teachings were seen as unbelievers (kafirs) and
could be subdued through Jihad. Tribal leaders
and ulama in Huraymila decided that they did
not want Ibn Abd al-Wahhab to undermine their
aUthority, so they conspired against his life,
forcing him to return to Uyayna, his hometown.
Uthman ibn Hamid ibn Muammar (d. 1749), the
ruler of Uyayna, at first welcomed the reformer,
even arranging for him to marry his aunt. The
situation changed, however, when he cut down
one of the town’s sacred trees, demolished a
shrine belonging to Zayd ibn al-Khattab (one
of the companions oF the prophet), and, above
all, condemned a woman to death by stoning
after she confessed to adultery. The outcry these
actions stirred caused Uthman to withdraw sup-
port from Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, who had to flee
Uyayna in 1744.
He settled in Diriya, about 40 miles from
Uyayna, near Riyadh. The small town was ruled
by the clan of the Saud, led by Muhammad ibn
Saud. That same year, “the two Muhammads”
reached a mutual agreement: Ibn Saud would
protect Ibn Abd al-Wahhab from his enemies and
make him the imam of Diriya, while Ibn Abd al-
Wahhab would collect zakat for the Saudi ruler
and help him extend his control over the Najd
region through his preaching and declaring jihad
against Saudi enemies. These included “infidels”
who did not heed Ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s call
(daa wa) to accept his version of Islam, as well as
tribes who would not submit to Saudi rule. The
agreement turned out to be more fruitful than the
two might have imagined. From it they were able
to create a confederation of tribal groups, both
settled and nomadic, that provided the basis for a
new state in central Arabia.
When Muhammad ibn Saud died in 1765, Ibn
Abd al-Wahhab continued the alliance with his
son Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad (d. 1803). He
maintained his base in Diriya, where he taught
and wrote, seeking to win others to his cause. His
strategy included assigning Wahhabi judges to
the towns and oases that had submitted to Saudi
rule. By the time of his death, Saudi-Wahhabi
rule reached Riyadh (the future Saudi capital)
and the shores of the Persian Gulf. A few years
later, it encompassed most of the Arabian Pen-
insula, including the holy cities of Mecca and
Medina.
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s legacy was carried on by
his descendants and disciples. His son Abd Allah
wrote works against Shiism and endorsed the Wah-
habi forays into southern iraq in early 1801. His
grandson Sulayman (d. 1818) served as judge in
Diriya until executed by Ottoman-Egyptian forces
sent from egypt into Arabia to destroy the early
Saudi state. Today, his teachings form part of the
official ideology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
which arose from the ashes of the first Saudi state
under the leadership of King Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud
(d. 1953) in the early 20th century. Ibn Abd al-
Wahhab’s heirs, known as the Al al-Shaykh (the
family of Shaykh Ibn Abd al-Wahhab), now hold
powerful positions in the Saudi government and
intermarry with members of the Saudi royal family.
His works are widely available in printed form, and
his ideas hold sway among conservative religious
reformers and radicals in many Sunni countries.
Among those influenced by Ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s
teachings is Usama bin ladin, leader of the al-
qaida organization responsible for the attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in- Many Muslims, Sunnis, and Shiis alike reject
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab’s puritanical understanding of
Islam, nevertheless.
See also bidaa; reneWal and reForm move-
ments; Wahhabism.
Further reading: Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam:
From Revival to Global Jihad (Oxford: Oxford Uni-
versity Press, 2004); Madawi al-Rasheed, A History of
Saudi Arabia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2002), 14–23; John O. Voll, “Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi
and Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab: An Analysis of
an Intellectual Group in Eighteenth Century Medina.”
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 38,
no. 1 (1975): 32–39.Ibn Abd al-Wahhab, Muhammad 325 J