Wahhabism

Origin of the term "Wahhabi"

The term "Wahhab" (Wahhābīya) refers to the movement's founder Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab. It is rarely used by members of this group today, although the Saudis did use it in the past.

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The Wahhabis claim to hold to the way of the "Salaf as-Salih", the 'rightly guided or pious predecessors' as earlier propagated mainly by Ibn Taimiyya, his students Ibn Al Qayyim and later by Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahab and his followers. The 1911 Encyclopedia holds that:

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The teaching of (abd)ul-Wahhab was founded on that of Ibn Taimiyya (1263-1328), who was of the school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal (q.v.). Copies of some of Ibn Taimiyya's works made by (abd)ul-Wahhab are now extant in Europe, and show a close study of the writer. Ibn Taimiyya, although a Hanbalite by training, refused to be bound by any of the four schools, and claimed the power of a mujtahid, i.e. of one who can give independent decisions. These decisions were based on the Koran, which, like Ibn Hazm (q.v.), he accepted in a literal sense.. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/W/WA/WAHHABIS.htm Ibn Taymiyyah however did admit that he mainly followed the methods of the Hanbali school to arrive at his decisions, and at times described himself as Hanbali.

Related Topics:
Ibn Taimiyya - Ahmad ibn Hanbal - Hanbalite - Mujtahid - Hanbali

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The term is considered offensive by some members who prefer to call themselves al-Muwahhidun (the monotheists) or the movement Salafism.

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