Wahhabism

Attributed Wahhabi designation

Record the original term, who applied it, its referent and whether the referent accepted it.

1. Who uses Wahhabi or an alternative designation for this case, in which language and dated source? provenance
2. Does the term identify a historical lineage, a doctrinal tendency or an accusation without demonstrated affiliation? definition

Wahhabi, Salafi and Hanbali boundary

Assess connections among the labels for the particular actor and period rather than treating them as interchangeable.

1. What evidence connects this case specifically to Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's movement beyond a Salafi designation or Hanbali legal affiliation? boundary
2. What contradictory evidence or alternative classification requires the agent to leave affiliation unresolved? action

Foundational actors and accounts

Separate contemporaneous evidence about Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and early Najdi associates from later retrospective narratives.

1. Which dated writings or historical accounts establish the roles of Ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his early associates? provenance
2. Which origin events or alliance narratives remain disputed across sources, and how does that affect periodisation? boundary

Documented transmission route

Connect a specific teaching to teachers, publications, translations or institutions while preserving local adaptations.

1. Which teacher relationships, editions, translations or curricula document transmission to this community? provenance
2. Which teachings were retained, modified or rejected locally, and where does continuity become uncertain? boundary

Practice-specific doctrinal reasoning

Capture the exact practice, its attributed classification and the argument offered, without endorsing the classification.

1. How does the cited authority define tawhid and apply it to intercession, supplication, shrine visitation or saint-related practices? definition
2. Which passage supports the ruling, and what distinctions between superficially similar acts does it preserve? provenance

Bidah, shirk and takfir conditions

Record attributed meanings and conditions for religious innovation, association with God and declarations of unbelief.

1. Does the source condemn an act, state a general doctrinal category or explicitly judge an identified person or group? boundary
2. What qualifications, evidentiary requirements or disagreements does the source give before applying such judgments? provenance

Texts, scholars and legal method

Record the authority assigned to scripture, earlier scholars, Hanbali jurisprudence and later interpreters.

1. Which texts and scholars does this actor invoke, and how are conflicting authorities weighed? provenance
2. How does the actor describe the relationship between Hanbali legal precedent and direct scriptural argument? definition

Patronage, office and autonomy

Distinguish alliance, appointment, financial support and regulatory power from doctrinal identity.

1. Which agreements, appointments or administrative records establish the relationship and its applicable period? provenance
2. What could each named actor decide or enforce, and what evidence limits claims of religious or political autonomy? boundary

Dated local implementation

Record whether a particular position was taught, officially required, enforced or followed in a specified locality.

1. What evidence distinguishes a scholar's prescription from institutional policy, enforcement and observed conduct? measurement
2. Which dated changes show continuity, reinterpretation or reduced institutional application of the position? provenance

Evidenced influence with limits

Separate textual borrowing, personal contact, funding and operational coordination from claims of shared identity or causation.

1. What specific evidence supports the alleged influence, and does it establish borrowing, affiliation, material support or coordination? provenance
2. When evidence shows only resemblance or an opponent's accusation, how should the agent qualify or withhold the relationship? action

Check these first

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

• This describes a religious movement or tradition, not a discrete organisation; the SOC.ORG assignment should be reviewed.
• Wahhabism is often an external and contested designation; adherents may prefer other descriptions, and usage varies by speaker and period.
• This is recall without source verification; specific institutional affiliations, present-day influence and membership estimates require research.

1. Which of these check these first hold for the sense of Wahhabism this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Real-world use

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

• A term used in historical and religious scholarship to describe Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's teachings and their reception.
• A religious framework historically influential in Saudi religious education, preaching and institutions.
• A basis for opposition to practices such as invoking saints or seeking their intercession at shrines.
• A contested label in religious and political debate, sometimes applied broadly to opponents.

1. Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of Wahhabism this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Failure modes and hazards

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

• Treating a decentralized religious tradition as a single legally constituted organisation with uniform membership and governance.
• Using the label for all Salafis, Hanbalis or Saudi Muslims, obscuring important differences.
• Assuming that adherence entails support for political violence.
• Sectarian exclusion associated with some interpretations of accusations of unbelief or polytheism.
• Destruction of shrines and other religious heritage in historical campaigns against practices identified as idolatrous.

1. Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of Wahhabism this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Regional variation

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

• Najd is the movement's place of origin; its historical relationship with Saudi state formation is central to understanding it.
• Outside the Arabian Peninsula, the label has been applied to diverse reform movements whose actual connections to Ibn Abd al-Wahhab require separate examination.
• Local religious practices, institutions and political settings shape the reception of teachings associated with the movement.

1. Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of Wahhabism this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance

Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart

Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.

• Salafism - Salafism is a broader and internally diverse orientation toward the example of the early Muslim generations; Wahhabism identifies a particular historical reform tradition that substantially overlaps with it.
• Hanbali school - Hanbalism is a Sunni school of jurisprudence predating Wahhabism by centuries; Wahhabism developed largely within a Hanbali setting but is not equivalent to that legal school.
• Sunni Islam - Sunni Islam encompasses many theological, legal and devotional traditions; Wahhabism is one reform tradition within it.
• Saudi state - The Saudi state is a political and legal institution; Wahhabism is a religious tradition historically allied with its ruling dynasty.
• Salafi jihadism - Salafi jihadism combines particular Salafi interpretations with a militant political programme; Wahhabism is not defined by that programme, despite areas of doctrinal overlap.

1. Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of Wahhabism this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance