Takfīr in Salafi thought : rethinking the views of Ibn Taymiyya and Muḥammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb

Abstract

This dissertation examines the intellectual genealogy and doctrinal transformation of takfīr (the accusation of unbelief) from Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) to Muḥammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb (1703-1792). It addresses a gap in scholarship concerning Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb's doctrine, represented continuity with, or transformation of Ibn Taymiyya's thought. The study asks how both scholars defined and applied takfīr, how their views related to mainstream Sunni positions, and where significant doctrinal change occurred. Using the history of ideas as its main theoretical framework, supported by genealogy and reception analysis, this qualitative, library-based study employs close reading, comparative textual analysis, conceptual analysis, and limited historical contextualization. Primary works and fatwas are examined through three categories: takfīr of the major sinner (murtakib al-kabīrah), takfīr of a specific person (takfīr al-mu'ayyan), and takfīr arising from interpretive error (takfīr al-muta'awwil). The findings show that Ibn Taymiyya largely remained within mainstream Sunni caution. He rejected equating grave sin with unbelief, distinguished general judgment from personal takfīr, and recognized impediments such as ignorance, coercion, and ta'wīl. Ibn 'Abd al-Wahhāb inherited several Taymiyyan concepts, especially regarding tawḥīd, shirk, and religious reform, but reformulated them within eighteenth-century Najd. He expanded the range of practices treated as major shirk, including certain forms of tawassul, istighāthah, and grave-related practices, and attached broader communal consequences to takfīr. This dissertation argues that their relationship reflects selective reception and contextual transformation rather than simple continuity or complete rupture. It contributes to Islamic theology, Taymiyyan Studies, and Salafi-Wahhabi studies by identifying the points at which a restrained juridical-theological doctrine evolved into a more expansive reformist deployment.