Did you know that the grandson of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab was a teacher at al-Azhar University in Egypt?
Several members of the descendants of Shaykh Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab studied under the scholars of al-Azhar University. Among them were Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Hasan, the author of Fath al-Majid, his son ʿAbd al-Latif, as well as the sons of ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab. There was also mutual praise and recognition exchanged between them and the shaykhs of al-Azhar.
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Hasan, after mentioning a number of his shaykhs in Najd, said:
“وأما مشايخنا من أهل مصر فمن فضلائهم في العلم الشيخ حسن القويسني، حضرت عليه شرح جمع الجوامع في الأصول للمحلي ومختصر السعد في المعاني والبيان… ومنهم إبراهيم البيجوري قرأتُ عليه شرح الخلاصة للأشموني إلى الإضافة، وحضرت عليه في السلم وعلى محمد الدمنهوري في الاستعارات والكافي في علمي العروض والقوافي، قرأها لنا بحاشيته بالجامع الأزهر عمَّره الله تعالى بالعلم والإيمان
“As for our shaykhs from among the people of Egypt, among their distinguished scholars is Shaykh Hasan al-Quwaysini. I studied with him Sharh Jamʿ al-Jawamiʿ in the principles of jurisprudence by al-Mahalli, and Mukhtasar al-Saʿd in semantics and rhetoric… Among them was also Ibrahim al-Bayjuri. I studied with him Sharh al-Khulasah by al-Ashmuni up to the chapter on iḍafah, and I attended lessons with him on al-Sullam. I also studied with Muhammad al-Damanhuri on metaphors, and al-Kafi in the sciences of prosody and rhyme. He taught us these with his own marginal notes at al-Azhar Mosque may Allah Most High keep it flourishing with knowledge and faith.”
From the book al-Iman wa al-Radd ʿala Ahl al-Bidʿah, p. 53, printed within Majmuʿat al-Rasaʾil wa al-Masaʾil al-Najdiyyah, also cited by the author of ʿUlamaʾ Najd wa Ghayrihim.
In fact, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab assumed the Hanbali chair at al-Azhar Mosque. Al-Baytar mentioned him in his historical work, saying:
الشيخ عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن عبد الوهاب النجدي الحنبلي العالم المشهور، والهمام الذي فضله مأثور… التفت إلى الطلب والتعلُّم والتعليم والاستفادة والإفادة إلى أن صار في الأزهر شيخ رواق الحنابلة، وكان ظاهر التقوى والصلاح والزهادة والعبادة
“Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab al-Najdi al-Hanbali was a well-known scholar, a man of determination whose virtue is widely transmitted… He devoted himself to seeking knowledge, learning, teaching, benefiting, and benefiting others, until he became the shaykh of the Hanbali riwaq at al-Azhar. He was clearly distinguished by piety, righteousness, asceticism, and devotion to worship.”
Hilyat al-Bashar fi Tarikh al-Qarn al-Thalith ʿAshar, vol. 1, p. 839.
The Azhar scholar Shaykh Muhammad al-ʿAzizi al-Shafiʿi, the Sufi of the Khalwati order, said:
(فإنه لما حضر إلى مصر السادة الوهابية، وكان من أجلهم وأعظمهم حبيبنا العمدة الفاضل والهمام الكامل مولانا الشيخ عبد الله الحنبلي ]يقصد: الشيخ عبد الله بن محمد بن عبد الوهاب[، وأخيه العمدة الفاضل حبيبنا صاحب الأخلاق المرضية، والأفعال المصطفوية: الشيخ إبراهيم الحنبلي، وكذلك من أعيانهم النبلاء الأذكياء: سيدي عبد الرحمن بن عبد العزيز، رحمه الله رحمةً واسعة بمنِّه وكرمه، وكان حبيبنا الشيخ عبد الله -رحمه الله رحمةً واسعة- من العلماء الفضلاء وأنجب ولده الشيخ عبد الرحمن الحنبلي، وهو من أذكياء أهل العلم وصلحائهم…
“When the Wahhabi notables came to Egypt, among the most eminent and greatest of them was our beloved, the reliable, virtuous, and highly determined master, our shaykh ʿAbd Allah al-Hanbali [meaning: Shaykh ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab], and his brother, the virtuous and reliable one, our beloved, known for praiseworthy character and Prophetic conduct: Shaykh Ibrahim al-Hanbali. Also among their noble and intelligent figures was Sayyidi ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz—may Allah grant him vast mercy by His grace and generosity. Our beloved Shaykh ʿAbd Allah—may Allah grant him vast mercy—was among the distinguished scholars and the righteous, and his son, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Rahman al-Hanbali, was outstandingly intelligent and among the righteous people of knowledge…”
al-Ijazah al-ʿIlmiyyah fi Najd: Qiraʾah Istiqraʾiyyah, vol. 2, pp. 518–521. See also the manuscript of the ijazah in the handwriting of the granting scholar, preserved in the Leiden Library, no. 2496.