ference to the quotations given, it will be known that my
authority for the statements thus made is Muhammad Isma'il, the most famous
of all Sayyid Ahmad's disciples. This book was followed by the
Sirat-ul-Mustaqim, said to have been written by one of Isma'il's followers.
Wahhabi doctrines are now spread throughout India. In the South there is
not much religious excitement or inquiry, yet Wahhabis are to be found
there.[92] It was and is a remarkable movement. In one sense it is a
struggle against the traditionalism of later ages, but in no sense can it
be said that the Wahhabis reject Tradition. They acknowledge as the
foundation of the faith--first, the Quran; secondly, the Traditions which
are recorded on the authority of the Companions, and also the Ijma' of the
Companions, that is, all things on which they were unanimous in opinion
{106} or in practice. Thus to the Wahhabi as to the Sunni, Muhammad is in
all his _acts_ and _words_ a perfect guide.

So far from Wahhabiism being a move onward because it is a return to first
principles, it rather binds the fetters of Islam more tightly. It does not
originate anything new, it offers no relaxation from a system which looks
upon the Quran and the Traditions as a perfect and complete law, social and
political, moral and religious.

The Wahhabi places the doctrine of the "Tauhid," or Unity, in a very
prominent position. It is true that all Musalman sects put this dogma in
the first rank, but Wahhabis set their faces against practices common to
the other sects, because they consider that they obscure this fundamental
doctrine. It is this which brings them into collision with other Musalmans.
The greatest of all sins is Shirk (_i.e._ the ascribing of plurality to the
Deity). A Mushrik (Polytheist) is one who so offends. All Musalmans
consider Christians to be Polytheists, and all Wahhabis consider all other
Musalmans also to be Polytheists, because they look to the Prophet for
intercession, pray to saints, visit shrines, and do other unlawful acts.

The Takwiat-ul-Iman says that "two things are necessary in religion--to
know God as God, and the Prophet as the Prophet." The two fundamental bases
of the faith are the "Doctrine of the Tauhid (Unity) and obedience to the
Sunnat." The two great errors to be avoided are Shirk (Polytheism) and
Bida't (Innovation). As Bida't is looked upon as evil, it is somewhat
difficult to see what hope of progress can be placed upon this latest