Is a person saying "I am a Salafi" considered self-praise?

The questioner : Some of the brothers who do not follow the methodology of the Salaf claim that a Muslim who follows the methodology of the Salaf is not permitted to say about himself that he is a Salafi; and that is because he is praising himself, and self-praise is not permissible? So I ask for clarification, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah forgive him, he is here so that we can ask him the next question: Are you a Muslim? What does he say? What do you think he says?

The questioner : He will say yes.

The Shaykh : So we say this is self-praise. And I did not say, "You should be patient with us a little," and I did not say we would ask, "Are you a believer?" because that requires a long discussion; because faith has details: is it the testimony, or is it belief in the heart, testimony with the tongue, and action with the limbs, or is it not? This requires a long discussion. But if you ask him, "Are you a believer?" he might say to me, "I am a believer." So I say, "Are you among those whom Allah described as and so on? He will say: Yes. But if you ask him: "Are you among those who are humble in their prayer, and this is rarely achieved?" He will say: I am in doubt about this. So we say to him: Then you are in doubt about your faith? He will say: I do not doubt my creed. This is more self-praise than the first. This is a man who does not understand what Salafism is, even to say that this is self-praise. Salafism is the correct Islam. So whoever says about himself, "I am a Muslim, and my religion is Islam," is like the one who says today, "I am a Salafi." And this is a very necessary matter—peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings—the matter is very necessary for the young Muslim today to know the Islamic environment in which he lives, the Islamic environment, not the pre-Islamic age of ignorance; he must know the Islamic environment in which he lives, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has clarified and detailed for us the Qur'an in detail. Our Lord, Allah (Mighty and Majestic), says in the Noble Qur'an: . So Allah (Mighty and Majestic), by His mercy and favor, warned His believing servants not to be among the mushrikin (those who associate partners with Allah), whose characteristics, as He said, are . You know today that there is a group of Muslims called the Shi'ah, and they have actually and verbally separated from the Muslims; their name is Shi'ah. So if we leave these people aside and look at those who are called the people of the Sunnah and the community, these people have also divided into sects and parties. So there is no Muslim today who does not know that the schools of jurisprudence of the people of the Sunnah and the community are four: the Hanafi, the Maliki, the Shafi'i, and the Hanbali. And there is no doubt that these four imams are among the imams of the Salaf, but those who followed them, some followed them with excellence, and some followed them with evil. So the imams (may Allah have mercy on them) did well to the Muslims in explaining the jurisprudence they derived from the Book and the Sunnah, but the followers, some and some; because they have divided into sects and parties. The Hanafi does not pray behind the Shafi'i, and the Shafi'i does not pray behind the Hanafi, and so on. We will not delve into this much now, and as they say, a hint is enough for the intelligent.