Should we continue to call ourselves the people of the Sunnah and the community if the people of the country have agreed that the people of the Sunnah are the Salafis?

The questioner : This was a reminder on your part regarding the occurrence of the phrase "the people of the Sunnah and the community" in one of our questions. However, we have a situation in Yemen, and it seems to me that this matter is customary. We are known among the people as "the people of the Sunnah," so when "the people of the Sunnah" is said, it is understood to mean only the Salafis. "The people of the Sunnah" and "the Salafis" mean the same thing in the custom there. I believe this existed in the custom of the early scholars. For example, we find Abu al-Usayman al-Sabuni (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book or treatise titled "The Creed of the Salaf and the Companions of Hadith," where he sometimes expresses it by saying "the people of the Sunnah and the community" and sometimes by saying "the followers of the Salaf," and so on. So it seems they are names for a single referent. Therefore, if we want to alert you that when "the people of the Sunnah and the community" appears in our questions, it is because we have adopted this name by custom, and it means, or corresponds to, or intends the word "Salafis" exactly.

The Shaykh : Very well, may Allah reward you with good. But I say that in my knowledge, there are some schools of jurisprudence in Yemen that claim affiliation with the people of the Sunnah and the community, namely the Shafi'is. So when you say "the people of the Sunnah and the community," does that specific custom in Yemen among you imply that the Shafi'is are not included in that?

The questioner : It is not understood; in the specific custom, it is not understood that the Shafi'is fall under this name. "The people of the Sunnah" means the Salafis exactly. We do not have, for example, like in the Levant, a Sunni and a Shi'i.

The Shaykh : No problem, may Allah bless you. Let us stay with you Yemenis. What do the Shafi'is among you call themselves? What is the expression they use to describe their methodology in creed? Is it not "the people of the Sunnah and the community"?

The questioner : I mean, they might say that their jurists differ, for example, the scholars among them. I mean, they generally claim affiliation with the Ash'ari school.

The Shaykh : Huh, may Allah bless you. Huh, my question, may Allah bless you, is: do they not claim affiliation with the people of the Sunnah and the community? Yes, that is the answer. If we want a more precise expression that is suitable for use in all the countries that gather them in the call to the truth.

The questioner : But in the custom, O Shaykh, in Yemen, if "the people of the Sunnah" is said, no one understands anything other than that they are Salafis.

The Shaykh : That is not possible, O Professor. Since you acknowledge that there are Shafi'is, and there are many Sufis, and these Sufis may be prominent in adhering to the Shafi'i school, and you are people of your country, for the people of Makkah know its valleys best, these are among the people of the Sunnah in their view.

The questioner : This is true, but they say, for example, in their minds, not in their speech, that they claim affiliation with the people of the Sunnah and the community in the general sense. Because this name, as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned in "Minhaj al-Sunnah" and in other books of his, he says "the general people of the Sunnah" and "the specific people of the Sunnah." This name often comes in the speech of the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. He said "the people of the Sunnah" and "the school of the people of the Sunnah."

The Shaykh : The disagreement is not on this, may Allah bless you. We agree on this. Our discussion now is verbal, not conceptual.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Abu Malik: The expression of the Shaykh al-Islam, O our Shaykh, "the general people of the Sunnah" and "the specific people of the Sunnah," is not an expression he intends to spread in the community as a formal name or definition for them. Rather, he intends to distinguish between the one who is committed and the one who is not committed, between a correct commitment and an incorrect commitment.

The questioner : Moreover, when we debate the Muslim Brotherhood on this issue, that Salafism is not the exclusive property of one group, Salafism includes everyone, and they also claim to be Salafis.

The Shaykh : And Islam includes everyone. So are everyone Muslims?

The questioner : But they claim, yes, everyone is Muslim as Islam.

The Shaykh : That is not our discussion now...

The questioner : But they say, for example, that they are Salafis, and Salafism cannot be named after a specific group as long as the others also have a Salaf.

The Shaykh : The discussion now is not whether everyone who says "I am a Muslim" is truly a Muslim or not. Likewise, it is not our discussion whether everyone who says "I am a Salafi" is truly a Salafi. Just now, Professor Abu Malik dwelt on verifying this meaning in our starting point in our life. Now, these people who say this word, in your opinion, are they sincere that they are Salafis?

The questioner : They are not sincere.

The Shaykh : Very well, what do we have to do with them, may Allah bless you? We want to spread this word coupled with sincerity. As for those who say that this word is not the exclusive property of a group of people, we wish this, but do they accept, as I said just now, do they accept to claim affiliation in their understanding of their religion and their Islam to the righteous Salaf? They do not do that. So let them say it, but the important thing is: do they couple action with speech, or is it just a word that its speaker says?

The questioner : I mean, the same objection could be raised against the people of the Sunnah and the community, for example, when there is someone who is from the people of the Sunnah but is not sincere.

The Shaykh : My brother, we raised it against the one who says he is a Salafi. This is not our discussion. Our discussion is what is the most precise expression for the call to the truth.
Abu Malik: By analogy with the words of the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, we say to the brothers in Yemen, we tell them: the words of the Shaykh al-Islam are "general Salafis" and "specific Salafis."