Explaining the Importance of Adhering to the Salafi Methodology

Shuqara: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, the trustworthy one, and upon his family and all his Companions. In these days, the lands of the Muslims are exposed to a wide-ranging campaign. This campaign targets the correct methodology that we have followed in the footsteps of our predecessors, which we carried in our minds and hearts as a trust from them, calling to it and to the generations after us, just as we inherited it, if Allah wills, without deviating from it by a hair's breadth. We embody before our eyes and in the awareness of our hearts and minds the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): , and we hold the reins of our souls on a straight path, knowing no deviation to the right or the left, in agreement with the jurisprudence of our righteous predecessors, the Companions, the Successors, and those who followed them in excellence. We do not prefer any other methodology over this one. I say that our Islamic world today is subjected to a harsh, unjust campaign aimed at undermining the methodology itself, not its people, for the people of the methodology have passed into the distant past, and generations after generations have come after them, and these generations will continue to succeed one another until the Hour stands and until Allah inherits the earth and those upon it, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has decreed this and ordained it: . Therefore, it is our right, as we see the radiance of this methodology filling the horizons of the entire world, that we clarify that this methodology is not like other methodologies that are born and die, coming and then turning their backs, not caring about the sorrow they leave in the hearts of their followers, for they have turned away because of their followers, their supporters, and their guardians, as it is said. This da'wah methodology is the methodology of the Salaf of this Ummah, for whom Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has chosen a group from every generation to be its bearers. It will not be like the other methodologies we mentioned earlier. Thus, I say that any system established in any of the Muslim lands that does not take this methodology into consideration is doomed by its own nature; it is not fit to remain, nor to bear the burdens of da'wah, as the proponents of other methodologies claim. Therefore, any system in our Islamic world, in any land and on any soil, must take into consideration that there is no rectitude, success, achievement, or establishment for it on earth unless it adopts this methodology in heart and form, in appearance and substance, in structure and meaning. This has been tested in the history of this Ummah, for all systems that were established on earth and were not founded on this da'wah methodology, which is the methodology of the righteous Salaf of this Ummah, quickly perished and left no trace to be praised by the generations that followed. We hear every day a new cry, followed by another, that a system in this country calls for the establishment or application of the limits of the Shari'ah and for judging by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Many reports have come, followed by others, about some Islamic countries where some groups or Islamic parties are enthusiastic, without realizing the reality of the foundations and bases upon which they were established. But due to their enthusiasm and ignorance of the correct da'wah methodology upon which systems in our Islamic world should be founded, they present themselves as having hoped to have a role in protecting this system, either because they had a good opinion of it, or because they hoped that the Muslims would have a state, even if it were on a span of land, as it is said. It has reached our ears, of course, for years, regarding the system in Sudan, and we hope that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will take hold of them and not abandon them if they are truthful with Allah (Mighty and Majestic), for He will be truthful with them and will be a supporter, helper, and aid for them in reaching the goals they set if they are sincere in this matter. But what saddens the soul is that, along with their claim that this system or this state is established on the basis of the Book and the Sunnah and on the basis of the sound principles of the Shari'ah, they emerge, and I do not mean all of them, but I mean the theorists, as they are called, for this state, emerging to the world from time to time with statements and opinions that we doubt are issued directly from them seeking the face of Allah and the Hereafter. I do not want to name here who says these opinions or statements, which I am certain are false in whole and in part, and I do not exclude any of the statements except, may Allah be pleased with us, what is in agreement with the truth to which we call. I say we do not want to name individuals, but it is sufficient to say that the theorist of the state in Sudan, upon whom they rely in displaying the opinions he gives and presents to the members of the system, is the one who adopts such opinions and calls to them. He may have targeted the Prophetic Sunnah directly with his opinions and statements, and I do not know why the Sunnah specifically, here and there in much of our Arab world, for they target first and foremost the Sunnah. Indeed, we have heard some who dare even to diminish the Book of Allah, to reduce a letter or a word from it, either out of ignorance or out of aggression and injustice, to diminish the verses of the Book. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is forgotten, and they forgot the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): . And these theorists, or some of these theorists, including the theorist we refer to in the state of Sudan, forgot that the Sunnah is an inseparable part of the Revelation, and this Revelation is preserved in its entirety without any deficiency, not in the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), not in a verse, nor even in a word, nor in a hadith from the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), fearing that any of it might be subject to error, weakness, forgetfulness, or loss. For Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has guaranteed to preserve His entire Revelation, for it is the final religion upon which all nations converge, and the day will surely come when the sun of Islam will rise over every span of land, and wherever people live, they will take refuge in this religion. These people forgot that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has guaranteed the preservation of this religion through the two parts of the Revelation, the Book and the Sunnah, and that their statements and opinions will perish, and curses will befall them after their death and in their lives if they do not extract themselves through a sincere, pure repentance to Allah, turning away from those false statements and fabrications. We ask our Shaykh, may Allah reward him with good, to provide us with an introduction that addresses the preservation of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and the preservation of the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and how he explains to us, in light of this meaning, the saying of our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He): . Then, after that, we will come to the specific questions that branch out, if Allah wills, from this introduction, which we hope will be sufficient by the permission of Allah.