From Ottoman Ḥanbalīs to Reformist Wahhābīs

This project inquires into the scholarly tradition of Ottoman Ḥanbalism during the 16th and 17th centuries and its intellectual connection to the Salafī movements of Islamic revival and reform which arose in the 18th- and 19th-century Muslim world. Theological developments within 16th- and 17th-century Ḥanbalī circles are surprisingly poorly documented and studied within the field of Ḥanbalī studies, despite the fact that during this very period the intellectual environment in which conservative Salafism, including its most notorious manifestation, Wahhābism, was to take shape in the following centuries. Through a reappraisal of the 16th- and 17th- century Ḥanbalī theological tradition, the proposed study will clarify the interconnections between Ottoman Ḥanbalism and (Wahhābī-)Salafism, thus enabling a much deeper understanding of the theological foundations and the very nature of these movements, which continue until today to exert a compelling influence on Muslim communities worldwide.