The Shaykh mentioned a discussion that took place between him and one of the Egyptian writers regarding the term Salafiyyah

The Shaykh : ... And very recently, one of the Egyptian writers visited me. He had written a book and came to me so we could discuss some of the issues in the book. What is intended here is what relates to the topic of the Salaf and Salafiyyah. I said to him, and this discussion is for the enlightenment of our brothers present here, I said to him, if someone were to ask you, "O so-and-so, what is your madhhab (school of thought)?", what would be your answer? He said: "Muslim." And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. I said: "Is that sufficient?" He said: "It is sufficient." I said: "If I were to ask any of the Islamic sects, their answer would be the same as yours. If I asked the Shi'ah, if I asked the Rafidah, 'What is your madhhab?'—especially since the Shi'ah have the well-known taqiyyah (dissimulation)—they would tell you, 'Muslim.' So what is the difference between you and him? Be aware that this answer is truly not sufficient. So he added a qualifier and said: 'Muslim, upon the Book and the Sunnah.' I said: 'Good, this is a very necessary qualifier, but is it sufficient?' He said: 'It is sufficient.' What Book and Sunnah?
onAl-Halabi : He mentioned it at the beginning, and...

The Shaykh : Ah, I said to him, it is not sufficient, even though he is upon the Book and the Sunnah, it is not sufficient in this time. He said, "Why?" with surprise. I said to him: "Take any of the Islamic sects that fall under the generality of and ask them; they will say what you are saying, 'upon the Book and the Sunnah,' because there is no Muslim who disavows the Book and the Sunnah, because if he did, he would exit Islam. So it is necessary to add another qualifier that distinguishes you from the other sects whose methodologies and paths you disavow. He said, "So what should I say, for example?" I said: "Upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih (the Pious Predecessors)." I said: "Upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih." And I said to him, among other things I said to him: "Have you heard... he was formerly from the Muslim Brotherhood, but it appears from what we heard from him, and our brother the Khatib, where was he?"

Another questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Ah, he was present. He is not from the Muslim Brotherhood, and he told us the truth about Hasan al-Banna, very good words that we did not know before. And this one who was speaking was considered one of the disciples ofThe Shaykh : Hasan al-Banna (may Allah have mercy on him). The point is, I said, start from your former group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and go down to all the groups: the Tahrir Party, the Tabligh Jama'ah, Shabab Muhammad, and what other groups are there? Do you find any of them saying "upon the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih," or do they suffice with saying "upon the Book and the Sunnah"? As for one of them saying "and upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih," you do not hear that except from people like us. And this is the greatest proof that it is not sufficient for a Muslim today to say, "I am a Muslim," first, and then it is not sufficient to say, "I am a Muslim upon the Book and the Sunnah only," second. Rather, the qualifier that distinguishes between the truth and falsehood is necessary, which is "upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih." And I mentioned this to him, as I have mentioned to others many, many times, and some of our brothers present have heard me say that repeatedly and repeatedly, based on my statement just now that all Muslims say "upon the Book and the Sunnah." The Mu'tazilah in the past and their followers in the present, under various and sometimes brilliant names, contradict the Salaf al-Salih in many of their beliefs, and yet they believe in the Book and the Sunnah. So what do they do with the verses by which the Salaf al-Salih argued in some matters of belief, which these people contradict? Do they deny these texts? The answer is no. What do they do? They interpret the Qur'anic texts figuratively (ta'wil) so that they agree with their desires.