How does Wahabi Islamic teaching differ from other types of Islamic teaching?
The Wahhabi sect is also called the Salafi sect. I tend to use the “-ist” ending because of the rejection of the sect by both Shia and Sunni Islam. Wahhabism is based mostly on the teachings of Muhammad ibn `Abdul Wahhab. He broke away from the teachings of traditional Sunni Islam – specifically, the Hanbali madhhab (school of thought) of Sunni Islam. In terms of scholarly method, the sect rejects the idea that it is necessary to follow the rulings of one qualified scholar or a school of qualified scholars. Islamic scholarship is achieved through training in the Islamic sciences by a reliable instructor whose chain of training and knowledge is unbroken until the very early days of Islam. One is considered to be a reliable scholar after one has been approved by a reliable instructor or scholarly committee. The Wahhabi departure from traditional Islamic scholarship has resulted in differences in theology and in jurisprudence. Most Salafists profess that God has a literal body. This is be
