The Shaykh’s remarks on a discussion he had with some students regarding the use of the term Salafi.

The Shaykh : Many of our Salafi brothers tell us that it is not permissible for you to use the word Salafi or Salafis.

The questioner : ... very often.

The Shaykh : Now, I do not oppose these people, but I establish the argument against them that there is no way for you to avoid this usage. A discussion took place between me and more than one person, and it is perhaps useful to record this discussion now. I said to one of them, one who does not see the use of this term:

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : I said, if you were asked, "What is your madhhab (school of jurisprudence)?", what would you say? He said, "I would say I am a Muslim." I said, "That is not sufficient now to say in this time that you are a Muslim, because first, there are Muslims, in my expression, and you will understand my intent.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : I say to the debater, "Ah, you will understand my intent. Even if you deny my term, there is the Salafi and there is the Khalafi (follower of the later generations). So are you a Salafi or a Khalafi? Both are Muslims. So when I ask you, 'What is your madhhab?', and you say, 'I am a Muslim,' you have not clarified it to me. Are you a Salafi or a Khalafi? Ah, are you a Hanafi, a Shafi'i, a Maliki, a Hanbali, a Sufi, a follower of a tariqah (Sufi order), or what? All these things exist today in the arena. So when you say, 'I am a Muslim,' you have not expressed or clarified for thisThe questioner : what you are following?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : After a discussion that was not long, and praise be to Allah, it became clear to him that indeed today it is not sufficient for a person to say, "I am a Muslim." If you ask the Shi'i, "What is your madhhab?", he says to you, especially since they have the door of taqiyyah (dissimulation), "I am a Muslim, that is enough. Are you satisfied with that, or will you try to probe into his identity?" He says, "I am a Shi'i," after some annoyance. "Are you one of the Shi'is who say the Qur'an is incomplete, or preserved, and so on?" He might say, "I am a Druze." So when you say, "I am a Muslim," you might be a Druze Muslim, you might be a Rafidi (Twelver Shi'ah). So you must now clarify the answer to this.The questioner : So you are convinced, then what will you say? He said, "I will say, a Muslim upon the Book and the Sunnah."

The questioner : Yes, and everyone claims that.

The Shaykh : Heh, yes... to it, but no problem. I said to him, "Whenever a questioner asks you, 'What is your madhhab?', you will tell him, 'Upon the Book and the Sunnah.'" He said, "Yes." I said, "It is possible, and you are a polite man and a capable writer, and so on, that you summarize 'upon the Book and the Sunnah' in one word, for example, Sunni." He might say, "But I am a bit uncomfortable." He said, "Yes."

The questioner : Glory be to Allah.

The Shaykh : Yes, I said, "Upon his methodology." I said, "This is an innovated term, like the term, what, Salafi."

The questioner : Salafi.

The Shaykh : Innovated.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : He said, "Out of necessity, because sound logic compels him to say that since we have now agreed that it is not sufficient for one to say, 'I am a Muslim,' because, as they say, the chaff will be mixed with the wheat. So we must say, 'A Sunni Muslim.' So now you are saying, 'A Sunni Muslim.' Now we repeat the question: If we asked the Hanafi, 'Are you a Sunni Muslim or an innovator?'

The questioner : A Sunni Muslim.

The Shaykh : Of course, he said with this word. I said, "So it is not sufficient either to say, 'A Sunni Muslim,' or to move from the first term to the second term, because it is indeed a substitute, but with that, 'Sunni' alone does not suffice, because what does 'Sunni' mean? It means, of course, taking from the Book and the Sunnah. Now, bring to me whom you wish from the people of desires, innovations, schools, and tariqahs, and he will say to you, 'I am not upon the Sunnah.' No one says, 'I am not upon the Sunnah.'

The questioner : They all say, 'Upon the Book and the Sunnah.'

The Shaykh : This is it, ah. So there must be an additional element: that you say, 'Upon the Book and the Sunnah, and upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih (the Pious Predecessors).' And the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih as a methodology is explicitly stated in the Book and the Sunnah, and there is no need now to present the evidence for that. Yes, it is sufficient to point to the verse: to the hadith of the groups: the hadith of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and so on. Ah, so as an idea, it is necessary to have the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih. Are you, Professor? We said to our debater, "Are you with us in this conclusion?" He said, "It is necessary." We said, "So we repeat the question, and you answer if you wish briefly: What is your madhhab? You say, 'Upon the Book and the Sunnah, and upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih.' We have not agreed with you to say 'upon the Book and the Sunnah' because that is a long thing. We want an expression that conveys it in the shortest word. We agreed on 'Sunni,' but also 'Sunni' is not sufficient.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : So, is it linguistically permissible to say about a person who adopts the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih that he is a Salafi? Ah, he said, "Yes, it is permissible." So what is the prohibition, Professor? You say, "I do not see that we should call ourselves Salafi, and I saw at the beginning that it is permissible to say Sunni. What is said about the answer permitting 'Sunni' is said about what is said that he is 'Salafi.' So now, whoever agrees with us, whoever agrees with us, O Abu Yusuf, to be upon the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, does not mean that he exits from us if he disagrees with us on a certain issue, even if he does not agree with all these premises. He says, "I am satisfied with the Book and the Sunnah and the methodology of the Salaf al-Salih, and I do not call myself anything but a Muslim. If asked, I will try to convince him, but if I cannot, I do not exclude him from the circle, I do not exclude him from the Salafi methodology that we adopt. Therefore, I see it wise in da'wah (calling) not to widen the disagreement between us. May Allah bless you. We are living today, Professor, with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Tahrir Party, then the Tabligh group, and so on.

The questioner : In conflict.

The Shaykh : They do not agree with us, Professor, even on an idea like this. They say, "This da'wah divides." Ah.