Fatima🌼

The danger arises when scholarly disagreements turn into personal attacks, intimidation or reckless declarations that fellow Muslims are unbelievers. 5. WHAT DOES ISLAM TEACH ABOUT MAKING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST FELLOW MUSLIMS? The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ warned Muslims against casually declaring another Muslim an unbeliever. He said: > "When a man says to his brother, 'O kafir,' then it returns upon one of them." Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 6104; Sahih Muslim 60. This Hadith demonstrates the seriousness of making accusations of disbelief. Religious disagreements must be approached with knowledge, evidence and caution. No individual should casually declare another Muslim outside Islam simply because they follow a different scholarly interpretation. Protecting Tawhid is important, but so is protecting the rights and dignity of fellow Muslims. 6. WHY AFRICAN MUSLIMS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THIS HISTORY For generations, African Muslim communities developed rich traditions of Islamic scholarship, Qur'anic education, Sufism and religious instruction. In countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Niger, different Islamic scholarly traditions have shaped religious life for centuries. The arrival and expansion of Wahhabi-influenced teachings introduced new debates about some of these established traditions. African Muslims should therefore study these disagreements carefully rather than accepting every accusation or religious judgement without examining its evidence. The objective should not be to defend every traditional practice blindly, but to ensure that religious reform is guided by authentic Islamic knowledge, sound scholarship and respect for legitimate differences. CONCLUSION The debate over grave visitation reveals one of the major historical disagreements surrounding Wahhabism. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ permitted grave visitation, but Muslim scholars have continued to debate the boundaries of permissible practices associated with graves, Tawassul and intercession. Our position should be clear: religious differences must be addressed through knowledge, evidence and respectful dialogue—not reckless Takfir, intimidation or hostility. We must protect the Islamic heritage of African communities while rejecting extremism, religious intolerance and the manipulation of Islamic teachings to divide Muslims. SCHOLARLY REFERENCES 1. David Commins, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia (2006). 2. Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (2004). 3. Cole M. Bunzel, Wahhabism: The History of a Militant Islamic Movement (2023). 4. Badrus Samsul Fata and Idznursham Ismail (2022), "Brother Against Brother: Early Refutation of Wahhabism by the 18th-Century Hanbali Scholars." 5. Sahih Muslim 977 – Permission to visit graves. 6. Sahih al-Bukhari 6104 and Sahih Muslim 60 – Warning against declaring fellow Muslims unbelievers. 2/2 #100DaysOfAntiWahhabism #Day7 #IslamicHistory #AfricanIslam #Tawheed #ReligiousTolerance #StopReligiousExtremism

100 DAYS OF ANTI-WAHHABISM CAMPAIGN DAY 7: THE DEBATE OVER GRAVE VISITATION – HOW RELIGIOUS DISAGREEMENTS BECAME A SOURCE OF DIVISION AMONG MUSLIMS Theme: Examining the historical disagreements between Wahhabi-influenced scholars and other Sunni Muslim traditions over visiting graves, seeking blessings, Tawassul and intercession. 1. GRAVE VISITATION IS AN ESTABLISHED PRACTICE IN ISLAM Visiting graves is not a practice introduced by later generations of Muslims. It is supported by an authentic Hadith of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said: > "I had forbidden you to visit graves, but now visit them, for they remind you of the Hereafter." Reference: Sahih Muslim 977. This Hadith establishes the permissibility of visiting graves as a reminder of death and the Hereafter. Muslims also visit the graves of their loved ones to pray for their forgiveness and remember the reality of life and death. However, the existence of this permission does not mean that every action performed at a grave is automatically acceptable. Islamic scholars have always discussed the boundaries between permissible visitation and practices that may contradict Islamic teachings. 2. WHY DID WAHHABI SCHOLARS OPPOSE CERTAIN GRAVE-RELATED PRACTICES? One of the major areas of disagreement between Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and scholars who opposed his movement concerned practices associated with graves and revered religious personalities. Ibn Abd al-Wahhab strongly emphasised the protection of Tawhid and opposed practices he considered forms of Shirk. These included: Calling upon deceased individuals for supernatural assistance. Directing acts of worship towards graves or their occupants. Seeking blessings through certain practices around graves. Building religious practices around tombs in ways he considered prohibited. His followers viewed these positions as necessary measures to protect Islamic monotheism. However, other Sunni scholars argued that some practices condemned by Wahhabi scholars had different meanings and legal classifications. They distinguished between worshipping the dead, praying for deceased Muslims, visiting graves and forms of Tawassul. This disagreement became one of the defining controversies surrounding the Wahhabi movement. 3. TAWASSUL AND INTERCESSION: WHAT IS THE ACTUAL DISAGREEMENT? Tawassul generally refers to seeking closeness to Allah through a means or intermediary. Muslim scholars have disagreed over which forms of Tawassul are permissible and which are prohibited. Some scholars permit certain forms of Tawassul, while others reject practices involving the status or person of deceased individuals. It is important to understand that these disagreements do not mean every Muslim who visits a grave is worshipping its occupant. There is a fundamental difference between: Praying to Allah for the forgiveness of someone who has died. Visiting a grave to remember death and the Hereafter. Seeking Allah's assistance through a disputed form of Tawassul. Directing worship or supplication to someone other than Allah. These matters require careful scholarly examination rather than sweeping accusations. 4. HOW DID THESE DISAGREEMENTS CONTRIBUTE TO DIVISION? The controversy over grave visitation became more than a disagreement about religious practices. In some communities, it developed into a serious conflict over religious identity and legitimacy. Wahhabi-influenced preachers sometimes condemned practices associated with traditional Muslim communities as Shirk or Bid'ah. Meanwhile, scholars from other Sunni traditions challenged these positions, arguing that certain established practices had legitimate foundations in Islamic scholarship. In parts of Africa, including Nigeria, similar disagreements have contributed to tensions between different Muslim groups, particularly over grave visitation, Mawlid, Tawassul and other religious traditions. 1/2