Discussion on the concept of affiliation with the Salafiyyah, and the Shaykh’s question about the state of the Salafi da'wah in Saudi Arabia.

The Shaykh: Brothers, let’s just use a name other than the one we were arguing about earlier, which is our brothers, the people of the Sunnah. Our brothers, the people of the Sunnah, this is an old term, I mean, very old.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh: And if we want to be specific, we say: the people of the hadith, O Abu Ahmad, the people of the hadith, and we specify and specify [everyone laughs!].
The student: And we specify...

The Shaykh: The people of the Sunnah, the people of the hadith, and the Salafis; why? There is a secret here, but not like the secrets of the Sufis; no, the secrets of the jurists and scholars, which is: the people of the Sunnah, if used in a general sense, includes what relates to creed, the school of the people of the hadith, the Maturidiyyah, and the Asha'irah; all of these are people of the Sunnah if used in a general sense. The people of the Sunnah in legal rulings are the four schools of jurisprudence. But if it is said: I am specific, then the people of the hadith are the second rank, the people of the Sunnah are the first rank, the people of the hadith are the second rank. The people of the hadith do not include the Asha'irah and the Maturidiyyah, but rather they are those who follow the school of the people of the hadith, Imam Ahmad and his like. The Salafiyyah here, put... they follow the first methodology, the first... as Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Follow and do not innovate, for you have been sufficed. Stick to the old matter." Stick to the old matter; meaning, in the modern expression that is detested by them but acceptable to us, we must be extreme reactionaries, a pure reactionary, meaning for the first era. Stick to the old matter, what? The old matter. So my question now: What is the position of the people of the Sunnah in the city regarding affiliation, first, with the call to what the righteous Salaf were upon, then briefly, the name, either to the Salafi da'wah initially, then to being a Salafi finally? Inform us with your knowledge, may Allah prolong your virtue?
The student: ... I put it in the position.
Generally speaking - Shaykh - may Allah preserve you, praise be to Allah, it is going well, their affairs are going well, and the da'wah is going well by the grace of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - praise be to Allah, and by what Allah - Mighty and Majestic - has bestowed upon the people of the land in terms of adherence to the Shari'ah generally, in terms of governance, and also in terms of the people of the land accepting what the people of the land have, as well as their rulers and the dealings between the rulers. This is by the grace of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - generally. So the da'wah, by the permission of Allah - the Exalted - is going well. But some upstarts and some outsiders who entered under the name of the da'wah, under the name of the da'wah, and everyone who affiliates with their party, even if they do not declare it explicitly, meaning, he says: I am such and such, or I am such and such, or I am such and such, but you know from his manner and his speech that he is not from the people of the Salafi da'wah. But they do not declare it openly. He tells you: I am such and such, or I am such and such, or I am such and such, but they have their own specific entries.
Also, they have their own means in the da'wah, from sports, the means of sports, that sports is a means for the da'wah, all types of sports and the like. Also, putting on plays or dramas or the like, these have been found to exist. And they also have their role and their places, especially in the summer vacations, utilizing the summer centers and others, praise be to Allah. But generally, the Salafi da'wah is the one that governs the situation and is dominant in the situation. But also, there are other groups that have their role. After this group comes a group they call the Ahbab or the Muhibbin or the people of the da'wah, they have their names. The famous or common known one is the people of Tabligh, they also have their role; because people usually there love tolerance, they love kindness, and they come through this door; so they also have their role.

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: And they also have their references and shaykhs in the da'wah to whom they return to inquire about what has happened and about some of the matters that are there. But generally, by the grace of Allah - Mighty and Majestic - you have the mosque lessons that testify to these lessons in the mosques in the Haram, and also the Friday sermons, praise be to Allah, and also the speeches that are delivered after the prayers are widespread among us, often delivered after all the prayers - praise be to Allah - in their general form and content for the Salafi da'wah. As for the second paths, they also exist, but to a lesser extent, less than the Salafi da'wah.

The Shaykh: Yes, we ask Allah to expand the circle of the da'wah until it encompasses the whole world, if Allah wills. And we believe that His saying - the Exalted - : is nothing but the call to the truth, which is the call of pure Islam, which we express as the Salafi da'wah; because the call to the Salafiyyah means purifying the Sunnah from what has entered it of weak and fabricated hadiths, as it means purifying ideas and beliefs from what has entered them due to the science of kalam, and this is a very serious matter, besides the absurdities and superstitions based on weak or fabricated hadiths. It also means, from another aspect, which is a much wider circle than the first two circles; and that is purifying Islamic jurisprudence from what is in it of rulings that contradict the correct Sunnah; because the reality is that the four schools of jurisprudence are the schools of the people of the Sunnah in truth; because the four Imams are from the Imams of the Sunnah. But first, they are Imams who exercise independent legal reasoning, and the one who exercises independent legal reasoning is rewarded in any case; if he is correct, he has two rewards, and if he errs, he has one reward, as that has come explicitly in the correct Sunnah, and as is the consensus of the Muslim community. But after them came people who affiliated with these schools and followed the principles of the Imam that he saw and adopted, and did not return to the Book and the Sunnah in them, so they became followers of a scholar without knowing his evidence, and they made religion following a school of these schools; therefore, the circle of verification and correction narrowed, and let us say the circle of refinement and preference based on the Book and the Sunnah narrowed.
Therefore, it is obligatory for our scholars who agree with us on the methodology mentioned earlier, the Book and the Sunnah, and what the righteous Salaf were upon, to generalize their knowledge, research, and verification of all these matters; namely: what relates to creed, what relates to the Sunnah and distinguishing its authentic from its weak, and what relates to legal rulings, and purify them from what has entered them of jurisprudence by independent legal reasoning or analogical reasoning that contradicts the Sunnah, or relying on some weak hadiths, so that they were made principles and branches were built upon them. Does the shadow stand straight while the stick is crooked? The answer is obvious: No; therefore, it is upon us all to be concerned with directing the Muslims to these three matters: purifying the creed, purifying the Sunnah, purifying the legal rulings from what contradicts the correct Sunnah.
And we ask Allah - Mighty and Majestic - to make us and you all successful in what He loves and is pleased with, and may Allah reward those who did something to rest the Shaykh, and May Allah reward you.
The student: Shaykh, now it is your turn so that I can renew for you... May Allah be pleased with you [everyone laughs!].