Ibn Abidin Shami: Wahhabis are Khawarij

 

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

Allama Ibn Abidin al-Shami رحمة الله عليه said concerning the Wahhabis:

مَطْلَبٌ فِي أَتْبَاعِ ‌عَبْدِ ‌الْوَهَّابِ الْخَوَارِجِ فِي زَمَانِنَا

The followers of [Muhammad, son of] Abd ul-Wahhab, the Khawarij in our time

كَمَا وَقَعَ فِي زَمَانِنَا فِي أَتْبَاعِ ‌عَبْدِ ‌الْوَهَّابِ الَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا مِنْ نَجْدٍ وَتَغَلَّبُوا عَلَى الْحَرَمَيْنِ وَكَانُوا يَنْتَحِلُونَ مَذْهَبَ الْحَنَابِلَةِ، لَكِنَّهُمْ اعْتَقَدُوا أَنَّهُمْ هُمْ الْمُسْلِمُونَ وَأَنَّ مَنْ خَالَفَ اعْتِقَادَهُمْ مُشْرِكُونَ، وَاسْتَبَاحُوا بِذَلِكَ قَتْلَ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَقَتْلَ عُلَمَائِهِمْ حَتَّى كَسَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى شَوْكَتَهُمْ وَخَرَّبَ بِلَادَهُمْ وَظَفِرَ بِهِمْ عَسَاكِرُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ عَامَ ثَلَاثٍ وَثَلَاثِينَ وَمِائَتَيْنِ وَأَلْفٍ

As happened in our time with the followers of [Muhammad, son of] Abd ul-Wahhab who came out from Najd and took control of the two sanctuaries and they used to claim the Hanbali school of thought, but they believed that they were the Muslims and that whoever disagreed with their belief was polytheist, and they permitted themselves by that to kill the people of the Sunnah and kill their scholars until Allah the Most High broke their power and destroyed their country, and the Muslim armies defeated them in the year 1233 H (Hashiyah Ibn Abidin, v.4 p.262)

And the Elders of Deoband concurred with this, as Khalil Ahmad Saharanpuri wrote, though clarified that although they are rebels takfir is not made of them (al-Muhannad alal-Mufannad, p.46)

The early Wahhabis did indeed manifest characteristics of the Khawarij and raised their sword against the Ummah, spilling the blood of Sunni Muslims in Arabia carelessly. Over time the bulk of them have moderated, while others morphed into more violent and bloodthirsty terrorists like Daesh.

I believe the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم prophesied concerning these Wahhabis and their Saudi benefactors when he said:

هُنَاكَ الزَّلاَزِلُ وَالْفِتَنُ، وَبِهَا يَطْلُعُ قَرْنُ الشَّيْطَانِ

From there [Najd] are quakes and tribulations, and from it dawns the Horn of Satan

يَخْرُجُ نَاسٌ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَشْرِقِ وَيَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ لاَ يُجَاوِزُ تَرَاقِيَهُمْ

A people will come out from the direction of the east, reciting the Quran but it will not go beyond their throats

سِيمَاهُمُ التَّحْلِيقُ

Their sign is that they shave their heads

(Sahih al-Bukhari)