Is it better to correct the concept of the people of the Sunnah and the community and continue to call ourselves by that name, as the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) did, or should we change it to Salafi?

The questioner : In truth, I have no rebuttal or comment, but I have a concern regarding the matter of naming. For example, someone might say that when the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) came with his call, he found that this name was being applied to the Maturidiyyah, the Asha'irah, and others. Yet, what became clear through the path of the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was that he did not seek another name, for instance, but rather tried to clarify the truth and reveal that what these people followed was not in accordance with the methodology of the people of the Sunnah and the community. On the other hand, I understood from the discussion, and I may be mistaken, that the reason we specified the word "Salafi" is that the phrase "people of the Sunnah and the community" does not represent or express the people of the truth in a specific way. For example, let us suppose that the word "Salafi" expands in the future and groups are found claiming or appropriating this name while being contrary to true Salafism. In that case, would we say that we must seek another name, and so on?

The Shaykh : First of all, may Allah bless you. Our duty is to address our current situations and not to think about what may happen in the future, because we will say at that time, "Every event has its own story." But do you not agree with me that the phrase "people of the Sunnah and the community" is not like a name that is the original basis for returning to? Is the word "Muslim" explicitly mentioned in the Noble Qur'an? Is this compound name, "people of the Sunnah and the community," explicitly mentioned in the same way? The answer is, of course, no, is it not?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Well, if the matter is such that we are not originally obligated to adhere to terms that are not explicitly mentioned in the Book and the Sunnah, then we are now saying, based on the previous explanation which is irrefutable, that the word "Muslim" today is not sufficient to explain the true creed of a Muslim. Therefore, an additional element is necessary. The question now is: what is the chosen name to express this additional element in the closest phrase? Is it "people of the Sunnah and the community," which was used in the era of Ibn Taymiyyah as you mentioned, or do we now need to draw the attention of the people of the Sunnah and the community to the fact that the true people of the Sunnah and the community are those who return to what the righteous Salaf were upon? What prevents us from using this name, as long as it expresses the correct creed in general understanding? Because there is no one in these groups who does not understand that the intended meaning of "the righteous Salaf" is not our fathers and grandfathers, but rather the people of the three generations who are attested to as the best. This expression, which is concise first and expresses the reality of the correct methodology second, I do not see that there should be any problem or hesitation in approving the adoption of this expression. This is the first point. On this occasion, I clearly remember when I was a professor of the subject of hadith at the Islamic University. You know that at that time, and perhaps the matter is still the same, the university gathered about seventy different nationalities. From that time and before it, I was calling people to follow the Book and the Sunnah and what the righteous Salaf were upon. Some of the Muslim Brotherhood students objected to me and said, "This name is an innovated name with no basis." I explained the call and reached this specific word, stating that it is the one that expresses the call to the truth. But I said to this objector...The questioner : ...or the one raising the objection, I said, "Let us hypothetically agree to withdraw this word and not add to the word 'Muslim' as our colleague said in the discussion. Will you then renounce your affiliation from the jurisprudential perspective—Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali—and from the partisan perspective—Muslim Brotherhood, Party of Liberation? Will you renounce these affiliations for which Allah has not sent down any authority? We are renouncing this designation, which conveys the true meaning, but we are following and remaining on the original basis, which is 'Muslim.' Are you with us? You are the first to object. You are the ones who forced us to come up with this name that expresses the call to the truth. This is a remark that is truly very important, because if we do not use the word 'Salafi,' we must use the word 'people of the Sunnah and the community.' We must use a word that expresses our creed in a comprehensive and concise phrase, as it is said. Do the others who affiliate themselves with other designations rise above these affiliations, even though they represent only a call attributed to a person or persons who are not infallible? As for our righteous Salaf, it is by the grace of Allah that they are infallible, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, as you know, And especially when we remember that when we affiliate ourselves with the righteous Salaf, our infallible Prophet is at their head. I do not think there is any problem with this word, if Allah wills. We hope to adhere to it in our call, if Allah wills. Please proceed.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And you as well.