The Meaning of the Term al-Salaf and Who the Salafis Are

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

Machine translationRead the Arabic original

The second question of Fatwa No. ( 6149 ):

Q2: I want an explanation of the term (al-Salaf) and who the Salafis are , I want a brief summary of the book [Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah], I want an explanation of the first chapter of al-Kahf from verse 1 - 5.
A2: al-Salaf: they are the people of the Sunnah and the community who follow Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), from the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and those who followed their path until the Day of Resurrection. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the saved sect, he said:

They are those who are upon what I am upon today and my Companions

هم من كان على مثل ما أنا عليه اليوم وأصحابي

. As for the first five verses of Surat al-Kahf, they are:

⁽¹⁾ [All] praise is [due] to Allah, who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. ⁽²⁾ [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward ⁽³⁾ In which they will remain forever ⁽⁴⁾ And to warn those who say, "Allah has taken a son." ⁽⁵⁾ They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie.

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنْـزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجًا (1) قَيِّمًا لِيُنْذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِنْ لَدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا (2) مَاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا (3) وَيُنْذِرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا (4) مَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ وَلاَ لآبَائِهِمْ كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ إِنْ يَقُولُونَ إِلا كَذِبًا

[Al-Kahf 18:1-5]

Their meaning is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) praised Himself as the One, the Eternal, who has no partner in His attributes of majesty and perfection, nor in His dominion, nor in bestowing blessings upon His creation, whether tangible or intangible. The greatest and highest of these blessings is His sending His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to all the worlds as a mercy and a favor from Him, and His revealing to him the Qur'an, a straight book, meaning: upright

and has not made therein any deviance.

وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجًا

[Al-Kahf 18:1]

with no discrepancy, contradiction, or confusion in it; rather, its parts support one another and confirm one another. By it, Allah guides those who follow His guidance to the paths of peace, and He warns of His severe punishment, in this world and the Hereafter, those who deviate from His path, disobey His command, and transgress His limits.

and to give glad tidings to the believers

وَيُبَشِّرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Those who describe Him with attributes of perfection and purify Him from a partner, a companion, or a child, and who do righteous deeds and observe His limits, have a great reward, immediate victory in this world, and eternal bliss in the Hereafter.

In which they will remain forever

مَاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا

[Al-Kahf 18:3]

They do not depart from it, nor does it depart from them; it is an unlimited gift. And He warns of His wrath and severe punishment those who belittle Him in tyranny and aggression, saying: "Allah has taken a son," out of their ignorance and slander, for they have no knowledge of it, nor did their fathers before them. It is only the ancient inherited ignorance in which their last ones imitated their first ones due to their dullness and the blindness of their insights.

Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths

كَبُرَتْ كَلِمَةً تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَفْوَاهِهِمْ

[Al-Kahf 18:5]

How great is the ugliness and abhorrence of that
word coming out of their mouths without having any firm scientific foundations in their hearts. They say nothing but a lie and a fabrication. As for the book [Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah], it is a noble book containing an explanation of the creed of the people of the Sunnah and the community with evidence from the Book and the Sunnah. We advise you to believe in what is in it and to call to that. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

Similar fatwas