Wahhab, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-

(born 1703, 'Uyaynah, Arabia—died 1792, Al-Dir'iyah) Islamic theologian and founder of the Wahhabi movement. Educated in Medina, he spent several years teaching in Iraq and Iran. He reacted against what he perceived as the extremism of various sects of Sufism, setting out his ideas in the Book of Unity (1736). He stressed a conservative observation of Islam, rejecting polytheism and condemning reverence of saints and the decoration of mosques. His views were controversial; eventually he settled in Nejd, where, in alliance with Ibn Sa'ud, his teachings found favour and grew dominant.