Question:

It is frequently repeated by some people that “so-and-so is a Salafi” and “so-and-so is not a Salafi.” What is meant by al-madhhab al-salafi (the Salafi methodology)? Who are the most prominent Muslim scholars who called to it? Is it permissible to call them Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah (the People of the Sunnah and the Community) or al-Firqah al-Najiyah (the Saved Sect)? Furthermore, is this not considered a form of self-commendation?

Answer:

Praise be to Allah. What is meant by the Salafi methodology is that which the Salaf (righteous predecessors) of this Ummah—including the Companions, the Tabi’un (Successors), and the trustworthy, leading scholars—adhered to in terms of correct belief, sound methodology, sincere faith, and steadfast adherence to Islam in creed, law, manners, and conduct.

This stands in contrast to what the innovators, the deviant, and the mystifiers (adherents of myths and superstitions) adhere to.

Among the most prominent of those who called to the methodology of the Salaf are the Four Imams, Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his students, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab and his students, and others among the reformers and revivers—as no era is devoid of someone who stands up to establish proof for the sake of Allah.

​There is no harm in calling them Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah (the People of the Sunnah and the Community), to distinguish them from the adherents of deviant methodologies. And this is not a form of self-commendation; rather, it is a matter of distinguishing between the people of truth and the people of falsehood.