Editing Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (section)

=== Tutelage under Al-Sindhi ===
{{Further|Muhammad Hayyat ibn Ibrahim al-Sindhi|label1=Muhammād Hayyat ibn Ibrāhim al-Sindhi}}

Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab's teacher, 'Abdallah ibn Ibrahim ibn Sayf, introduced the relatively young man to [[Mohammad Hayya Al-Sindhi]] in [[Medina]], who belonged to the [[Naqshbandi]] order (''[[tariqa]]'') of [[Sufism]],<ref>John L. Esposito (ed.), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Islam'', Oxford University Press (2004), p. 296.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nE1DAQAAIAAJ|title=Islamic Law and Society|year= 2006|publisher=E.J. Brill|page=216|language=en}}</ref> and recommended him as a student.<ref name="Voll" /><ref>[[#Haj|ibn 'Hajar]]: 17–19.</ref><ref>Official sources on Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab's life put his visits to these cities in different chronological orders, and the full extent of such travels remains disputed among historians. As well, dates are missing in a great many cases, making it difficult to reconstruct a chronology of his life up until his return to 'Uyayna in 1740.</ref> Muhammad Ibn ʿAbd-al-Wahhab and al-Sindhi became very close, and Ibn ʿAbd-al-Wahhab stayed with him for some time.<ref name="Voll">[[#Vol75|Voll 1975]]: 32–39 "Scholars have described Muhammad Hayya as having an important influence on Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab, encouraging him in his developing determination to denounce rigid imitation of medieval commentaries and to utilize informed individual analysis (ijtihad). Muhammad Hayya also taught Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab a rejection of popular religious practices associated with 'saints' and their tombs that is similar to later Wahhdbi teachings".</ref> Muhammad Hayya taught Muhammad Ibn ʿAbd-al-Wahhab to reject popular religious practices associated with [[wali]]s and their tombs. He also encouraged him to reject rigid imitation (''[[Taqlid]]'') of medieval legal commentaries and develop individual research of scriptures (''[[Ijtihad]]'').<ref name="Voll" /> Influenced by Al-Sindi's teachings, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab became critical of the established ''[[Madhhab|Madh'hab]]'' system, prompting him to disregard the instruments of ''[[Principles of Islamic jurisprudence|Usul al-Fiqh]]'' in his intellectual approach. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab rarely made use of ''[[Fiqh]]'' (Islamic jurisprudence) and various legal opinions in his writings, by and large forming views based on his direct understanding of Scriptures.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=M. Naf'i|first=Basheer|date=2006|title=A Teacher of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb: Muḥammad Ḥayāt al-Sindī and the Revival of Asḥāb al-Ḥadīth's Methodology|journal=Islamic Law and Society|publisher=Brill Publishers|volume=13|issue=2|pages=208, 240|doi=10.1163/156851906776917552|jstor=40377907|quote=}}</ref>

Apart from his emphasis on [[hadith studies]], aversion for the ''madhhab'' system and disregard for technical juristic discussions involving legal principles, Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb's views on ''[[Ziyarat|ziyārah]]'' (visitations to the shrines of ''[[Wali|Awliyaa]]'') were also shaped by Al-Sindhi. Sindi encouraged his student to reject folk practices associated with graves and saints.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cameron|first=Zargar|date=2017|title=Origins of Wahhabism from Hanbali Fiqh|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rp796h4|journal=UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law|publisher=University of California|volume=16|issue=1|pages=96–97|doi=10.5070/N4161038736|doi-access=free}}</ref> Various themes in Al-Sindi's writings, such as his opposition to erecting tombs and [[Aniconism in Islam|drawing human images]], would be revived later by the [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]] movement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=M. Naf'i|first=Basheer|date=2006|title=A Teacher of Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb: Muḥammad Ḥayāt al-Sindī and the Revival of Asḥāb al-Ḥadīth's Methodology|journal=Islamic Law and Society|publisher=Brill Publishers|volume=13|issue=2|page=217|jstor=40377907|quote="Certain themes that Hayat al-Sindl discussed in his writings, such as his opposition to erecting tombs and drawing human images, would soon resurface in the teachings of Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhab."}}</ref> Sindi instilled in Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab the belief that practices like beseeching the dead saints constituted [[Apostasy in Islam|apostasy]] and resembled the customs of the people of ''[[Jahiliyyah|Jahiliyya]]'' (pre-Islamic era).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cameron|first=Zargar|date=2017|title=Origins of Wahhabism from Hanbali Fiqh|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rp796h4|journal=UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law|publisher=University of California|volume=16|issue=1|page=97}}</ref> In a significant encounter between a young Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab and Al-Sindhi reported by the Najdi historian 'Uthman Ibn Bishr (d. 1288 A.H./ 1871/2 C.E.):<blockquote>"... one day Shaykh Muḥammad [Ibn 'Abdi'l-Wahhāb] stood by the chamber of the Prophet where people were calling [upon him or supplicating] and seeking help by the Prophet's chamber, blessings and peace be upon him. He then saw Muḥammad Ḥayāt [al Sindī] and came to him. The shaykh [Ibn 'Abdi'l-Wahhāb] asked, "What do you say about them?" He [al-Sindī] said, "Verily that in which they are engaged shall be destroyed and their acts are invalid.""<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cameron|first=Zargar|date=2017|title=Origins of Wahhabism from Hanbali Fiqh|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6rp796h4|journal=UCLA Journal of Islamic and Near Eastern Law|publisher=University of California|volume=16|issue=1|page=96}}</ref></blockquote>