He was asked about some of the da'is who avoid speaking about the Salafi methodology and instead fiddle around with the phrase "the Sunnah and the community."

The questioner : Is there a question, my son?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : My Shaykh, some of the da'is avoid mentioning the Salafi methodology, I mean in their books?

The Shaykh : ... From the group of the people of the Sunnah and the community, take care of this, hehehe!
The students: Heh heh heh.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : They mention, I mean they fiddle around with another word, which is the phrase "the people of the Sunnah and the community," and they say this is a general term. What is your opinion of this, I mean this phrase?

The Shaykh : We have spoken about this more than once!

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : And this morning we said that this phrase has two implications: an implication of truth and an implication of falsehood. They intend the falsehood and do not intend the truth. If they had combined both intentions, the intention of truth and the intention of falsehood, their matter would have been slightly easier. They intend by "the people of the Sunnah and the community," in relation to creed, the Maturidi and Ash'ari schools, and they exclude from the people of the Sunnah and the community the people of hadith, especially those who affiliate themselves with the righteous Salaf. Others among the moderns today broaden the meaning of this phrase to include all Muslims who testify that there is no god but Allah. We see that this phrase should not be used because it is like the words of some politicians that can be pulled to the right and to the left. And if we, by the grace of Allah upon us, see that Blessed and Exalted is He has bestowed upon us the understanding of our Islam, the Book of our Lord, and the Sunnah of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),

The questioner : (Peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : upon the methodology of our righteous Salaf, then it is befitting that we affiliate ourselves with these Salaf, not with a phrase that includes the Khalaf who were not ashamed and did not hesitate to declare it openly, saying, "The school of the Salaf is safer, and the school of the Khalaf is more precise and more knowledgeable," and perhaps they added a third word.

The questioner : More honorable.

The Shaykh : I do not know. And "more precise" is also a third word?

The questioner : "Safer." I say, my Shaykh, they did not act justly, even in injustice, I mean even in injustice?

The Shaykh : Hehehe, yes. The phrase "the people of the Sunnah and the community" includes these people, but "Salafi" does not include them. Rather, as I said, they disavow this affiliation. As it was said:
"This difference between us is sufficient for you *** And every vessel emits what is in it"
The Shaykh: I, Abu Badr, if I forget as it is said, I do not forget what happened when I was in university. We gathered at the house of one of our brothers, who is the father of Muhammad al-Tufayy, and he was a teaching assistant at the Islamic University. We agreed to stay up late at his place one night. The room, as you know, in the university dormitories, the rooms are spacious and wide. A room like this, very spacious, was filled to all its corners with our Salafi brothers. When one of the famous orators entered, and I do not think this is backbiting in any way if I name him for you, because I believe in the saying of one of the scholars:
"Criticism is not backbiting in six cases: *** The aggrieved, the one who knows, and the one who warns,
"And the one who fights, the open sinner, and the one who seeks *** Aid in removing a wrong"
The Shaykh: This one whom I will name falls under this definition, and the lesson is derived from it. How can it be permissible for us to include him among the people of the Sunnah and the community? Listen to what happened between me and him. The man entered, and glory be to Allah, and when I entered the gathering, it was my turn to sit as the last person at the threshold of the door, as the owner of the house is now here. The man referred to, Muhammad al-Sawwaf, entered. Do you know him?
The students: Yes.

The Shaykh : I have known him for a long time. He was the head of the Muslim Brotherhood
The students: In Iraq, and he is a very strong Brotherhood member!
The student : Heh.

The Shaykh : And this is considered backbiting, I consider it so, but I am reassured that this falls under the six exceptions. The man entered and began shaking hands with those on his right, going all the way around the circle. I was watching his face. None of our brothers stood up, unlike what you do. I am tired of you when some of our brothers come to you, you all stand up. So no one stood up for him. I saw the features of his face change. When he reached me, I said to him, and he extended his hand to shake, I said to him, "Professor, do you know that in Syria, it is honorable to stand up?" He heard this word and exploded. You know he is an orator, you must have heard him!

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : I have heard him, I must have.

The questioner : Yes, I have heard him, yes.

The Shaykh : He said, "These are secondary issues, these are just skins, and it is not befitting that we investigate such things. It is necessary that we agree to fight communism, Ba'athism, and the atheists, and so on. Please, and the following discussion took place between me and him. He said that we do not need to investigate issues of disagreement now, and we need to unite our ranks, and our word is to fight the atheists, these people. I said, "Professor, there is hardly anything there that is agreed upon. Perhaps you know that the good word, 'La ilaha illa Allah,' is still disputed today in its interpretation. And I read a thesis by Sheikh Muhammad al-Hashimi, the Shaykh of the Shadhiliyyah order in Damascus, titled 'La ilaha illa Allah.' When you read the interpretation, it is 'No worshipped one but Allah.' And I read the same interpretation in a small thesis by one of the members of the Tabligh group. And you know that 'La ilaha illa Allah' means tawhid in its three sections, and so on. And the meaning of your words is that this issue must be set aside. He said, 'Yes.' Here is the point. He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Then how do we cooperate when we differ in creed? With whom do you fight these atheists? With people like them who testify that there is no god but Allah, but in belief and action they disbelieve in 'La ilaha illa Allah'? Therefore, the issue is serious and very serious. It is not permissible to overlook this existing disagreement, which is a fundamental disagreement. And we must proclaim the truth and declare the banner of pure tawhid under a word that expresses the correct reality, which is the call of the righteous Salaf. And everyone who affiliates with it is a Salafi. And therefore these doctors who say that it is the group of the Sunnah and the community, and so on, this is a word they want to obscure the truth with..."