What is Salafiyyah?


Question:

What is “Al-Salafiyyah”? and what is your opinion regarding it?

Answer:

Salafiyyah (Salafism) is a term derived from the word “Salaf”, which refers to the righteous predecessors of the first three generations of Muslims which include the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet), Tabi‘un (Followers, the generation after the Companions of the Prophet) and Tabi‘ Al-Tabi‘un (Successors, the generation after the Tabi‘un). The Messenger of Allah attested to their righteousness when he said: “The best of people are my generation (or my century), then those who come after them, then those who come after them. Then there will come a people whose testimony will precede their oath and their oath will precede their testimony.” 1

The word “Salafiyyun (Salafis)” is the plural of “Salafi”, derived from “Salaf” that has the above-mentioned meaning. It refers to those following the way of the Salaf (righteous predecessors) of the early Muslim generation in their adherence to the Qur‘an and the Sunnah and calling people to believe and act upon them, and thereby became known as “Ahl-ul-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah.”

  1. Musnad Ahmad (4/426, 427, 479), Bukhari (2651, 3650, 6428, 6695), Muslim (2535), Abu Dawud (4657), Tirmidhi (2222, 2223). ↩

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