The Formation Process of the Expression "Nawaqid al-Islam" and Its Application in the ‎Works of Modern Salafism

The expression "Nawaqid al-Islam" (lit. nullifiers of Islam) refer to things that invalidate ‎Islam. They have been called "nullifiers" because if a person commits any one of them, he ‎becomes an apostate and goes out of the pale of Islam. This is a term which has not been used ‎anywhere in any Quranic verses and prophetic traditions, sayings of the companions of the ‎Prophet (S) and works of Sunni scholars. The first person to use this expression to allude to ‎the causes of apostasy was Muahmmad b. Abdul Wahhab.  He has enumerated as many as 10 ‎nullifiers or invalidators of Islam and believed that placing intermediaries between oneself ‎and Allah is one of the most important nullifiers. Before him and in his work, Ibn Taymiyyah ‎made mention of instances of nullifiers of Islam without using this expression.‎