathir, as mentioned above, and explained the weakness of the tradition with three reasons. However, after all this, Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Al-Sheikh says: "This is very unlikely" without any proof! He agrees that the prophets are associated with polytheism and rejects the scholars' statements without any proof to protect his grandfather from the mistake!

It should be noted that what was narrated by Al-Tirmidhi (3077), Ahmad (5/11), Al-Hakim (2/545), Al-Tabari (15513) and Al-Dhahabi (5308) that Hasan narrated from Samarrah is a weak narration which is rejected by Al-Dhahabi in Al-Mizan. Hasan is one of the narrators of hadith, but his narrations were falsified. He only heard the tradition about the Aqeeqah, and that is the opinion of the majority. There are authentic narrations from him that are not related to this issue, both in the tafsir of the verse and with Omar bin Ibrahim Al-Basri, about whom Ibn Adi said: "He narrated from Qatada, which is not acceptable." Ahmad said: "There are mistakes in his reports."

In the book "Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid" there is also an admiration for the thinking of the Jews in their beliefs, as the Jewish Rabbi says: "O Muhammad, we believe that Allah sets the heavens on one finger... etc.". Referring to this statement, the Sheikh says: "This knowledge has been preserved to this day among the Jews, who neither denied nor interpreted it allegorically at the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him)." So in his view, the Prophet Muhammad neither commands the Jews to refute nor believe them! Consider this amazingly stupid logic. - Fath al-Majeed Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid - page 454.

Is it not strange that someone who mocks the prophets with polytheism later mocks the scholars, as Muhammad bin Abdulwahab did in his booklet with Sheikh Al-Busiri in the chapter 'What Allah wills and you will'? For in his great Qasida (poem) Al-Burdah, he addresses the venerable Prophet and says: 'O Master of Creation, I have no one but you to seek refuge in...'.

If the Sheikh was a faqih, he would know that this is not polytheism, except in the twisted jurisprudence of the Kharijites in Najd. It is proven by authentic traditions that people will flock to the prophets on the Day of Judgment to intercede for them. The prophets, in turn, will rush to the Noble Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and they will be told: 'Please intercede and your intercession will be granted'. Most hadith scholars have narrated this from a number of Sahaba. Can Sheikh Al-Busiri, the scholar who wrote the Qasida, be considered a polytheist when he says that he can only seek refuge in the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on the Day of Judgement?

So it is a wrong judgment to assume polytheism against a Muslim scholar in this book of faith! Based on such false traditions, Ibn Abdulwahab uses this as a basis to allow the blood of Muslims. In this book, he has written a whole chapter titled 'Some people in this Ummah worship idols' to use this as justification for bloodshed among Muslims.

It should be noted that some of Ibn Abdulwahab's newly published works have undergone numerous changes by editors and revisers.