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 Defining Salafiyyah
And Its Call (Da’wah)
By Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Wāhid Alam
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation; may Al-
lah extol the mention of our noble Prophet Muhammad in
the highest company of Angels and give him peace and se-
curity―and his family, his Companions and all those who
follow him correctly until the establishment of the Hour.
Some Important Notes
Islam is the Religion of all the Prophets, from Ādam
to Muhammad ().1 A Muslim is anyone who
embraces this Religion and acts upon it. Muslims
submit to Allāh and worship none except the one
true God (Al-Ilāh), and He is Allāh. Muslims shun all
forms of polytheism and idolatry and they follow
the teachings of final Messenger () sent to
mankind. 2 Muslims obey Allāh and His Messenger

1
Allah () stated: “Whoever desires a religion
other than Islam, then it will never be accepted from
him and in the Hereafter, he will be among the los-
ers.” (Āli ‘Imrān: 85), and He () said: “Indeed, the
only religion with Allah is Islam.” (Āli ‘Imrān: 19)
2
The Prophet () said: “By Him in whose Hand
is the soul of Muhammad, there is not a person who
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() unconditionally. 3 This is the basis of
Salafiyyah.
The Sunnah is the Path of the Prophet ()
and his Companions.4 Whoever follows this path ex-
actly is referred to as a Sunni or Salafi and he is from

hears of me in this Ummah, whether he be a Jew or

Christian, and then dies without believing in what I
was sent with except that he will be from the people
of Hellfire.” (Muslim, no. 153)
3
Abul-‘Āliyāh (d. 90H, ) said: “Learn Islam―and
when you have learned it, do not turn away from it, and
upon you is to remain on the Straight Path for that is Is-
lam. And do not deviate from Islam, neither to the right
nor to the left. And upon you is to hold fast to the Sun-
nah of your Prophet () and whatever his Com-
panions were upon and stay away from these desires (de-
viations) that sow enmity and hatred between the peo-
ple.” (Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahlis-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah of Al-
Lālikā’ī, 1/54, As-Sunnah of Al-Marwazi, p. 8)
4
Imām Al-Awzā’ī (d. 157H, ) said: “Keep yourself
patiently upon the Sunnah, stop where the people [be-
fore you] stopped, speak with what they spoke with, and
withhold from what they withheld from―and take the
path of your Salaf as-Sālih for indeed what sufficed
them will suffice you.” (Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahlis-Sunnah
wal-Jamā’ah of Al-Lālikā’ī, 1/147, Ash-Sharī’ah of Al-Ājurri,
2/673)
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Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah. 5 Sometimes the term
Sunni is used more generally to refer to anyone who
is not from the Shi’ite sect. However, merely being a
non-Shi’ite is not sufficient to save a person from
falling into deviation.
As-Salaf As-Sālih (The Pious Predecessors)
The Salaf are the Muslims of the early virtuous gen-
erations. Whoever follows their path and proceeds
upon their methodology is a Salafi.6 So the Salaf are
the Companions of Muhammad () and
those who followed them from early generations.
The usage of the term Salaf7 was widespread among
the early Muslims and was used to guide people to
the Minhāj (Methodology) of the Sahābah and those

5
Imām Al-Barbahāri (d. 329H ) stated: “Islām is the
Sunnah and the Sunnah is Islam, and one cannot be es-
tablished without the other.” (See Sharh as-Sunnah, p. 1)
6
Al-Awzā’ī (d. 157H ) said: “Upon you are the nar-
rations of the Salaf, even if the people abandon you. And
stay away from the opinions of men, even if they are
beautified with speech.” (Sharh Usūl I’tiqād Ahlis-Sunnah
wal-Jamā’ah of Al-Lālikā’ī, 1/147)
7
The Messenger of Allah ( ) said to Fātimah
() on his deathbed: “Fear Allah and be patient for
indeed I am for you a blessed Salaf.” i.e., a blessed pre-
decessor. (Muslim, no. 2450)
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who followed them. Ahmad bin Muhammad Al-Qal-
shāni ( d. 863H) stated: “The Salaf as-Sālih are
the earliest generation of those firmly-grounded in
knowledge, guided by the guidance of the Prophet
(), preservers of his Sunnah—Allāh chose
them to accompany his Prophet () and to
establish His Religion. Allah, the Most High, was
pleased with them as the Imāms and leaders of this
Ummah. They strived in the cause of Allah with a
true striving, they fulfilled their duty, benefited the
Ummah and exerted themselves for the pleasure of
Allāh ().”8
Imām Ibn Bāz (d. 1420H, ) stated: “The Salaf are
the best of generations—and whoever follows their
Path and proceeds on their Methodology is a Salafi—
and whoever opposes their Path is from the latter
day opposers (Khalaf).”
The Righteous Salaf are Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamā’ah 9 ,

8
See Tahrīr al-Maqālah fī Sharh ar-Risālah, 36.
9
i.e., The People of Sunnah and the United Body upon
the Truth (al-Jamā’ah). Abdullāh Ibn Mas’ūd ()
stated, “The majority of the people abandon
the Jamā’ah. The Jamā’ah is whatever agrees with the
truth even if you on your own.” Reported by Al-Lālikā’ī
in Sharh Usūlil-I’tiqād (1/121, no. 160), declared sahīh by
Al-Albāni in his notes on Mishkāt Al-Masābīh (1/61).

