The Shaykh’s argument for the necessity of adhering to the methodology of the righteous Salaf, and that this is of utmost importance.

The Shaykh : The third point is that we have established that it is obligatory to return to the Book first, and then to the Sunnah second. However, many people, especially in this era in which we praise Allah that many Muslim youths have become aware of this reality, namely the obligation to return to the Book and the Sunnah, I say that some of these people do not realize that today, between us and the era of Prophethood and Messengership, there are fourteen centuries. Therefore, we must add to returning to the Book and the Sunnah the adherence to the methodology of the righteous Salaf. We should call people to the Book and the Sunnah, but not only that; rather, to the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the righteous Salaf. That is, we should understand the Book and the Sunnah as the Salaf understood them, according to their rules and what they explicitly stated. This is a very important matter, and the reason is clear if you recall with me the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) This is how most narrations of the hadith came, and in some of them, through chains that support one another, it is stated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about this saved sect, which alone will enter Paradise. He said (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) In this hadith, there is knowledge and a clear sign for the saved sect among the seventy-three sects! These seventy-three sects do not disavow Islam, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ruled that they are among the people of the Fire, except for one, which is the one that holds fast to what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was upon and what the Companions were upon. This meaning is confirmed by the hadith of al-'Irbad ibn Sariyah, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us a sermon that made our hearts tremble and our eyes shed tears. We said, 'O Messenger of Allah, we see you as one who is bidding farewell, so give us a bequest.' He said to us: He said: This is news from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and He who knows best and is the Wise has informed us of it. And indeed, This great disagreement we saw when the Muslim nation held fast... in the past, and we see it today in the modern era, manifested in... this long, extended Islamic world. In another hadith, it was added: The point of this is his saying (peace be upon him): The secret behind the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) emphasis on holding fast to what the Companions were upon, after his (peace be upon him) command to hold fast to his Sunnah, is a wondrous matter. That is because these old and new sects, however deeply rooted in misguidance and separation from Islam they may be, do not disavow the Book and the Sunnah, nor do they say, "We do not take from the Book and the Sunnah." Except for those who have gone to extremes, and praise be to Allah, they are few. Those who have gone to extremes in Sufism, where the misguidance of these extremists among the Sufis has reached the point of turning away from the Book, the Sunnah, and the Salaf, and everything called Islam, to... their delusions and revelations, which some of them express by saying: "My heart has informed me of my Lord." So all knowledge, all knowledge, for these people is what is cast into their heart, which they claim is inspiration, but it is undoubtedly from the whispers of the devils. We are not discussing with these people, because they have cast Islam behind their backs. Rather, we mean the sects that still explicitly state that they hold fast to the Book and the Sunnah as well.