Description
Book SynopsisMuhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792) aroused great controversy in his lifetime. More than two centuries after his death he still elicits strong views. For some he is the model of a pious religious activist who fought to establish a regime of Islamic godliness in the least promising of environments. For others, especially Muslims associated with mystic orders or who belong to the Shi‘i branch of Islam, he is a hate figure. Few would contest that he shaped the Muslim world.
For over two hundred and fifty years the Wahhabi religious movement has rested on the twin pillars of a clear, compelling credo and an indissoluble alliance with temporal power in Arabia. Absolutist, uncompromising theology and political and religious ambition combined to make it the dominant force there, turning its champions, the Al Sa‘ud clan, from petty rulers of a middle-sized settlement with a talent for balancing interests, into the guardians of Islam’s Holy Places, disposing of the earth’s greatest identified oil reserves. This thought-provoking and incisive biography, which charts the relationship between religious doctrine, political power and events on the ground, is ideal for readers interested in uncovering the life and convictions of the man who founded the Wahhabi movement and a dynastic alliance between his clerical descendants and Saudi princes that has lasted to the present day.
Trade Review‘Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab used to be one of the most misunderstood Muslim clerics, and it is thanks to Michael Crawford’s thorough and convincing arguments that we ought to see him in a different light… For a short book like this, it contains a surprising variety of historical and theological angles on the man, his time, influence and legacy reflecting on his core doctrines as well as his reception in present time.’
* Dr Sebastian Maisel,
Der Islam *
‘A timely contribution…provides a careful examination of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb that has the merit of being both useful to students and intriguing to specialists. Let it be clear that Crawford did not write a mere synthesis of the existing literature. For all its readability, the book is grounded in primary sources and frequently sheds light on issues that previous studies either ignored or treated unsatisfactorily… Crawford does a great service to the field by providing a fine-grained yet concise and accessible analysis of Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb and his impact on Arabian history. His book is bound to become the standard introductory text on the subject.’
* Henri Lauzière, Northwestern University,
Journal of Near Eastern Studies *
‘Timely and authoritative‘
* Journal of Arabian Studies *
'Michael Crawford has described with clarity a complex theology and the intricate story of its alliance with a temporal power. The author and Oneworld Publications deserve our thanks.'
* Asian Affairs Journal *
Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION
1 THE WAHHABI PHENOMENON
Contested Origins
Divisive Sect or New Orthodoxy?
Backward-Looking or Ahead of Its Time?
Religious Universalism and Political Particularism
Sources of a Controversial History
2 AGITATOR FOR GOD
Scion of a Small Town Culture
Regional Travel and Early Influences
Response to an Ecumenical Challenge?
Narrow Window on the Wider Islamic World
Relaunching the Campaign for Godliness
The al-‘Uyayna Years
3 GUIDE OF THE COMMUNITY
Alliance with the Al Sa‘ud of al-Dir‘iyya
Overturning the Status Quo
The Battle for Najd
Later Career
Personality
4 CHAMPION OF TRUE BELIEF
Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab’s Writings
Assertion of Orthodoxy
Oneness of God
Tawhid in Action
Friends, Enemies, and the Fifth Column
A Community Apart
5 IDEOLOGUE OF STRUGGLE
Excommunication (Takfir)
Secondary Takfir and Emigration (Hijra)
Jihad
6 SCOURGE OF POLYTHEISTS
Sunni Clerical Opponents
The Bedouin
Customary Law
Takfir of the Bedouin
Tribalism and the Bedouin
Holy Men, Cults, and Sufis
The Shi‘a
7 THE REGIME OF GODLINESS AND THE POLITICAL ORDER
Explaining the Genesis of Wahhabism
Social and Economic Trends
State Formation and the Regime of Godliness
Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong
Government and the Political Order
Obedience to the Ruler
Princes and Clerics
Imamate
Administration of Justice
Social Justice
Conclusion
8 WAHHABISM, SAUDI STATES, AND FOREIGN POWERS
Saudi Expansion and Conquest of the Holy Cities
Spreading the Word
Destruction of al-Dir‘iyya
Wahhabi View of the Ottomans
Saudis and Christian Powers
The Second Saudi State’s Uneven Career
Civil War and Collapse of the Second Saudi State
Restoration and Renewal
The Ikhwan and Internal Dissidence
Senior Clerics Become Officials
The Nasserist Challenge and the Saudi Bid for Islamic Leadership
9 WAHHABISM AND RELIGIOUS RADICALISM IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Trauma of Juhayman
The “Awakening”
Jihadism
10 IBN ‘ABD AL-WAHHAB’S LEGACY
Bibliography
Further Reading
Index