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As’hābul-Hadīth, 10 Ahlul-Athar 11 and Ahlul-Hadīth. 12
Whoever accepts them and follows their path pre-
cisely in belief, methodology and religious practice
is upon true guidance. They are the one Saved Sect
among the seventy-three13 and the Aided Group in

10
i.e., The Companions of Hadīth.
11
i.e., The People of Narrations. Allāh’s Messenger
() was asked: “Who are the best of people?” He
replied: “Me and those with me, then those who fol-
low their tradition (Athar), and then those follow
their tradition (Athar).” Then it was as if he declined
those who remained. (Ahmad, no. 8483 from Abu
Hurairah  and declared hasan by Al-Albāni in As-Sa-
hīhah, no. 1839).
12
i.e., The People of Hadīth. Ibn Mas’ūd () narrated
that the Prophet () said: “May Allah make ra-
diant the face of the person who hears a Hadīth from
us and conveys it, for perhaps the one to whom it is
conveyed may preserve it better than the one who
hears it.” (Ibn Mājah no. 232, Tirmidhi no. 2657, Ahmad
1/436 and declared sahīh by Al-Albāni in Sahīh Al-Jāmi’ no.
6764).
13
Allāh’s Messenger ( ) said: “The Children of
Israel divided into seventy-two sects, and my Ummah
will divide into seventy-three. All of them will be in
the Fire except one sect.” They asked: “And which
sect is that O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “What I
am upon and my Companions.” (At-Tirmidhi no. 2642,
declared hasan by Al-Albāni)
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every generation that is unharmed by those who op-
pose them and differ with them14 as is mentioned in
the authentic narrations.
Salafiyyah (or Salafism) is the true Path in following
Islam and the Sunnah. A Salafi15 is one who follows
the path of the Salaf As-Sālih precisely without al-
teration, innovation and deviation.16

14
Allāh’s Messenger ( ) said: “There shall not
cease to be a group from my Ummah obedient to the
commands of Allah. They are not harmed by those
who betray them or those who oppose them. They
will remain as such until the Decree of Allah comes
[close to the Hour], and they will be manifest over
the people.” (Muslim no. 1037).
15
The term Salafi was used among the early generations.
Muhammad bin Khalaf, well-known as Wakī’ (, d.
306H) said in his biography of Ismā’īl bin Hammād
(): “Ismā’īl bin Hammād bin Abī Hanīfah was a true
Salafi.” (see Akhbār al-Qudāt, 2/167)
Imām Adh-Dhahabi (d. 748H, ) cited the saying of
Imām Ad-Dāruqutni (d. 385H, ): “There is nothing
that I hate more than theological rhetoric.” Then Adh-
Dhahabi commented: “This man, Ad-Dāruqutni, never
spoke with theological rhetoric nor argumentation and
he never entered into it, rather he was a Salafi!” (Siyar
A’lām an-Nubalā, 16/457)
16
Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728H, ) said: “There is no criti-
cism upon the one who makes manifest the Madhhab
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The terms Salafi, Sunni, Athari, Ahlus-Sunnah wal-
Jamā’ah, As’hābul-Hadeeth and Ahlul-Hadeeth are in-
terchangeable. All these titles refer to the same body
of people who follow the same path. However, not
everyone who uses these titles is a true adherent of
what they represent. In fact, the majority of people
who ascribe themselves to these labels have beliefs
and methodologies in opposition to the path of the
Salaf As-Sālih. To distinguish between a mere claim-
ant and a true adherent is one the main purposes of
this book.
Imām ‘Abdul-‘Azīz Ibn Bāz () was asked about
Saved Sect, so he replied: “They are the Salafis and
everyone who treads the Path of the Salaf as-
Sālih.”17 He was asked on another occasion: “What
do you say about the one who calls himself a Salafi
or Athari? Is this considered self-praise?” So, he
() answered: “If he is truthful that he is Athari
or Salafi, then there is no problem just as the Salaf
would say, ‘So-and-so is a Salafi, so-and-so is Athari.’

(Path) of the Salaf, ascribes himself to it (calls himself

Salafi), and attaches himself to it. Rather, it is obligatory
to accept that from him by agreement [of the Muslims]
for indeed, the Madhhab of the Salaf is not except the
truth.” (Majmū’ al-Fatāwā, 4/149)
17
Majmū’ Rasā’il li-Islāh al-Farad wal-Mujtama’ of Muham-
mad Jamīl Zīnū, p. 162.
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This praiseworthy attachment is necessary, it is
praise that is obligatory.”18
To be a Salafi means adhering to the Creed, Method-
ology and the Religious practices of the Salaf As-Sālih
(the Pious Predecessors). The earliest of the Salaf
was the generation of our Prophet () and
his Companions (). Then after them came the
three virtuous generations of believers who held
fast to the Sunnah of the Prophet () and his
Companions. The person who understands this path
correctly, follows it truly, without innovating into it
nor deviating from it, is Salafi. To be a Salafi is not
merely to imagine that one is upon the path of the
Salaf, but Salafiyyah is to know the Methodology of
the Companions and to follow it—it was they who
understood best the meanings and intent of the
speech and actions of the Prophet ().

18
From a lecture entitled, Haqqul-Muslim, date:
16/01/1413H in Tā’if, Saudi Arabia.
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