Editing Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (section)

=== Pilgrimage to Mecca ===
{{See also|Hajj}}

After leaving 'Uyayna around the age of twenty, Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab performed the [[Hajj|Greater Pilgrimage]] in [[Mecca]], where the scholars appear to have held opinions and espoused teachings that were unpalatable to him.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> After this, he went to [[Medina]], the stay at which seems to have been "decisive in shaping the later direction of his thought."<ref name="ReferenceB"/> In Medina, he met a Hanbali theologian from Najd named ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ibrāhīm al-Najdī, who had been a supporter of the works of [[Ibn Taymiyyah]] (d. 1328), who holds an exceptionally high position in Islamic history.<ref>Ajhar A. Hakim: "In Islamic history, Ibn Taymiyya holds an exceptionally high position as an intellect in regard to his theories" ''The Forgotten Rational Thinking in the Ḥanbalite Thought With Special Reference to Ibn Taymiyya'' Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, Sharjah, U.A.E p.152</ref> Many Sunni Muslim scholars who adhere to a scripture-focused orthodox methodology praise Ibn Taymiyyah to be a [[Mujaddid|mujadid]] of the authentic [[Sunnah]],<ref> Rebecca Skreslet Hernandez, ''The Legal Thought of Jalāl Al-Din Al-Suyūṭī: Authority and Legacy'', p.133</ref> taking pride in the proliferation of his strict adherence to the Qur'an, Sunnah<ref>Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said "Every innovation is going astray, and every going astray will be in the Fire." ''Narrated by Muslim (867) an-Nasaa'i (1578)''</ref> and way of the companions of Muhammad,<ref>[[Jalal Abualrub]]: "Ibn Taymiyya only followed Prophetic statements and statements of the Prophet's companions and Muslim imams that prohibit innovating in the religion." (September 2013). ''Biography and Mission of Muhammad Ibn AbdulWahhab'' p.31</ref><ref>Ibn Mas'ood said: "Follow (the Sunnah) and do not innovate, because you have been sufficed." ''Ad-Darimi'' and he also said: "Practicing a little of the Sunnah is far better than practicing many innovations." ''Al-Hakim''</ref> though his teachings had been considered heterodox and misguided by some Sunni Muslim scholars who ascribed to the [[Sufism|Sufis]] of their time.<ref>Taqi al-Din al-Hisni referred to Ibn Taymiyyah as a "heretic from Harran"; see Rapoport, Yossef; Ahmed, Shahab (1 January 2010). ''Ibn Taymiyya and His Times''. Oxford University Press. p. 271.</ref>