How to respond to those who deny our affiliation with the methodology of the Salaf and that we call ourselves Salafis?

The questioner : The question is: They accuse us of the name "Salafis," saying that this name causes division and that it is not established by the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : They say it causes division, and what else?

The questioner : They say the name is not established by the Sunnah. We say we are Salafis, and we are the group of Salafis in Algeria, a small faction. We love this name because, as we have learned, it is upon the methodology of the righteous Salaf.

The Shaykh : And to what do they claim affiliation?
The Algerian: They claim affiliation with the activist methodology and with the Tabligh group.

The Shaykh : So what is the difference between us and them?
The Algerian: Yes.

The Shaykh : What is the difference between us and them in their opinion?
The Algerian: In their opinion, we have deviated from the methodology.

The Shaykh : Listen, my brother, there are two issues here: The first issue is that in our Salafi call, we divide; and the second issue is that this name is an innovation with no basis. Now, if we set aside the first issue and take the second issue first, we will show them that they meet us in their adoption of a name by which they label themselves, distinguishing themselves by this title from the rest of the Muslims. The Islamic groups present on the scene today, as they say, include among the most famous the Muslim Brotherhood, then the Islamic Party group, then the group—excuse me, the Islamic Tahrir Party—then the Tabligh group, and finally today the group that was previously known as the Takfir and Jihad group; now they have dropped the word "takfir" and limited it to the word "jihad." None of these names were known before. We say frankly that when we claim affiliation with the Salaf, and the one who claims affiliation with the Salaf is a Salafi, and the group claiming affiliation with the Salaf are Salafis, we do not deny that this naming was not present before. But why do they take offense at what they themselves are doing? However, we differ from them completely in this naming, we uphold it, and we do not accept a substitute for it in the present age at least; because it indicates the correct methodology that every Muslim must follow, and that is not the case with the other names we mentioned earlier. Each of them does not indicate the methodology of those who claim affiliation with it. Take, for example, the Muslim Brotherhood; they claim affiliation with a group in the present age, while we claim affiliation with a group in the past age, and the difference between the two affiliations is vast. As it was said: "We claim affiliation with the righteous Salaf whom Allah the Exalted praised in His Book, and our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praised them in his hadith, and commanded us in some of the authentic hadiths from him to hold fast to their guidance. As for the Muslim Brotherhood, which group do they claim affiliation with? Here we say: 'This difference between us is sufficient, and every vessel emits what is in it.'"
If we set aside the Muslim Brotherhood now as a name and methodology, and move to the Tahrir Party, to whom does this party claim affiliation? To a man,The Shaykh : Taki al-Din al-Nabhani (may Allah have mercy on him and forgive us and him). I met him and know him, and I know that his methodology was not upon the Book and the Sunnah. I met him twice and a discussion took place between me and him. Now there is no room to delve into the story of what happened, but he was not upon the Book and the Sunnah, nor was he upon any of the followed schools of jurisprudence, whether in creed or in rulings. As for creed, you do not know if he is Salafi in creed, meaning upon the methodology of the righteous Salaf and the methodology of the people of hadith, or if he is Maturidi or Ash'ari. This is in creed. As for rulings, you do not know if he is Shafi'i, Hanafi, Maliki, or Hanbali. No, I know that he is not of these, nor of these, nor of these. That is because he takes from every school what suits the age in his opinion, and this is what I heard directly from him. So if those who deny this name to us are from the Tahrir Party, let them deny their own affiliation with the Tahrir Party. And we say the same for the other names of the groups known today, for they all do not give these names their methodology. And even if they give a methodology to them, they do not give that their methodology is upon the Book and the Sunnah, as is the explicit Salafi call in its invitation to the Book and the Sunnah.
This is what concerns the names. The completion of this speech is to remember that no danger befalls the Muslim if he disavows any of these names. It is not so for the one who disavows affiliation with the righteous Salaf; because if this person knows what he is saying, he exits from Islam as a hair comes out of dough. Because the righteous Salaf, at their head, is our Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him), then his Companions, then those who followed them, then those who followed them. And this is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) stated explicitly in the famous hadith of the sects when he said: They said: Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: So our call may meet with some of the Islamic groups whose names we mentioned earlier, and those we did not mention. Every one who belongs to Islam cannot say frankly, "I am not upon the Book and the Sunnah," because if he says that, he has exited the circle of Islam. But is it sufficient in this time for the Muslim to claim affiliation with the Book and the Sunnah only?
The previous hadith answered with complete frankness that one of the signs of the saved sect is that it is upon what the Messenger and his Companions were upon. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say in the specific answer describing the saved sect that it is the one that is upon what the Messenger was upon only, but he added to that: So he said: .
And supporting this addition is the saying of Allah the Exalted in the Noble Qur'an: Allah the Exalted mentioned the believers along with the Messenger here, so He said: It was possible for Allah the Exalted to say: But for a profound wisdom, He connected the believers to the Messenger and said: What is the wisdom of this connection? The wisdom is very clear, because the believers explain to us what the Messenger (peace be upon him) was upon in speech, action, or approval. They were the closest of people to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in connection, and the closest and most truthful to him in understanding, and so on. Therefore, it is not permissible for the Muslim to limit himself in this time to claiming affiliation with the Qur'an and the Sunnah. This affiliation was sufficient in the time of the Messenger (peace be upon him). But after that, when foreign ideas and false opinions entered Islam, in the name of Islam, sometimes by independent reasoning and sometimes with bad intent, Islam reached us with this difference in creeds, rulings, morals, and behavior. The Muslims differed greatly, so it is not sufficient for the Muslim today to belong in his understanding of Islam to the Book and the Sunnah only. Rather, he must add to that what the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) were upon, then those who followed them, then those who followed them. This is our call, we Salafis.
So we return to their statement that I quoted from them earlier that we divide. Who do we divide? If we divide between the truth and misguidance, that is our duty. And if we divide between the one who is right and the one who is astray, that is our duty. So they must specify their words when they accuse us of dividing. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself divided. Indeed, the clear Qur'an that Allah revealed to the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) has among its names al-Furqan (The Criterion). Why? Because it distinguishes between the truth and falsehood. And among the names of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), as it came in Sahih al-Bukhari, is al-Mufarriq (The Divider). Al-Mufarriq is among his names (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is a great honor for him, because he distinguishes between the truth and falsehood, and between the Muslim and the mushrik, and between the believer and the hypocrite, and the like of that. So the word "dividing" can be a praise and it can be a blame. Therefore, it is not permissible to use this word absolutely on the path of praise, nor is it permissible to use it absolutely on the path of blame.