to him and support him. Never resist him or stop him from carrying out his mission." The Prince accepted her advice, but was hesitant whether to go to him in person or send for him. He asked for advice, and it was said that it was his wife and a group of righteous people who advised him to go to the Shaykh and honor knowledge as well as the caller to good.

He accepted the advice because Allah predestined happiness and good for him (may Allah have mercy on him). The Prince went to the Shaykh at the house of Muhammad ibn Swaylim; he greeted him and said, "O Shaykh Muhammad! Bear the glad tidings of support, security, and help." The Shaykh replied, "Bear the glad tidings of support, strength, and a good end. This is the Din (religion) of Allah; whosoever supports it, Allah will support them and you will soon realize the results of this." The Prince said, "O Shaykh! I will pledge allegiance to you to support the Din of Allah and His Messenger and Jihad. But I fear that if we support you and Allah makes you victorious over the enemies of Islam, you may leave us to other places." The Shaykh responded, "I will pledge allegiance that I will not do this. Blood for blood and destruction for destruction. I will never leave your country." The Shaykh, thus, pledged allegiance to support the Prince, remain in his country, receive his help, and engage in Jihad with him until Islam would prevail and become victorious.

People flocked to Al­Dir`iyyah from everywhere, from Al­`Uyaynah, `Arqah, Manfuhah, Riyadh and other neighboring places. Al­Dir`iyyah remained a place where people immigrated from everywhere. The people heard about the Shaykh, his lectures which he delivered in Al­Dir`iyyah, and his Da`wah. They came to him in large numbers. The Shaykh settled in Al­Dir`iyyah, where he was respected, loved, and supported. He gave lectures in Al­ Dir`iyyah on `Aqidah (creed), Qur'an, Tafsir (exegesis of the meanings of the Qur'an), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), Hadith and its Mustalah (terminology), Arabic language, history, and other edifying sciences. People came to him from everywhere and many young men in Al­Dir`iyyah were educated by him. He gave arranged many classes for the commonfolk and the elite and spread knowledge in Al­Dir`iyyah. He forged ahead with his Da`wah and began engaging in Jihad. He wrote to the people, inviting them to participate in this field and to remove any signs of Shirk in their countries. He started with the people of Najd and sent letters to its rulers and scholars. He used the same method he used with the scholars of Riyadh and its Prince Diham ibn Dawwas, the scholars and rulers of Al­Kharj, and the scholars of the southern cities, Al­Qasim, Ha'il, Al­Washm,

Sadir, and other places. He continued his correspondence with the scholars and rulers, including the scholars of Al­Ahsa', and Al­Haramayn Al­Sharifayn as well as the scholars of Egypt, the Levant, Iraq, India, Yemen, etc. He sent letters to the people, established his arguments, and reminded them of acts of Shirk and Bid`ah which many people used to commit. This does not mean that there were no supporters of Islam. There were helpers. Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) undoubtedly guarantees supporters for Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that a group of this Ummah (nation based on one creed) would remain upholding Al­Haqq and thus they would be victorious. However, we are now talking about Najd, where evil, corruption, Shirk, and superstitions prevailed; and although there were good scholars there, they were not active in Da`wah and did not convey it in the proper manner.

Also in Yemen and other places, there were callers to Al­Haqq and supporters of it who recognized those acts of Shirk and superstitions, but Allah did not grant their Da`wah the degree of success He granted to the Da`wah of Shaykh Ibn `Abdul­Wahhab for many reasons. Some of these reasons were the absence of supporters who would help them and their inability to endure hardships and harm in the Cause of Allah. One of many other reasons was the lack of knowledge of some Du`ah, which could enable them to guide the people using appropriate means, proper discourse, wisdom, and good preaching. Because of his active correspondence and Jihad, the Shaykh became famous and his Da`wah spread. He corresponded with scholars inside and outside the Arabian Peninsula and a great number of people from India, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Africa, Morocco, Egypt, the Levant, and Iraq, were affected by his Da`wah. There were many Du`ah who had knowledge of Al­Haqq and how to call to it. When the Da`wah of the Shaykh reached them, they became more active and stronger and were known for engaging in Da`wah. The Da`wah of the Shaykh acquired fame and prevailed across the Islamic world and other places as well. During this age, the Shaykh's books and treatises were published as well as the books of his sons, grandsons, followers, and supporters who were

scholars inside and outside the Arabian Peninsula. Moreover, the books compiled on his Da`wah, biography, and the conditions of his followers were printed. These writings received wide popularity among people almost everywhere. It is a known fact that every favor has its envier and, likewise, every Da`y has enemies. Allah (Exalted be He) says:

When the Shaykh became famous for his Da`wah and his many valuable writings received wide popularity among the people, many envious groups emerged as opponents. He also had other enemies. His enemies and opponents were divided into two groups: one group opposed him in the name of Din and knowledge, and the other group opposed him in the name of politics and hid under the cover of knowledge and Din. They even exploited the enmity of those scholars who opposed him publicly and accused him of not following Al­Haqq. The Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) forged ahead with his Da`wah to remove doubts, clarify evidence, and guide the people to the facts proven by the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Sometimes, his opponents would claim that he belonged to Khawarij (separatist group that believes committing a major sin amounts to

disbelief). Other times they would accuse him of not following Ijma` (consensus of scholars) and of being Mujtahid Mutlaq (expert jurist not bound by a School of Jurisprudence), who did not take the opinions of earlier scholars and Fuqaha' (Muslim jurists) into consideration. He received other accusations out of their lack of proper knowledge. Some groups imitated each other in their false beliefs, and another group feared the removal of their positions and, thus, opposed him in the name of politics while hiding under the cover of Islam and depending on the views of fabrication and falsehood seekers.