Juhud A'immat al-Da'wa al-Salafiyya bi-Najd fi al-Tasaddi lil-'Unf wal-Irhab
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Juhud A'immat al-Da'wa al-Salafiyya bi-Najd fi al-Tasaddi lil-'Unf wal-Irhab min Khilal al-Da'wa ila Fiqh Inkar al-Munkar ("Efforts of the Imams of the Salafi Da'wa in Najd in Countering Violence and Terrorism Through Promoting the Jurisprudence of Denouncing Wrong") is a scholarly study by Salih bin Abdullah al-Furayh on the doctrinal and jurisprudential principles governing the duty of forbidding wrong and how the historical scholars of the Najdi reform movement addressed extremism and violence.
Purpose and Methodology
The author prepared the study as an assistant professor in the Department of Da'wa and Islamic Culture at Umm al-Qura University and member of the Saudi Scientific Society for Da'wah Studies. The stated purpose is to clarify the position of the Najdi scholars regarding extremism, violence, and terrorism, and to respond to claims attributing contemporary radicalism or violence to the movement initiated by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.
Methodologically, the work employs an analytical and deductive approach (al-manhaj al-tahlili al-istinbati). It collects and analyzes primary texts directly from the letters, treatises, and legal rulings (fatwas) written by the scholars and leaders of Najd—relying on primary source compilations such as al-Durar al-Saniyya fi al-Ajwiba al-Najdiyya and Majmu'at al-Rasa'il wal-Masa'il al-Najdiyya—rather than secondary accounts.
Structure and Content
The book consists of an introduction, a historical preface, two main analytical chapters (mabhath), each subdivided into three sections (matlab), and a conclusion:
- Preface: Provides a historical background on the emergence of the Najdi reform movement in Huraymila and al-Uyayna, its establishment through the 1157 AH alliance in Dir'iyya between Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and Muhammad ibn Saud, and the lineage of scholars and rulers across the successive phases of the Saudi state.
- Chapter One (Fiqh ma qabl al-inkar): Explores the requirements prior to denouncing wrong:
- The reality of the wrongdoer: Clarifies that sin does not expel a Muslim from Islam, warns against unjustified excommunication (takfir) as the practice of the Kharijites (al-Haruriyya), and emphasizes judging people by outward actions while leaving inward states to God.
- Verification and avoiding haste: Emphasizes confirming that the alleged wrong actually took place before reacting to rumors, and ensuring through religious knowledge that the action is genuinely prohibited.
- Knowledge: Highlights religious ignorance as a primary root of extremism and an obstacle to sound rectification.
- Chapter Two (Fiqh ma yajib hal al-inkar): Examines the rules governing the execution of correction:
- Correction leading to greater harm: Discusses balancing benefits and harms (al-masalih wal-mafasid) and applying the legal maxim that warding off harms takes precedence over securing benefits.
- The method of denouncing: Highlights gentleness and kindness as the default rule in da'wa, while restricting social boycotting (al-hajr) to cases where it serves a clear disciplinary benefit.
- Correcting rulers: Addresses the protocol of advising governing authorities, prohibiting defamation, publicly attacking rulers, or tracking their faults to incite discord.
- Conclusion: Summarizes the core findings, concluding that the scholars of Najd consistently promoted gentleness, prioritized the mitigation of harm over perceived benefits, and explicitly rejected violent methods, terrorism, and extremist interpretations in their reformist efforts.
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