They quote a fabricated narration against the Shaykh and claim that Ibn Ḥumayd al-Najdī (1236–1295 AH) said the following about the father of Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb:
Abd al-Wahhāb ibn Sulaymān ibn ‘Alī ibn Musharrif a name of the same metrical pattern as “Muhammad”—al-Tamīmī al-Najdī.
He studied jurisprudence under his father, the author of the well-known work al-Mansak, and under other scholars. He acquired knowledge, specialized in jurisprudence, taught, and wrote sound treatises on certain jurisprudential issues.
He died in the year 1153 AH. He was the father of Muhammad, the founder of the movement whose sparks of discord spread throughout the horizons. However, there was a rift between them, for Muhammad did not openly proclaim his mission until after his father’s death. Someone I met informed me on the authority of a learned contemporary of this Sheikh ‘Abd al-Wahhāb that he was angry with his son Muhammad because he was not content to pursue jurisprudence like his forebears and the people of his region. He foresaw that something would arise from him and would say to people, “How much evil you will see from Muhammad!” So God decreed what came to pass. Likewise, his son Sulaymān, the brother of Sheikh Muhammad, opposed him in his mission and refuted him soundly with Qur’anic verses and narrations since the one being refuted would accept nothing else and paid no attention to the words of any scholar, whether earlier or later, no matter who it was, except for Sheikh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim. For he regarded their statements as decisive texts not open to interpretation, and he would wield them against people. (Kitāb as-Suḥub al-Wābilah ‘alā Ḍarā’iḥ al-Ḥanābilah 2/677)
However, Ibn Ḥumayd explicitly says: “Someone I met informed me on the authority of a learned contemporary.” This vague and anonymous attribution clearly demonstrates the weakness of the report. Such wording indicates that the story is built upon unknown narrators and unverified claims, rendering it historically unreliable.
The footnote (by Bakr bin ‘Abdullah Abu Zaid, ‘Abdur-Rahman bin Sulayman al-‘Uthaymeen) states:
ويظهرون هذا الحسد والحقد على شكل قصص وحكايات زائفة؛ لأنّهم لا يجدون مطعنا في معتقده، فيلجئون إلى مثل هذه التّرهات، وتزييف مثل هذه الأكاذيب والقصص المختلقة، ولقد نقل الشّيخ حسين ابن غنّام- وهو مؤرخ سيرة الشّيخ- عكس ما يقول ابن حميد فقال: «وكان والده يتوسّم فيه الخير، ويحدّث بذلك ويبديه ويؤمّل منه ذلك ويرجوه، وكان يتعجّب من فهمه وإدراكه قبل بلوغه ويقول:
لقد استفدت من ولدي محمّد فوائد من الأحكام». وهذا هو المبادر إلى الذّهن.
وآية صدق دعوته، وسلامة نيّته، ونبل مقصده، أنّ بلادنا منذ قيام دعوته وظهورها حتى اليوم تنعم بالتّمسّك الصّحيح بمنهج السّلف قولا وعملا واعتقادا حكّاما وعلماء وطلبة علم، وعامّة، نسأل الله جلّت قدرته أن تكون الفرقة النّاجية التي على الحقّ ظاهرين كما أخبر الصّادق المصدوق صلّى الله عليه وعلى آله وصحبه وسلّم، وأن يحفظ لنا هذه النّعمة.
They (opponents) manifest this envy and rancor in the form of false stories and tales; because they find no fault in his creed, so they resort to such absurdities and the falsification of such lies and fabricated stories. Indeed, Sheikh Husain ibn Ghannam who is the historian of the Sheikh’s biography transmitted the opposite of what Ibn Humayd said. He said: “His father used to perceive good in him, speak of that, manifest it, hope for that from him, and anticipate it. He would marvel at his understanding and comprehension before he reached maturity and say: ‘I have benefited from my son Muhammad with benefits regarding rulings.'” This is what readily comes to mind.
A sign of the truthfulness of his call, the soundness of his intention, and the nobility of his objective is that our lands, since the establishment and emergence of his call until today, enjoy correct adherence to the methodology of the Salaf (pious predecessors) in statement, action, and creed among rulers, scholars, students of knowledge, and the common people. We ask Allah, Glorified be His power, that we be the saved sect upon the truth, manifest, as the Truthful and Believed (the Prophet), peace and blessings be upon him and his family and companions, informed. And we ask Him to preserve this blessing for us.
(Kitāb as-Suḥub al-Wābilah ‘alā Ḍarā’iḥ al-Ḥanābilah 2/677)