The Shaykh mentions a discussion with a person who rejects being called a Salafi?

The Shaykh : When I mentioned to them the discussion that took place between me and that Egyptian writer, where I asked him, "If someone asked you, 'What is your madhhab (school of jurisprudence)?' what would you say?" He said, "I would say, 'I am a Muslim.'" I said, "That is an incorrect answer." He asked, "Why?" I said, "That answer would be appropriate if the question were, 'What is your religion?' I am not asking you what your religion is; I know you are a Muslim. I am asking you about your madhhab, like the one who was sleeping and woke up. He was a literary figure and a writer, and he used to attend my lectures in Damascus, Syria. But due to the passage of time and the influence of ideas that contain a little or a lot of deviation, he forgot the methodology. Pay attention. He then said, 'So I will say, 'I am upon the Book and the Sunnah.'" I said, "That is insufficient." He asked, "Why?" I told him, "Every Muslim among the seventy-three sects gives that answer, because there is no sect among them that says, 'I am not upon the Book and the Sunnah.' What is the difference between you and the Shi'ah, the Zaydis, and so on? They all say, 'We are also upon the Book and the Sunnah.'" So he came to his senses and said, "Then I will say: I am upon the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the pious predecessors (Salaf)." I said, "You have hit the mark now, but I have a question for you. You are a writer and a literary figure. Is it permissible for us to shorten this phrase, 'I am a Muslim upon the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the pious predecessors'? This phrase is a line long. Can I not shorten it to, 'I am a Salafi'?" The man fell silent. We said, "So this is a linguistic expression that has absolutely no relation to religion. Therefore, this naming should not be included in the category of newly invented matters. Rather, as I said earlier, this is from the unrestricted interests (maslaha mursalah). The interest at hand requires us to distinguish our call from other calls, which deviate from our call a little or a lot, each according to its degree. So we say, 'Upon the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the pious predecessors,' which is equivalent to the Salafi call. The one who belongs to it is equivalent to a Salafi. And sufficient for the believers is fighting."

The questioner : ... a person says, "Egyptian."

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Like a person, for example, this one is Egyptian, this one is Jordanian, like that.

The Shaykh : A linguistic expression.

The questioner : A linguistic expression.

The Shaykh : But if he said, "I am, for example, Al-Albani," and raised his head, his claim would be invalid.