What is your opinion of those who prohibit being called Salafis on the grounds that Allah named us Muslims?

The questioner : There is also a question related to this topic, which is that many people object to the Salafis being called Salafis. So we want you, O Shaykh, to clarify this for us. For example, someone is confused about how to respond to them; he says to you, "You do things that the Salaf of the Ummah did not do." So I do not know what your answer is, O Shaykh, regarding that?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : Regarding those who object

The Shaykh : I think that these objectors do not pay attention; rather, I say they do not know the meaning of Salafiyyah. Otherwise, their objection would be very strange, especially if they have met us on the methodology I mentioned just now, and always and forever, which is that our call is based on the Book and the Sunnah and on the methodology of the righteous Salaf. We have spoken a lot, and a great deal, and perhaps there are some tapes that those who were unable to attend our gatherings directly can look into. We believe that the Islamic sects that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) included in the warning of the Fire, except for one of them, all of them, except for those who exited the circle of Islam entirely—and our discussion is not about those—all those misguided sects, such as the Mu'tazilah, the Khawarij, the Murji'ah, and the like, such as the Rafidah, none of them denies their affiliation to the Book and the Sunnah. So what is the difference between these many sects, all of which claim this affiliation to the Book and the Sunnah? The sects, as the Messenger (peace be upon him) mentioned in the description of the saved sect, where he said, in response to that questioner:The questioner : Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? He said: These people have disbelieved in the Quran, and you do not need to be reminded of what indicates their disbelief. Rather, our discussion is with those other groups, some of whom we named and some of whom we did not, who agree with us that it is necessary to return to the Book and the Sunnah. Even if there is, of course, a difference in the concept of the Sunnah between us and them, and so on, but they did not say "the Quran only" as the so-called Quranists said. Those groups, so we say, and what our righteous Salaf were upon—this is not an innovation in the matter or an invention in the religion, but this is the religion. This is not only based on this hadith, in whose authenticity some people of desires have doubted, such asThe Shaykh : al-Kawthari, known for his Hanafi partisanship and against the people of the Sunnah and the community. Our basis for what I mentioned just now is not only this hadith, but there is also with you the hadith of al-'Abbas ibn Sari'ah, in which he said (peace be upon him): So this hadith is like that hadith. Just as the Messenger (peace be upon him) did not say in the first hadith, as a distinguishing mark of the saved sect, "only that which I am upon," but added to that "and my companions," here we find the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) adding to his Sunnah the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs. So we rely on this addition on two hadiths. And this is not all; there are other things, and the most important of them is that explicit verse in the Noble Quran. He, the Exalted, said: So His saying, the Exalted, in this verse: This meets exactly, or rather, it is more correct to say the opposite: the two hadiths mentioned just now meet with the saying of Allah, the Exalted, "the path of the believers." The "believers" in this verse, without any doubt or ambiguity, are not intended to be the Khalaf, but rather the righteous Salaf are intended. So if we say "the madhab of the righteous Salaf," what is the affiliation to this madhab linguistically? It is nothing but being a Salafi. This attribution, in my belief, is one that no one who is with us on the methodology mentioned just now—the Book, the Sunnah, and what the righteous Salaf were upon—can disavow. I mentioned once the dialogue that took place between me and a person who might represent that idea you narrated just now, and for that reason I wanted to draw his attention to the error of his objection, even though I did not hear an explicit objection from him, but I felt it. So I said to him: If someone said to you and a questioner asked you, "What is your madhab?" and he said, "The Muslim brother," I said to him, this is not sufficient. I said to him, because he will say to you: "Are you a Sunni Muslim, a Shia, or a Rafidi, or what?" He said: I say, "I am a Muslim who holds to the Book and the Sunnah." I said: And all people, all sects, as I explained to you just now, all sects also say "the Book and the Sunnah." This answer is not sufficient, because it will be said to you: Do the Shia, do the Mu'tazilah, do the Ibadis, do the Khawarij say anything other than what you say? You say "the Book and the Sunnah," and they say "the Book and the Sunnah." So it is necessary that you clarify your methodology and your madhab. Finally, he had no choice but to add this addition that we mentioned just now. And there is no way for any Muslim who wants to be on the guidance of his Lord, no way at all, but to add the third addition, which is "on the methodology of the righteous Salaf." I said: Are you on this? He said: Yes. I said: Let us repeat the question now. If a questioner asked you, "What is your madhab?" Would you hold a lecture and say, "I am on the Book and the Sunnah and on the madhab of the righteous Salaf"? Summarize for me, O Professor, and he is strong in the Arabic language. Is it not permissible to summarize this phrase and say, "I am a Salafi"? So he was silent. I do not say he believed it, but at least he was silent, confounded. This is the truth, and this is the answer to everyone who doubts this new naming. I think, rather, this happened when I was at the first opening of the Islamic University in Medina. There were groups and factions of the Muslim Brotherhood, so they raised this objection with me, and I gave them this long lecture and clarified for them a great difference, O brother, between saying "I am a Salafi" and saying "I am a Muslim Brother." The Muslim Brothers affiliate to a person; we affiliate to a group that no Muslim can disavow. If he disavowed it, he would disbelieve. But if he disavowed the Muslim Brotherhood group, it would not cause him harm, because there are other groups and other groups, and so on. And with that, and here is the point, I said to him: When all these affiliations are raised, and they are all non-Shari'ah affiliations—the Hanafi, the Shafi'i, the Maliki, the Hanbali, then the paths of the Sufis: the Qadiri, the Naqshbandi, the Shadhili, the Tijani, and so on, the political parties: the Muslim Brotherhood, the Liberation Party, and so on—when these scattered people agree with us, not only in the names but also in the realities, at that time we are content to say, "What is your madhab?" "Muslim." But I say "Muslim" and you say "Muslim," and I and you differ in the greatest difference. So I have the honor to say, with truth, "I am a Salafi," because with this word I express my correct methodology. As for you, when you say "I am a Muslim," you blur your self and lose your Muslim personality in these personalities of which you are not pleased with most of them. This is the answer to the question.

The questioner : Our Shaykh

The Shaykh : If any of the attendees has a comment on what I mentioned, I want to hear it. One of the attendees, from those who do not attend with us, who has a comment on what preceded from our guests. Please, go ahead.

Another questioner : Citing the verse, O Shaykh, They cite this verse.

The Shaykh : Yes, the answer to this has already been given. May Allah reward you. I say, I am a Muslim. I did not hear the discussion that took place.

Another questioner : I heard.

The Shaykh : You are now holding to the verse. What is your madhab? Muslim.

Another questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, Sunni Muslim or Shia?

Another questioner : No, Sunni, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Okay, is "Sunni" in the verse?

Another questioner : No

The Shaykh : Okay, where did you get it from? This is talk, O my brother. And I answered finally: Raise all these affiliations, and let us say "Muslim" and that is all.