Deobandi School and Relation to Wahhabism

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds

Peace and benedictions upon you, my Master, Apostle of Allah

My view, according to that of the great Allamah Ibn Abidin al-Shami, is that Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab of Najd and his Wahhabi movement were neo-Kharijites. Presently, some ignorant preachers of the Deobandi school have begun praising Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab and aligning themselves with the Wahhabis. We have seen the practical consequences of this unholy union between Deoband and Wahhabism in the form of terrorism in parts of Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. There is no doubt that terrorist factions like the notorious ISIS or Daesh are not only from the neo-Kharijites but that their ideology and actions are strongly influenced by Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab’s writings, activities and those of the early Wahhabi movement. Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab’s text Nawaqid-ul-Islam or translated under the title the Ten Nullifiers of Islam is a major influence for modern day Kharijites and Takfiris who not only make mass Takfir of the Muslim governments and virtually all of the Ummah but also commit bloodshed on the basis of that false Takfir. Terrorist factions operating in Afghanistan and Pakistan such as the so-called Pakistani Taliban or TTP, Islamic State—Khorasan or IS-K, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and others, are a product of the unholy union between Wahhabism and Deobandism. Similarly, the Panjpiri or Mamati strain of Deobandism is particularly close to Wahhabism ideologically, although it may also be categorized as neo-Mu’tazilite in orientation. Motivated by Wahhabi and Takfiri ideas, these self-proclaimed Deobandi terrorist factions spilled much blood of Muslims and spread terror in the land. Compare this with the peaceful mainstream Sunni Muslims who are dubbed “Barelwi” but have absolutely no history of terrorism. Therefore, mainstream Deobandis and their elders should clearly and emphatically distance themselves from the Wahhabism influenced factions of Deobandis who are blackening the name of their school of thought. We know that a respectable elder of the Deoband school, namely Anwar Shah Kashmiri, had this to say about Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab:

أما ‌محمد ‌بن ‌عبد ‌الوهاب النَّجْدِي فإنه كان رجلًا بليدًا قليلَ العلمِ فكان يتسارع إلى الحكم بالكفر

As for Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi, he was a dull man with little knowledge, so he was quick to judge people as infidels (Faid ul-Bari; v.1, p.252)

Similarly, another elder of Deoband, Husain Ahmad Madani, said:

محمد بن عبد الوہاب نجدی ابتداء تیرہویں صدی میں نجد عرب سے ظاہر ہوا۔ اور چونکہ یہ خیالات باطلہ اور عقائد فاسدہ رکھتا تھا۔ اس لۓ اس نے اہل سنت والجماعت سے قتل وقتال کیا ان کو بالجبر اپنے خیالات کی تکلیف دیتا رہا ان کے اموال کو غنیمت کا مال اور حلال سمجھا گیا ان کے قتل کرنے کو باعث ثواب ورحمت شمار کرتا رہا۔

اور ہزاروں آدمی اس کے اور اسکی فوج کے ہاتھوں شہید ہو گۓ۔ الحاصل وہ ایک ظالم وباغی خونخوار فاسق شخص تھا۔

Muhammad bin Abd ul-Wahhab Najdi appeared from the Najd in the beginning of the thirteenth century [Hijri]. Because he held these false ideas and corrupt beliefs he fought and killed Ahle Sunnat wal-Jama’at, coerced them to adopt his ideas, considered their wealth permissible spoils of war, and counter their killing as a means of spiritual reward and divine mercy...Thousands of people were martyred at his and his army’s hands. He (Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab) was an oppressor, a rebel and a bloodthirsty, sinful person (Ash-Shihab uth-Thaqib, p.221)

Mufti Abd ul-Haq, who founded the famous Deobandi university in Akhora Khattak known as Dar ul-Ulum Haqqania, and is the father of Sami ul-Haq and grandfather of Hamid ul-Haq (who was recently assassinated by neo-Kharijite terrorists), issued the following fatwa on Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab and Wahhabism:

محمد بن عبدالوہاب النجدی ایک متشدد قسم کا مذہبی آدمی تھا اور اس کے پیروکار بھی اس کے نظریات کی روشنی میں لوگوں کو تکفیر میں بہت جلد بازی سے کام لیتے ہیں۔ حضرات علماء دیوبند اس کے عقائد اور نظریات سے اتفاق نہیں رکھتے اور نہ اسکی اور اس کے پیروکاروں کی تکفیر کے قائل ہیں۔ عوام الناس کو اس کے عقائد ونظریات سے اجتناب کرنا ضروری ہے

Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab was an extremist religious figure. His followers engage in hasty Takfir in the light of his beliefs and ideological views. The esteemed scholars of Deoband do not agree with his beliefs and perspective, however, they refrain from excommunicating him and his followers. It is necessary for the ordinary people to shun is beliefs and views (Fatawa Haqqaniyyah, v.1, p.380)

Regrettably, a Deobandi scholar, Manzur Nu’mani, attempted to water down the criticism and condemnation of Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab and Wahhabism within his school, and wrote an entire book on the subject titled Shaykh Muhammad bin Abd ul-Wahhab aur Hindustan ke Ulama-e-Haq.

In this controversial book, Manzur Nu’mani claimed that many of the senior Deobandi elders, included some of those I quoted above, amended their position on Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab in their later years. At the very least we can conclude that the Deobandi school is somewhat ambiguous and divided on the question of Wahhabism, whereas we mainstream Sunni Muslims and our blessed Ulama are absolutely clear and emphatic that Wahhabism is a form of neo-Kharijism and that it is quite evident it is the inspiration for much of the terrorism and mass-Takfir that has afflicted the Ummah at present.