All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the Worlds and may the best peace and blessings be upon the most honorable of Prophets and Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon His family
As for what follows:
The true Salafiyyah is whoever is upon the methodology of the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of Muhammad (ﷺ), and what the Salaf of this Ummah traversed from the Companions and the Tabi’een who followed them in good. And this Salafiyyah is the truth which there is no issue in it because it is established upon the Book and the Sunnah. Allah, the Exalted clarified the virtue of the Tabi’een, He said:
وَالسَّابِقُونَ الأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ
And the first to embrace Islam of the Muhajirun (those who migrated from Makkah to Al-Madinah) and the Ansar (the citizens of Al-Madinah who helped and gave aid to the Muhajirun) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith) [9:100]
These are the Pious Predecessors, the Imams of guidance and the religion.
So the one who holds fast to this Salafiyyah and is firm upon it, then he is upon great good. The Virtuous Shaikh (Shaikh Salih al-Fawzaan) has clarified that Salafiyyah is comprehensive in beliefs, acts of worship, dealings, mannerism, guardianship, behavior, and all the affairs in the worldly life. For verily the righteous Salafiyyah is an upright methodology and complete. Allah, the Exalted said:
الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الإِسْلامَ دِينًا
This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion [5:3]
Whoever leaves this upright methodology and straight path, then the devils will snatch him as Allah, the Exalted said:
وَأَنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ
And verily, this (i.e. Allah’s Commandments mentioned in the above two Verses 151 and 152) is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path [6:153]
So the path of Allah is the Book and the Sunnah and what the Salaf of this Ummah were upon. Whatever is besides that, then they are the paths of misguidance and temptation. Upon them are devils who call towards them and encourage the people towards them.
So it is upon the Muslim, who is holding fast to the Book and Sunnah and the Salaf of the Ummah, to hold fast to it correctly with certainty, Imaan, and being pleased with that. Believing that this is truth which has no issue in it, avoiding the misguidance of doubt :
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعًا لَّسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ
Verily, those who divide their religion and break up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammad) have no concern in them in the least [6:159]
And He said:
مُنِيبِينَ إِلَيْهِ وَاتَّقُوهُ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَلا تَكُونُوا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ – مِنَ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعًا كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ
(Always) Turning in repentance to Him (only), and be afraid and dutiful to Him; and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat) and be not of Al-Mushrikun (the disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, polytheists, idolaters, etc.). Of those who split up their religion (i.e. who left the true Islamic Monotheism), and became sects, [i.e. they invented new things in the religion (Bid’ah), and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with it [30:31-32]
So the Book and the Sunnah are the origin of guidance and its foundation:
فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلا يَضِلُّ وَلا يَشْقَى – وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَن ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى
then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery. “But whosoever turns away from My Reminder (i.e. neither believes in this Quran nor acts on its orders, etc.) verily, for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Resurrection.” [20:123-124]
These topics and the likes of them, if a student of knowledge, the Imams of guidance, and those who take them as role models speak about them, then it will bring benefit, by Allah’s permission, grant insight to the society, illuminate the path of the Muslims, and clarify for them the upright methodology.
The Shaikh [al-Fawzaan], may Allah grant him success, clarified this Salafiyyah which has been exposed to much criticism by those who oppose it. They describe it with rigidity and restriction and other than that from bad titles. The Muslim should be cautious not to be deceived or mislead or weaken his affair of holding fast to the Book and Sunnah due to these misguided opinions. How many people described the Prophet (ﷺ) with madness, magic, poetry, and other than that and the Prophets of Allah before him. They described them with lowly descriptions and that did not harm them at all. So the Muslim should not be deceived by these people and our Pious Predecessors were described as (الحَشويَّةُ), as those who resemble Allah to the creation, and as people of anthropomorphism etc. from base wordings.
So the Muslim, if he is convinced with this and believes with a true Imaan, that Salafiyyah is the Islamic methodology based on the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (ﷺ), and what the Salaf of the Ummah traversed and the Tabi’een, then he will be pleased and his chest will expand due to that.
May Allah reward the Shaikh [al-Fawzaan] with good for what he said and may Allah grant him success to what He loves and is pleased with. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad”.
[Hajjatul-Ummah li Manhaj as-Salafi (pg. 36-38)]
Translated by
Faisal bin Abdul Qaadir bin Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
