Death is not equivalent to nonexistence, and the theory of the Wahhabis is consequentially rendered false.
There are different viewpoints concerning death, and we shall deal with the viewpoint of the Wahhabis on the subject. Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah is reported to have said:
Tawassul to the dead, even if he is the Prophet of Islam (s), is an act of polytheism because based on the statement of the Qur'an, he is dead and extinct:
إِنَّکَ مَیِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَیِّتُونَ
You will indeed die and they {too} will die indeed. [1]
He then continues:
Entreating the dead and uttering words such as: “O my master, O the Messenger of Allah! Help me,” “O my master 'Ali ibn Abi Talib! Assist me and the like are acts of polytheism. [2]
It is indeed amazing that Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah and the Wahhabis could have no belief in the purgatorial life {hayat al-barzakh}, thinking that the dead cannot establish spiritual relations with others, while the Qur'an affirms that those who are in the barzakh are alive.
النَّارُ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَيْهَا غُدُوًّا وَعَشِيًّا وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُوا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ
The Fire, to which they are exposed morning and evening. [3]
How could the Wahhabis regard the martyrs {shuhada'} as dead while the Qur'an says,
وَلاَ تَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِینَ قُتِلُوا فِی سَبِیلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتًا بَلْ أَحْیَاءٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ یُرْزَقُون
Do not suppose those who are slain in the way of Allah to be dead; rather they are living and provided for near their Lord.[4]
Accordingly, how could Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab also says that “Anyone who dies would be annihilated,” while the Holy Qur'an says,
فَکَشَفْنَا عَنْکَ غِطَاءَکَ فَبَصَرُکَ الْیَوْمَ حَدِیدٌ
We have removed your veil from you, and so your sight is acute today.[5]
In another place, it states thus,
وَلَهُمْ رِزْقُهُمْ فِیهَا بُکْرَهً وَعَشِیًّا
And therein they will have their provision morning and evening.[6]
Since there is morning and evening in the world of barzakh according to the verse quoted, and that the dead have provisions, those who are in the world of sojourn (barzakh) cannot be regarded as nonexistent {ma'dum}. Of course, morning and evening are special characteristics of barzakh because there is no sun on the Day of Resurrection which could portray this case. So, death is not equivalent to nonexistence, and the theory of the Wahhabis is consequentially rendered false. [7]
Notes:
1- Surat az-Zumar 39:30.
2- Fath al-Majid, p. 198.
3- Surat Ghafir (or al-Mu’min) 40:46.
4- Surat Al ‘Imran 3:169.
5- Surat Qaf 50:22.
6- Surat Maryam 19:62.
7- Ibrahimi, Muhammad Husayn, A New Analysis of Wahhabi Doctrines, p.p35- 37.