Refuting the doubt that the Salafi call is a recent one, and that the earliest person it is attributed to is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him).

Eid Abbasi : We return to this Salafi call to say: Some may say that it is a recent and new call, and that the earliest person it is attributed to is Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, then Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab in the modern era. This is a wrong idea; in fact, it is invalid. The Salafi call is the call of true Islam itself, the call of the Book and the Sunnah brought by Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It was the culmination of the calls, the last of the Shari'ahs, and the seal of the prophets. The reason it was not called that before was that there was no need, as the early Muslims were upon true Islam, so there was no need, and no cause to speak of... Salafi Islam or the Salafi call.
This is similar to us, for example, in other sciences, the Arabic sciences. People used to speak correct Arabic without error or mistake, so there was no need to establish the rules of grammar or the terminology of grammar, language, and rhetoric; because they were known by natural instinct. Likewise, the Salafi call: people were upon it, and there was no deviation or straying. But it began to appear gradually when other ideas began to come into existence, and when these foreign cultures began to influence Muslims, distorting some things and beautifying for some things that contradict Islam in creed and other matters. At that time, the imams of the Muslims, from the Companions and the Tabi'un and those after them, began to point out the danger of these foreign elements and the danger of these innovations. So the call would appear and strengthen gradually as these innovations increased, and as these cultures that influence Muslims increased. Among the most prominent who distinguished this call and clarified it clearly was the Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, when the fitnah of the creation of the Qur'an appeared in his time, and an attempt was made to force all people to this false, innovated idea. He stood firm with that ideal steadfastness and took that wonderful, courageous stance. He was with the Muslims in their steadfastness and their lives, and those Mu'tazilah were in another row opposite to that. So the two calls were distinguished, and the original appeared between the two directions: the direction of... and the people of opinion, those who prioritize reason over transmission, who do not consider the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, and do not consider the methodology of the righteous Salaf, and those who make the foundation the Book and the Sunnah, and make the foundation the guidance of the righteous Salaf.
And so the Salafi call began to be distinguished gradually as the Muslims moved further away from their pure, true religion, and as foreign ideas and cultures alien to Islam took hold... and strengthened and were practiced. In the time of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, this had become severe, and the cultures and intellectual influences had expanded until they diverted most Muslims, so that only a rare, small minority remained, strange to the society, who were those who remained preserving the call of Islam and the Sunnah, and adhering to the way of the righteous Salaf. At that time, the urgent need appeared to clarify this call and to distinguish it. So the writings of Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him), the many... by which he distinguished the true Islam that the Messenger... the righteous was upon, his books were a lighthouse for those seeking guidance, and they were a criterion between truth and falsehood. He established the proof against the opponents through debates, letters, books, and in gatherings, and no argument remained for the stubborn except what is due to stubbornness and what is due to arrogance.
Thus, in his time, it was distinguished and this name appeared: the call of the Salaf, the methodology of the Salaf, and the way of the Salaf, even though these words had also been used before him. And I think this famous verse in creed about the madhab of the Salaf was said:
"And all good is in following those who came before, and all evil is in innovating what those who came after have introduced."
I think it was before Shaykh al-Islam, and this word is eloquent Arabic, so it appeared in their speech. But as I said: it became clearer and more concentrated in the era of Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him). As I said, Sufi ideas and their different paths, the ideas of the scholars of kalam, sectarian fanaticism, innovations in religion, and weak and fabricated hadiths dominated people. So the strangeness of Islam appeared, and it appeared that there was an urgent need for it to be clarified and made clear so that people would know the truth from falsehood; so that whoever perishes perishes with clear proof, and whoever lives lives with clear proof.
The students of the Imam Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn Kathir, and others followed this message and this call throughout the ages. But they were fought and oppressed, so some of them died in prisons, some were killed, and some were tortured. The material dominance was for the opponents in most of the ages, even though the spiritual dominance, the dominance of proof and evidence, was for the people of the Sunnah; in fulfillment of his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) renewed this call in Najd when it was in deep darkness, and when idolatries were controlling the lands. He was educated with the culture of Shaykh al-Islam, took from him, read his books, and began to spread them and call to them. He suffered much harm and war because of that, but Allah (Mighty and Majestic) granted him success with the first Saudi princes who supported him. From that, this call appeared and influenced Muslims and reached many countries, and it still has a presence in the Saudi lands and others.