Kadizadeli Ottoman Scholarship, Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, and the Rise of the Saudi State

Abstract

From the 1630s to the 1680s the Kadızadeli movement dominated the political scene in the Ottoman capital of Istanbul, the latter part of this period coinciding with the Ottomans’ greatest expansion of their land empire. Based on the teachings of Birgivi, and with clear influences from Ibn Taymiyya, the Kadızadeli movement worked to eradicate religious innovations, sometimes through the use of force. However, the Ottoman defeat at Vienna in 1683 marked the political downfall of the Kadızadelis in Istanbul and elsewhere in Ottoman lands. Yet within 60 years the movement of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb emerged in Najd with striking similarities. Both movements voiced strictures against religious innovations, particularly regarding seeking the intercession of the dead at grave sites, for which they accused their opponents of unbelief (kufr), and both were willing to use force if necessary to establish their opinions. This paper traces the historical and scholarly links between these two important movements, and includes a detailed examination of the scholarly credentials of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. This fuller contextualization should enable a clearer understanding of the religious climate in which Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb started his movement.