A Pathological Analysis of the Critique of Wahhabism: Reassessing the Challenges of Wahhabi Discourse on Tawḥīd

The Wahhabi takfīrī movement, through its distinctive interpretation of Tawḥīd (Divine Unity) and Shirk (polytheism), accuses other Muslims of polytheism and disbelief. While numerous studies have sought to critique Wahhabism, relatively little attention has been paid to the methodological deficiencies underlying such critiques, particularly the tendency of some critics to uncritically adopt the Wahhabi conceptual framework of Tawḥīd and Shirk. The findings of this study indicate that concentrating solely on the subsidiary doctrines of Wahhabi theology, while neglecting its constructed theological foundations concerning Tawḥīd and Shirk, has contributed to the persistence and expansion of this ideology. The study argues that the concept of Tawḥīd formulated by Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, which ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿĪsā al-Tamīmī described as being "contrary to the Tawḥīd preached by the Messenger of God" and comparable to the methodology of the Khawārij, should constitute the primary focus of scholarly criticism. The article further examines several fundamental inconsistencies within Wahhabi theology regarding its understanding of Tawḥīd and Shirk. Among these are its contradictory criteria for evaluating divine acts, particularly the distinction between "major" and "minor" acts, which implicitly attributes partners to God in ordinary affairs. Likewise, its classification of supplication according to whether it is directed to the living or the dead, or to those who are physically present or absent, is identified as another theological inconsistency. The study also criticizes the Wahhabi definition of ʿibādah (worship), arguing that its logical implications would require considering the prostration of the angels before Adam and showing humility toward one's parents as acts of polytheism. Another major inconsistency lies in the Wahhabi assertion that the pre-Islamic polytheists affirmed Tawḥīd al-Rubūbiyyah (the Oneness of Divine Lordship) and Tawḥīd al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt (the Oneness of the Divine Names and Attributes), despite explicit Qur'anic verses indicating that they were guilty of shirk in matters of Lordship. The study concludes that a principled and rigorous critique of Wahhabi theological foundations, grounded in exposing their internal contradictions and supported by the Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah, can shift Wahhabism from an offensive to a defensive intellectual position and provide a more effective basis for confronting its ideology.