Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab and Sufism

 

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

وعلى آلك واصحابك يا سيدي يا نور الله

فداك ابي وامي يا رسول الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Modern-day Salafis often claim that Sufism is a heretical innovation that has no place in Islam. From this side it is generally assumed that Wahhabism, the movement of Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab of the Najd, is violently opposed to Sufism. Yet this is far from true, as Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab himself said:

أن الله سبحانه وتعالى بعث محمدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم بالهدى الذي هو العلم النافع ودين الحق الذي هو العمل الصالح إذا كان من ينتسب إلى الدين منهم من يتعانى بالعلم والفقه ويقول به كالفقهاء ومنهم من يتعانى العبادة وطلب الآخرة كالصوفية فبعث الله نبيه بهذا الدين الجامع

Allah, Holy and Exalted is He, sent Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with guidance, which is beneficial knowledge, and the religion of truth, which is righteous deeds. When those who attribute themselves to the religion include those who are devoted to knowledge and jurisprudence and speak about it, such as the jurists, and those who are devoted to worship and seeking the afterlife, such as the Sufis, then Allah sent His Prophet with this comprehensive religion (Fatawa wa Masa’il, p.31)