Explanation of the author's statement: "…and the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams have agreed upon this"

The Shaykh : He said: "And the Salaf of the Ummah and its imams have agreed upon this". They agreed that Allah is with His creation in accordance with what the evidence indicates. Who are the Salaf of the Ummah? They are its predecessors, and it is generally applied to the three blessed centuries. They are, O 'Abd al-Dhahim, 'Abd al-Dhahim, who? The Tabi'un and the generation after them. These are the blessed centuries and they are the Salaf. As for his saying "and its imams," are the imams after the Salaf? Yes.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : They may be among the earlier ones or the later ones. Among the imams who came after the time of the three centuries, yes. But the imams of Islam did not differ regarding the existence of the presence of Allah the Exalted, but rather regarding the manner befitting Him, Blessed and Exalted is He. And can the imams be in every place? Can they be in every place?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : That is, not in a way that contradicts, but in any place it is possible. And do we say the imams must be in Madinah and in Makkah? Yes, and in every time? And in every time, yes, it is possible. It is possible that Allah the Exalted bestows upon a person at the end of the world to be an imam in knowledge, yes, an imam in knowledge.

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Not the group other than the imam. And the intended meaning of "imam" is not as the people of innovation say, that the imam is infallible, because no one is infallible except the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), yes. Rather, the imams of the imams among them, like 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, is not infallible, and he erred in several matters, but there is no doubt that he is rewarded for his error, may Allah be pleased with him, because he is among the imams who exert themselves in ijtihad, so they may hit the truth or they may not. But our intended meaning of "imams" is the imams whom Allah the Exalted granted knowledge and worship such that they were a model for people in their knowledge and in their worship. And Allah the Exalted says So the important point is that the imams of the Salaf, the imams of the Ummah, are not the Salaf of the Ummah, yes, but they affirm the Salaf of the Ummah in the chapter of creed, because the disagreement of people in creed only occurred after the blessed centuries, even though some innovations sprouted in the era of the Companions, but they did not appear and spread except after the three centuries.