Some accuse the Salafis of being interested only in the issue of tawhid, and particularly tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), more than anything else; why is that?

The questioner : It is rumored, or some accuse the Salafis, that they are interested only in the issue of tawhid, and particularly tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), more than anything else; why is that?

The Shaykh : I actually observe that this question contains a degree of balance, and I hope the questioner intended that and did not make a shot in the dark, as the saying goes; because the question concludes with: "more than anything else." So we say: You are right. Is it a mistake for Salafi preachers to be more interested in calling Muslims to the foundation of Islam, which is tawhid, than to things that are far less important? Does this mean the question implies that this is a mistake? If that is the case, then the questioner is the one who is wrong. Why? If we asked any one of those who complain about the Salafis' interest in tawhid and what branches from it, such as fighting shirk, idolatry, superstitions, and false beliefs, and if we said to these objectors: "What should we be more interested in?" I challenge them to say that there is something more important than this. Yes, there are important things, and many very important things, and one person may not be able to engage in calling to them or understanding them, nor even a group of people, but rather multiple groups. As it is said:
"Knowledge, if you seek it, is vast,
And life is too short to acquire it all,
So prioritize the most important, then the next most important."
So if the Salafi preacher cannot, for example, research politics, economics, and—do you know what?—things called today in the modern era by technical terms, he cannot, because man has not been given the capacity or the memory to encompass everything that the Muslim community must know, for one individual to cover it all. This is impossible. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: .
So every Muslim must perform his share of the obligations, especially if they are individual obligations (fard 'ayn). Once he has finished those, he performs collective obligations (fard kifayah). As for why so-and-so works in this area and not that, that is a mistake. Who among people, no matter how favorably you think of them, can do everything that a Muslim must do? This is impossible, especially in the area of collective obligations. For example, those we see working—allegedly—in the political Islamic aspect, why do they not care about rectifying the beliefs of Muslims? An individual among them lives in their party or group for a few years or more, then leaves without understanding the creed, without understanding the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah), which the Arabs understood at the beginning of Islam while they were still in their disbelief and misguidance. But after they understood it, they disbelieved in it, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) related about them that they said: ?
Many Muslims today do not understand this phrase. So why do those who allegedly work in politics and allegedly work in education not focus on rectifying the creed? Why do they not focus on purifying Islam from what has entered it of weak and fabricated hadiths and deviant beliefs? Why? Why? These are questions that never end. We are content that if people like these perform their duty, we thank them for it, because it is one of the collective obligations. But on the condition that they do not fight those people who say that they have devoted their lives to what? Calling to tawhid. This is a measure of fairness. Otherwise, we have often heard, and even seen it printed in a message there in Jordan, where they say: "What do the Salafis have besides saying that moving the finger is a sunnah (recommended practice), and hanging a clock in the mosque is a bid'ah (religious innovation)?" And the one who writes this knows that these Salafis are addressing the most important issue today that the Islamic world needs: which is first, knowing the tawhid of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) in His worship and in His names and attributes, and second, singling out the Messenger (peace be upon him) in following him, excluding all people. This is the meaning of "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah" (There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah).
The Salafis, by the grace of Allah, may Allah bless them, call to this sincerity to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in His tawhid, and to singling out the Messenger (peace be upon him) in following him, excluding everyone else, even the prophets and messengers, let alone those below them among scholars and righteous people.
Perhaps you remember—and one thing brings another to mind—the hadith of Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both), which Imam Ahmad narrated in "Al-Musnad" and others, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a sheet of paper in 'Umar's hand one day, and he was reading from it. He said: . He said: "This is a sheet from the Torah that a man from the Jews wrote for me." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him), while angry, said: . If Musa (Moses) were alive, he would not have been able to follow anyone but the Messenger (peace be upon him). Who do the masses of Muslims follow today? Do they follow the Messenger (peace be upon him)? It is regrettable that I say this with complete frankness: Take any shaykh (scholar) in whom you believe there is knowledge and tell him: "Describe to me how the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to pray so that I can pray his prayer." If he is fair, he will preempt you by saying: "My madhhab (school of jurisprudence) is Shafi'i." If he is Hanafi, he will say: "My madhhab is Hanafi." If you ask him about the pillars of wudu' (the ablution for prayer) and the conditions of wudu', he will say: "I am Hanafi, they are four." If he is Shafi'i, he will say: "They are six." My brother, show me how the Messenger (peace be upon him) performed wudu'. They do not know the Messenger (peace be upon him), and the connection—regrettably—between them and the Messenger has been severed. So they actually follow others besides the Messenger, while their duty was to single out the Messenger (peace be upon him) in following him completely, just as they single out Allah in worship. Because this is the right of Allah: His worship alone, with no partner. And this is the right of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): following him alone, with no partner in this following. We do not find today that the scholars of Muslims are sincere to the Messenger (peace be upon him) in following him; rather, they take many, and very many, followers alongside him.
So we call for making Muslims understand the reality of this testimony: "La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah." So those who work in matters of Islam below this should not fight this call; because their call is not worth, as we say in Syria, "the skin of an onion," if they do not believe in this tawhid that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) clarified in His Book, and our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained in his Sunnah.
Our Lord says: , . Today, hundreds of thousands of Muslims pray, not only the five daily prayers, but they pray while people are sleeping. They perform Hajj (the major pilgrimage) to the House of Allah, not only the Hajj of Islam, but they may perform Hajj every year. And yet, in the House of Allah, we hear shirk (associating partners with Allah) doing its work. What is the benefit of these acts of worship if our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) explicitly states in His Book, as you heard: ? And He (Mighty and Majestic) said regarding the disbelievers: .
So if it is permissible for us to be proud that in most of our matters, and our call, we call to tawhid and tawhid al-asma' wa al-sifat (oneness of the names and attributes), if it is permissible for us to be proud of that, then we are very proud; because we are implementing a text in the Qur'an: . So the others should not fight this call, but rather submit to it, so that they may benefit from their other efforts, which are far, and very far, below that call.