Mouood Mouood English Edition
8. He starts off by saying: Mohammad ben Abdul Wahhab was a reformer not a prophet!
He then clarifies: ‘We are situated in the middle of two extremist groups; some regard him as an infidel, and others treat his sayings and speeches as prophetic phrases which no one can censure; both are mistaken.
9. In another part of his speech he says, “The Sheikh was not unique in speaking or summoning” he suggests: “Some followers of the Sheikh reckon him as unique in knowledge and erudition, and condemn all the Islamic countries who did not accept the call of Wahhabism as territories of infidelity and polytheism, and furthermore, reckon all the scholars in those countries to be ignorant individuals who know nothing of Islam!!” 25
He then adds: “Unfortunately, I found the origins of ex-communicating Muslims and the basis for regarding their countries as the countries of infidelity and all their scholars as infidels, in the words of Sheikh himself, and I will shortly mention the sources for that.”
He then asserts: “Certainly, the Sheikh and his adherents have not pursued the right path in this doctrine. Some of the mistakes that the Sheikh and a number of his followers committed, especially with regard to the ex-communication of Muslims, entrapped many admirers of knowledge – either due to extremism or imitation – and as a result many abrasive acts were recently carried out, (in different parts of the world) and a group, by exploiting the same reasoning used by the Sheikh created terrifying events (and embarked upon horrendous killings and still does so!)”
10. Mentioning the blunders of the Sheikh by any scholar in the Saudi kingdom inevitably resulted in indignity and disgrace. Thus criticising these beliefs became an imperative duty and made me enter this discussion.
It is obligatory for every scholar and every citizen in the country (of Saudi Arabia) to do what they can to liberate us from these aggressions and ex-communications, and abstain from promoting what will only harm our country and people in the long-term, although (some might think) it might have short-term benefits. We must cleanse our country and our religion from the filth of oppressive ex-communication and the shedding of innocent blood.
At this moment in time, there is not one day that we don’t receive atrocious news of horrendous aggressions committed in Iraq. Every day tens, and at times, even hundreds of people are hunted down through car bombings, and in most cases you notice suicidal motives behind these operations which reveals that it is the job of those who regard themselves as Muslims and the rest as infidels whose life and wealth are permissible to them.
This is the end product of the teachings of the school of the Sheikh who migrated from the Hejaz to Jordan and from there to Iraq. In his footnotes at some stage in this chapter the author proposes that the Westerners, especially the Americans, through destructive political, martial and economic policies and multi –lateral aids to the tyrant Israel, have been the originators of these oppressions. In another section of his sayings he goes on to explain where this unruly ex-communication, which is causing chaos, even inside Saudi Arabia, has originated from?! And finally he arrives at the conclusion that the teachings of the Sheikh and his school of thought are the main causes of these aggressions.
All that violence; ranging from the aggressions by the Ikhwan group in the Najd region and thereafter in the sacred city of Mecca, to other aggressive operations and bombings elsewhere in different regions of Saudi Arabia, are the products of the Sheikh’s teachings.
He then adds: “Since those who created these aggressions and bombings, are not foreigners who have migrated to the Hejaz from other countries, if we claim they have all received aspirations from the Sheikh’s culture and teachings, we are not far from the truth, and if one refers to their statements one would surely confess to this fact.”
A Summary Of The Book “A Missionary Not A Prophet”
Hasan Ibn Farhan Maleki, in his book, “A Missionary, not a Prophet!” is mainly concerned with criticising the sayings and beliefs of the leader of the Wahhabis on the issue of ex-communication of Muslims and declaring those who have rejected their sayings, as polytheists and infidels.
In the first chapter he sets off criticising the book “Kashf ul-Shubahat” in a very lucid manner.
In the second chapter he criticisies his other books on the issues of Tawheed and Polytheism.
In the third chapter he goes on to the most important issue of ex-communicating the Muslims. He then reveals a great piece of his contradictions in a scientific manner.
In the fourth chapter he discusses whether his followers followed him in excommunicating Muslims with ears and eyes shut, or did they engage in criticising the Sheikh’s thoughts?
And finally in the fifth chapter he criticizing the ideas of those opposing the Sheikh and separates the extremists from the moderates and aligns himself with the moderates.
And amazingly he states at the end: “The summary of the discussions is that the Sheikh has gone the wrong way on the issue of ex-communication. Confessing this matter, in the face of the reasons that we possess, is an easy task for the fair-minded. Neither is Islam destroyed by this confession nor does the sun rise from the West, (its just that a fallible human commited a mistake).” 26
This criticism will certainly purify this creed from the horrendous and inhuman aggressions they have been committing in the name of Islam. The least that will happen is that it will settle the moderate Wahhbis in place of the extremist Wahhabis.
The First Chapter: A Critique Of “Kashf Ul-Shubahat”
Kashf ul-Shubahat stands amongst the most popular books by the Sheikh. Ibn Farhan finds thirty three significant objections to it and criticizes them, especially those regarding the issue of ex-communication. He expresses his amazement as to how the Wahhabi scholars disregard all these huge mistakes voiced by the Sheikh and pass by it so easily.
He then adds: ‘If only some of them had questioned just a few of his mistakes, I wouldn’t have seen the necessity for writing this book, but what should I do when everybody kept quiet’.
