The Ruling on Affiliation with the Salafi and Islamic Groups

The questioner:
Your Eminence the Shaykh. What is your opinion of one who considers it acceptable to call a person a Salafi or an Athari, or to call these groups Salafi or Athari? And does this correspond to the Ikhwan or the Tablighi?

Another questioner:
And is the Salafi call considered one of the contemporary schools of jurisprudence, as stated in the book *A Collection of Contemporary Religions and Schools* published by the World Assembly for Muslim Youth?

The Shaykh:
The Salaf is the school of the people of the Sunnah and the community; it is the school that it is obligatory to adhere to, and it is what the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who followed them with excellence practiced. So, if one is sincere among them, there is no harm in saying that he is from the people of the Sunnah and that he is a Salafi. I hope that is the case. Even if I am intelligent, I hope to be so as well. I believe that the school of the people of the Sunnah is the truth, and I care for it, and so on, which indicates that he believes in this school and adheres to it. As for the other schools, they are schools of religious innovation (bid'ah). If one affiliates with anyone other than the people of the Sunnah and the community, it is an innovation, whether he is a Jahmi, a Murji'i, a Mu'tazili, a Rafidi, or otherwise. As for what concerns the Muslim Brotherhood, the Supporters of the Sunnah, and the like, there is a distinction here. If their goal is the truth and supporting the truth and the religion, there is no harm on them. However, fanaticism for the Brotherhood or for others, because he affiliates with them, even if it contradicts the truth, is not permissible, contrary to the Sunnah and the community.
So, it is obligatory for the Muslim Brotherhood to support the truth, and for their school to be the support of the truth, whoever said it, and with whoever said it, and what is in accordance with it. This is what is obligatory for the Muslim Brotherhood. Many people attribute to them that they are fanatical about their school and their sayings, and that they do not show loyalty to anyone except those who show loyalty to them and enter into what they have stipulated. This is a mistake, a great mistake. And whoever delves into the works of Shaykh Hasan finds some defects in them. So, it is obligatory for the Muslim Brotherhood to be in accordance with the truth, and for their goal to be obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and following the Shari'ah of Allah and what was the way of the Salaf of the Ummah, even if it contradicts Hasan al-Banna or contradicts anyone else. It is obligatory for the believers to adhere to the Shari'ah of Allah, and to follow the methodology of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and those who followed them with excellence. The Imams have clarified this, such as Shaykh Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad, and 'Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Darimi, and others. Among the best books on this are the books of Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him), in which he has clarified what is necessary: *Al-'Aqilah al-Wasiliyyah*, *Al-Tanuriyyah*, *Al-Hamawiyyah*, *Minhaj al-Sunnah*. All these books are of great importance. The book *Al-Tahrir al-Mughayyir* is good, and the book of 'Abdullah ibn Ahmad, in which he transmitted the words of the Salaf, and responded to [the book] *Al-Miniri* by [its author], is also good.
The point is that it is obligatory for the believer to adhere to the manners of the Sunnah in speech and action, because adhering to it is adhering to what Allah said and what the Messenger said. This is their school: "Allah said, the Messenger said," and His Messenger . As for referring to the saying of Hasan al-Banna or the saying of so-and-so, this is a mistake; it is not from the time of the Sunnah and the community. Hasan al-Banna is a scholar among scholars who errs and hits the mark, and so is anyone who came after him in absence and others. And so are the Supporters of the Sunnah, Hamid al-Faqi and others, who err and hit the mark, and those after them. But the Supporters of the Sunnah, as far as I have seen from following their sayings, are safer. It is necessary for everyone who affiliates with these groups to fear Allah, and for his goal to be following the truth and following the evidence, even if it contradicts the head of the group of support, or even if it contradicts the head of the Muslim Brotherhood. The truth must be in his heart above everyone. The text from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger must be above Shaykh Hasan, above Shaykh Hamid, above the other Shaykh and the other. The text must be the basis when there is disagreement; one returns to the text: "Allah said, the Messenger said." If you yield to the Shaykhs of humans, and what is established in his heart is following the Salaf, not the school of the Brotherhood, not the school of the Supporters of the Sunnah, not Zayd, not 'Amr. But where they hit the mark, it is on the eye and the head; you agree with them and thank them for it. And where they erred, you point it out to them, and say to them: "O my brothers, thus and thus, and O my brothers, thus and thus. This is sufficient for you. It is upon you not to divide the Muslims. It is upon you to follow the truth. It is upon you to follow the righteous Salaf. Be one Ummah, and hold fast to the rope of Allah in all matters, and do not divide."