Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab

Who is Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab?

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab was an eighteenth-century Islamic scholar, theologian, and reformer born in the town of Uyayna in the Najd region of central Arabia. Trained in Islamic jurisprudence and theology, he traveled to study in Mecca, Medina, Basra, and other centers of learning before returning to Najd to preach a strict return to what he considered the pure monotheism of early Islam, condemning practices he viewed as innovations or idolatry. His teachings, later associated with the movement often called Wahhabism, emphasized tawhid, the absolute oneness of God. In 1744 he formed a historic pact with the local ruler Muhammad bin Saud in Diriyah, uniting religious authority with political power and laying the ideological foundation for the successive Saudi states. His best-known work is 'Kitab al-Tawhid' (The Book of Monotheism), which remains widely studied.

Sources: Natana J. DeLong-Bas, 'Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad' (2004) · Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, 'Kitab al-Tawhid' (18th century)