Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
- Died
- 1242 AH
- Born in
- Diriyah
Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1165–1242 AH / 1752–1826 CE) was a Hanbali jurist, judge, and scholar from al-Dir'iyya who served as the chief judicial and religious authority of the First Saudi State .
Early Life and Education
Abd Allah was born in al-Dir'iyya in 1165 AH (1752 CE) into a scholarly family and was raised under the guidance of his father, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab . He memorized the Quran in his youth and studied Islamic jurisprudence across the legal schools, the principles of jurisprudence, Quranic exegesis, hadith, creed, and Arabic grammar under his father . He also studied under Hamad ibn Mu'ammar and traveled to Mecca and Medina, where he studied hadith and linguistic sciences with resident scholars before returning to al-Dir'iyya .
Judicial Career and Scholarly Activity
Following his father's death, Abd Allah succeeded him as the foremost scholarly and legal authority in Najd, assisting the rulers of the First Saudi State . He served as the primary reference for judges and functioned as chief judge and mufti throughout the reigns of Imam Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Saud, Imam Saud ibn Abd al-Aziz, and Imam Abd Allah ibn Saud . When Amir Saud entered Mecca in 1218 AH, Abd Allah accompanied him and authored an explanatory treatise delineating their doctrinal positions and responding to theological objections .
Among his writings, he authored al-Kalimat al-Nafia fi al-Mukaffirat al-Waqia ("Beneficial Words Concerning Actions of Apostasy") on legal determinations of disbelief, as well as Jawab Ahl al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fi Naqd Kalam al-Shia wa al-Zaydiyya ("The Response of the People of the Prophetic Sunna in Refuting the Discourse of the Shia and Zaydiyya") . He also composed an abridgment of the prophetic biography, Mukhtasar al-Sira al-Nabawiyya .
Numerous scholars of Najd studied under him, including his sons Sulayman, Abd al-Rahman, and Ali, as well as his nephews Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan and Ali ibn Husayn, and the jurists Muhammad ibn Sultan and Abd al-Aziz ibn Hamad .
Fall of al-Dir'iyya and Death
During the siege of al-Dir'iyya by the Ottoman-Egyptian forces under Ibrahim Pasha in 1233 AH (1818 CE), Abd Allah took part in the town's defense, fighting at the Bujayri Gate . Following the fall of al-Dir'iyya, Ibrahim Pasha arrested him along with other members of the family and sent them in exile to Cairo, Egypt .
Abd Allah remained in Cairo until his death in 1242 AH (1826 CE), though another report dates his death to 1244 AH .
Answer updated
List of Works
Jawab Ahl al-Sunna al-Nabawiyya fi Naqd Kalam al-Shia wa al-Zaydiyya ("The Response of the People of the Prophetic Sunna in Refuting the Discourse of the Shia and the Zaydiyya") is a theological and polemical treatise. Composed to counter objections raised by contemporary Zaydi scholars against the Najdi reform movement, it is published as part of the fourth volume of al-Rasa'il wa al-Masa'il al-Najdiyya.
al-Kalimat al-Nafia fi al-Mukaffirat al-Waqia is a treatise on creed and legal rulings concerning apostasy. The book compiles legal rulings and doctrinal statements from jurists across the four Sunni legal schools to define words and actions that nullify a Muslim's faith.