An Analysis and Evaluation of Doctrinal and Ethical Norms of Wahhabism in terms of the Prophet’s Practice

Since the Wahhabi current has flourished in the Sunni world and has led to violence against other Muslims, particularly Shi‘as, it is of great importance to study abnormalities of this sect. The Wahhabi current has several dimensions, including beliefs, social behavior, jurisprudential rulings, and political approaches. In this paper, we deploy an analytic-descriptive method to consider norms governing Wahhabism in terms of three models: intellectual, doctrinal, and social. We do so by analyzing Wahhabi beliefs, rulings, and practices. We then identify the roots and grounds of pessimism through a description of how the three models affect each other. Moreover, we consider the Prophet’s practice in order to elicit his favored social behavior, and then we contrast the model to the norms governing Wahhabism in order to uncover the fundamental difference between the two. Thus, Wahhabis’ deviation from the Prophet’s behavioral model has paved the path for their irrational behaviors, which has resulted in pessimism toward the whole Islamic community. Furthermore, we analyze the social model underlying the Prophet’s practice in order to consider global popularity as a significant factor in Islam, and then we evaluate Wahhabis’ social-political behaviors.