The Shaykh’s clarification of the clear difference between one who claims affiliation with a particular group and one who claims affiliation with a school of the Imams

The Shaykh : The one who says: "I am a Hanafi," without doubt, claims affiliation with an Imam from among the Imams of the Muslims, but he does not claim affiliation with infallibility, because this Imam is not an infallible Prophet. And so you may compare this until you reach the one who claims affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, or the Tahrir Party. These are the lowest forms of affiliation, and there is a vast difference between one who claims affiliation with an Imam from among the Imams of the Salaf. This person who said that word, and perhaps he has repented from it as we mentioned, thinks that all these affiliations are equal. So we say: This is a severe negligence regarding the difference between one affiliation and another. We have mentioned that there is a great difference between one who claims affiliation with an Imam from among the Imams of the Muslims and one who claims affiliation with a group that claims affiliation with a person who is not equated with an Imam from among the Imams of the Muslims. This disparity between the two affiliations is greater than that: the disparity between one who claims affiliation with an Imam from these four Imams and one who claims affiliation with the righteous Salaf. This is because, as we said earlier, the one who claims affiliation with Imam Abu Hanifa, for example, yes, he has claimed affiliation with an Imam, but he has not claimed affiliation with infallibility. As for the one who claims affiliation with the righteous Salaf, he has claimed affiliation with infallibility, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and before that, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Noble Qur'an: . Are these affiliations the same as that affiliation? No. If a man said: "I do not claim affiliation with so-and-so the Imam," he does not become a disbeliever, even if it is verbal disbelief. But the one who says: "I do not claim affiliation with the righteous Salaf," he becomes a disbeliever, even if it is verbal disbelief, because he has disavowed those about whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said regarding those who oppose them: . Therefore, we, at the time when we are happy and rejoice with people, whether among you or among us, or in other than these lands, when they call...