Sunnis, not Wahhabis!

Bismillah, Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, to Him belong the endowments and the befitting perfections and commendations. I ask Allah to raise the rank of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, and to protect his nation from that which he fears for it, Thereafter:

Dear brothers and sisters, know that the wahhabi sect that emerged some 250 years ago, do not follow the Salaf scholars as they claim. And the Salaf are the scholars within the first three hundred years after Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ^Alayhi Wa Sallam). Because wahhabis among the extreme blasphemous beliefs, is their claim that Allah is a large body sitting on the throne, and that He moves from one side to the other. And they also attribute to Allah the limbs and bodily parts, and that’s all declared as blasphemous kufur according to the rules of all scholars of Islam from Salaf and Khalaf.

Wahhabis hate to be called this name, even though they call themselves that in some of their books (See their book “Aqeedah of Muhammad bin Abdil-Wahhab” p105), and this name applied on them because they follow their deviant founder named Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhab who was refuted by the scholars of his time and other scholars of Ahlus-Sunnah such as the Grand Mufti of Makkah and the Imam of the Shafi^iys of his time Sheikh Ahmad bin Zayni Dahlan who authored a book named “Fitnatul-Wahhabiyah”, which proves that Sunni scholars refuted them and named them as the devious wahhabi faction.

Now to prove that wahhabis oppose Salaf is very simple. In their claim that Allah resides in the sky, and that He sits on the throne, we show the sayings of great scholars of Salaf who refuted such a claim.

Because the belief and creed of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, the Companions and the True Salaf and Khalaf, is that Allah existed eternally without a place. The proof of this precious statement is what Allah said in the Qur’an, in Surat ash-Shura, ayah 11 which means: “There is nothing like Him and He has the attribute of Hearing and Seeing.” This ayah absolutely and totally clears Allah of resembling the creation. It comprises that Allah, ta^ala, is different from the creations in the Self, Attributes, and Doings. Hence, it shows that Allah, ta^ala, exists without a place, because the one who exists in a place would, by nature, be composed of atoms, i.e., he would be a body, occupying a space, and Allah, ta^ala, is clear of occupying spaces.

Also, Imam Al-Bukhariyy, al-Bayhaqiyy and Ibn al­Jarud related that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said which means: “Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else.” This hadith proves that Allah was alone in al-‘azal, (the status of existence without a beginning,) i.e., before creating any of the creation. There was nothing with Him: no place, no space, no sky, no light, and no darkness. It is determined in the rules of the Religion and the judgments of the sound mind that Allah, the Exalted, does not change. Hence, it is impossible that after having been existing without a place, He would become in a place, because this is a development, and the development is a sign of needing others, and the one who needs others is not God.

Salafi Sayings Refuting Wahhabi Beliefs

And among the great scholars of Salaf who refuted such claims, is Imam Abu Hanifah, who is one of the authorities of as-Salaf. He said in his famous book Al-Fiqh al­Absat: “Allah existed eternally and there was no place. He existed before creating the creation. He existed, and there was no place, creation, or thing; and He is the Creator of everything.”

Imam Abu Hanifah also said in his book, al­Wasiyyah,: ” … and He is the Preserver of al­^arsh and other than al-^arsh, without needing it, for had He been in need, He would not have the power to create the world and to manage and preserve it. Moreover, had He been in a place needing to sit and rest­­before creating al-^arsh, where was Allah?” That is, the question ‘where was Allah’ would have applied to Him, which is impossible.

Also, in his book, Al-Fiqh al-Absat, Imam Abu Hanifah said: “Allah existed eternally and there was no place; He existed before creating the creation. He existed and there was not a place, a creation or a thing; and He is the Creator of everything. He who says ‘I do not know if my Lord is in the heavens or on the earth,’ is a kafir. Also is a kafir whoever says that ‘He is on al-^arsh, and I do not know whether al-^arsh is in the heaven or on the earth’.”

Imam Ahmad Ibn Salamah, Abu Ja^far at­Tahawiyy, who was born in the year 237 after Hijrah, and was one of the Heads of Great Salaf wrote a book called Al-^Aqidah at­Tahawiyyah. He mentioned that the content of his book is an elucidation of the creed of Ahl as­Sunnah wal Jama^ah, which is the creed of Imam Abu Hanifah, who died in the year 150 after al­Hijrah, and his two companions, Imam Abu Yusuf al-Qadi and Imam Muhammad Ibn al­Hasan ash-Shaybaniyy and others. He said in his book: “Allah is supremely clear of all boundaries, extremes, sides, organs and instruments. The six directions do not contain Him–these are attributed to all created things.” Such is the saying of Imam Abu Ja^far who is among the heads of as-Salaf. He explicitly stated that Allah is clear of being contained by the six directions. The six directions are above, below, in front of, behind, right, and left.

This is only a sample of the sayings of a couple of scholars among the heads of as-Salaf, which stands as a clear evident that wahhabis do not follow the Salaf. Thus we must clear the Name of Salaf from the misguidance of the devious wahhabi faction who clearly opposes the Salaf and the Majority of the Muslim nation, by being warned from them and warning people from their misguidance in compliance with the obligation of Ordering al-Ma^roof and forbidding al-Munkar.

Allah Knows best.