The Wahhabi doctrine is a Sunni doctrine named after the reformer Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–1792). Wahhabis themselves do not use the term “Wahhabi,” only the Ottomans and then Westerners do. They call themselves the muwahhidun (the monotheists) because they defend tawhid (the unity of God). It is a religious movement that has become state-driven. So what are the origins of Wahhabism, and why such proximity to the Saudi regime? Was Wahhabism the first of modern reforms in Islam?
Al-Wahhab: A Neo-Hanbalite Salafist
Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was born in 1703 in Najd, Arabia, to a Hanbali qadi (judge) (one of the four Sunni schools). He studied in Medina with Muhammad Hayya al-Sindi (a member of the Naqshbandiyya Sufi order), who taught Hadiths (narrations recounting the words and actions of the Prophet, forming the Sunnah or Tradition) and was influenced by Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328). During his numerous travels, al-Wahhab often targeted Shia Muslims, and he was in Egypt in 1739 to write his major work, Kitab al-Tawhid (Treatise on the Oneness of God). He was forced to flee Egypt and allied himself with the Saud family in Arabia in 1744.
The doctrine has a Salafist dimension, taking examples from the Salafs or pious ancestors. It is a scriptural fundamentalism (based on the writings of the Quran and the Sunnah); it emphasizes ijtihad (independent reasoning) and opposes taqlid (blind adherence to tradition). Thus, they seek to return to the texts for interpretation by rejecting commentaries; they are therefore fundamentalists and not traditionalists. It is a type of literalist interpretation that emphasizes tawhid, the Oneness of God, particularly in worship; hence, it opposes pre-Islamic practices, the veneration of saints, the veneration of Shia imams, the veneration of the Prophet, and submission to temporal authorities. Al-Wahhab issued takfir (excommunication) against “false” Muslims.
—> Wahhabism emphasizes the strict adherence to Tawhid (monotheism), rejection of innovations (Bid’ah) in religious practices, and a literal interpretation of Islamic texts. It also promotes the implementation of Islamic law (Sharia) in all aspects of life.
The Saudi “Wahhabi” Conquests
The Saudi oasis was affluent until the mid-18th-century caravan crisis. Subsequently, they embarked on conquest and decided to instrumentalize jihad through the doctrine of al-Wahhab (died in 1792). This “Wahhabi jihad” also aimed to regulate internal violence, with blood prices paid by material compensation and the use of Sharia to combat customs (‘urf) and strive for social unification. Finally, they aspired to moral asceticism. The Saudis managed to subdue the Gulf emirates, and in 1801, they ravaged the city of Kerbala, symbolically significant as a Shiite center, which was intolerable for these unitarians. In 1803, they captured Mecca, lost control temporarily, and then reinstated themselves in 1806.
The Wahhabi threat was taken very seriously in the Middle East, from raids in Iraq against Shiites to the attack on Syria in 1793. In 1810, the “Wahhabis” attempted to pressure the governor of Damascus through a letter demanding the rejection of “idolatry.” However, scholars in Syria vehemently rejected Wahhabism. The threat was significant for the Ottomans, both doctrinally, politically, and economically. The Saudi Wahhabis openly opposed the power of the Porte and its religious and political legitimacy, and the capture of the Holy Sites posed a real challenge to the sultan.
However, the Porte struggled to mobilize the Arab provinces and had to rely on the ambitions of individuals. This was evident with Mehmet Ali (or Muhammad Ali, or even Mehmet Ali), who, of Albanian origin, established himself in Egypt. He capitalized on the difficulties faced by the sultans and the local government to become the wali of Egypt, initiating deep reforms starting in 1805. In 1811, the sultan tasked him with waging war against the Saudi Wahhabis. Mehmet Ali sent the Egyptian army, under the command of his son Ibrahim Pasha, realizing how advantageous it might be for him if this expedition was successful. The campaign lasted nearly seven years, culminating in the fall of the Saudi capital, al-Diriyah. The head of the Saudi family was sent to Sultan Mahmud II, who had him beheaded and his body displayed in Istanbul.
The Revenge of the Saudi
The Sa’oud family won’t perish if Mehmet Ali eliminates the Wahhabi threat and reassures the Porte. It regrouped in its new capital, Riyadh, and rebuilt despite revolts from rivals supported by the Ottomans. The Sauds reconquered Nedjd between 1902 and 1912, then Hedjaz by retaking Mecca in 1924, at the expense of the Hashemites, despite British threats. The following year, Medina fell into the hands of the Wahhabis. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk dissolved the caliphate in the interim.
Ibn Saud proclaims himself king while remaining the Sultan of Nedjd. However, he wants to present himself as the savior of the ummah and reassure Muslims about the nature of Wahhabism. Indeed, in the Arabian Peninsula, Wahhabis violently fought what they considered heresies, such as Sufism and obviously Shiism, which did not please the Muslim world, especially in Egypt. Ibn Sa’oud then decided to show his goodwill while asserting his power (he still holds the Holy Places) and convened a Muslim congress in 1926.
While he fails to proclaim himself caliph, an objective he is accused of but does not explicitly mention, he succeeds in legitimizing Wahhabism with the support of reformers like Rachid Rida. In 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was officially created and solidified its power not only through its possession of the Holy Places but also through the discovery of oil in its subsoil.
Wahhabism, on the other hand, is supposed to be the official religious doctrine of the Saudi regime, even today. It is said to have influenced the Salafist reformers of the 19th century, such as El-Afghani or Mohammed Abduh, and especially Rachid Rida, then the creator of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna. However, the reality and evolution of reform movements in Islam in the contemporary period are somewhat more complex.