Muhammad bin Ali bin Gharib
- Died
- 1209 AH
- Born in
- -
Muhammad bin Ali bin Gharib (d. 1209 AH / 1795 CE) was a Najdi scholar based in Diriyah, known for his theological polemic al-Tawdih an Tawhid al-Khallaq fi Jawab Ahl al-Iraq written in defense of the Wahhabi reform movement.
Scholarly Career and Teachings
Ibn Gharib studied under Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and subsequently married his daughter following the death of her husband, Hamad ibn Ibrahim ibn Musharraf, who had served as the judge of Marat. He taught several prominent scholars of Diriyah, including Sulayman ibn Abd Allah, Hamad ibn Nasir Al Muammar, Abd al-Aziz ibn Hamad ibn Musharraf, and Abd al-Aziz ibn Hamad ibn Mu'ammar. Ibn Humayd noted that he was widely esteemed for his polemical treatises answering objections and theological queries sent to the scholars of Najd from Baghdad.
His primary treatise, al-Tawdih 'an Tawhid al-Khallaq fi Jawab Ahl al-Iraq ("Clarification Concerning the Monotheism of the Creator in Answering the People of Iraq"), was written to refute the objections of the Iraqi scholar Abd Allah al-Rawi (also referred to as Abd Allah Afandi al-Baghdadi), who had challenged the Najdi doctrine after Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's letters reached the Ottoman governor Sulayman Pasha the Great. Although later biographical compilations occasionally misattributed the work to Sulayman ibn Abd Allah or noted collaborative additions by Hamad ibn Mu'ammar and Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, regional historians affirm Ibn Gharib's principal authorship.
Controversy and Death
Following the death of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, accusations arose against Ibn Gharib. According to the historian Ibn Bassam, non-local residents in Diriyah denounced him to the ruler, Imam Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad, claiming that his inward beliefs concerning the reform doctrine diverged from what he publicly professed.
As a consequence of these allegations, Ibn Gharib was executed in Diriyah in 1209 AH (1795 CE). The chronicler Ibn Bishr dated the execution to the month of Rabi' in 1208 AH (1794 CE), noting concisely that he was put to death "due to matters said about him."
Answer updated
List of Works
Al-Tawdih an Tawhid al-Khallaq fi Jawab Ahl al-Iraq (Clarification Concerning the Monotheism of the Creator in Answering the People of Iraq) is a Sunni theological treatise composed in the late 12th century AH. It serves as a defense of the Wahhabi reform movement and its conception of monotheism (tawhid), responding to theological objections raised by Iraqi scholars.