Grandson of Imām Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (d. 1206), born in the year 1196 in the city of al-Dirʿiyyah which was the centre of the Salafī Daʿwah and its scholars. His father was killed in battle and so his grandfather, Imām Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb took care of him until he also passed away when ʿAbd al-Raḥmān was around 13 years old. He attended his grandfather’s lessons, memorised the Qurʾān, and then studied further under the senior students of his grandfather. He authored a commentary on his grandfather’s Kitāb al-Tawḥīd (The Book of Islamic Monotheism) entitled Fatḥ al-Majīd. He lived for almost 90 years. May Allāh have mercy upon him.

Advice

When purchasing a copy of Fatḥ al-Majīd, ensure you obtain the edition which contains Imām ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Bāz’s (d. 1420) remarks in the footnotes. The Salafī scholar, editor and annotator, Sh. Muḥammad Ḥāmid al-Faqī (d. 1378) annotated an edition of Fatḥ al-Majīd, however Imām Ibn Bāz noticed some mistakes therein and so he reviewed the work and corrected those mistakes. May Allāh reward them both for their efforts.

Bibliography

See: Sh. Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm Āl al-Shaykh’s biography of him in Fatḥ al-Majīd edited by Ashraf b. ʿAbd al-Maqṣūd and published by Muʾassasat Qurṭubah in Cairo (no date). The biography was taken from Rawḍat al-Afkār of the historian, and student of Imām Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, Ibn Ghannām (d. 1225).