People hear the words “Salafi” and “Salafiyyah” and ask what they mean. Is Salafiyyah a new group, or a party that appeared in recent times? Is it the name of a country, or of one scholar? This page answers from the books of the scholars themselves. Put in one sentence, Salafiyyah is following the Qur’an and the Sunnah upon the understanding and practice of the first generations of this Ummah, the Salaf. Shaykh al-Fawzan opens his book on its reality with where that path leads:
“The path of salvation is clinging to what the Messenger of Allah and his companions were upon. This group is saved from the fire. All the remaining groups are in the fire, so for this reason it is called al-Firqatun-Najiyah; Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah. This is the distinguished group from other than it by its following the Book and the Sunnah.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 6)
Who the Salaf Are
The word Salaf itself is simple. Shaykh al-Fawzan defines it in the same book: “The Salaf are the predecessors; those who have passed.” They are the first generations of the Muslims: the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, those who followed them (the Tabi’een), and those who followed them. He writes:
“So the path is clear, all praises belongs to Allah, and it is following The Book, the Sunnah and that which the Salaf of this Ummah was upon from the companions, their followers and their successors up until the last of those from the third or fourth virtuous generations.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 7)
These generations hold this place because the Prophet ﷺ praised them above everyone who came after them:
“The best of you are my generation, then those that follow them, then those that follow them.”
(The Prophet ﷺ, in the wording quoted by Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 7; Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)
And Allah ﷻ promised His pleasure and Paradise to the first of them, and to everyone who follows them exactly:
“And the foremost 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). Allah is well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), to dwell therein forever. That is the supreme success”
(Qur’an 9:100, in the rendering printed in Shaykh al-Fawzan’s Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed pp. 7-8)
Shaykh Ibn Baz, in his commentary printed with Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali’s Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, names the same people and makes holding to their way a duty on everyone:
“It is obligatory upon the people of knowledge and the students of knowledge and upon all of the people to hold fast to the Book and the Sunnah, and to proceed upon the methodology of the Salafus-Salih (the Pious Predecessors) – and they are the Companions and those who follow them correctly and precisely”
(Shaykh Ibn Baz, commentary in Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed pp. 14-15)
What Salafiyyah Is
Salafiyyah, then, is not a second religion next to Islam. It is a description of how a Muslim holds to Islam: the Book and the Sunnah, understood and practiced the way the Salaf understood and practiced them. Shaykh al-Albani explains what sets its people apart in his Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology:
“As for those whom we have pointed out at the outset of this speech from the Salafiyyeen and other than them from amongst those who adhere to their mode of conduct, and they could be referred to by other than this name, then these ones differ from all of the other Islamic groups because they hold onto something else. This something else is: safety from going against the Book and the Sunnah in the name of the Book and the Sunnah. Indeed, that is due to holding onto what the Companions of the Prophet (ﷺ) from the emigrants (Muhajirun) and the helpers (Ansar) and those who followed them from the Tabi’een and the Tabi’ Tabi’een.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 13)
He ties that holding directly to being among the Saved Sect:
“So it is obligatory for the one who wishes to be from amongst the Saved Sect, that he must act in accordance to what these Companions and the Tabi’een were upon. And they were the Salafus-Salih whom we must take as an example.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed pp. 13-14)
No one needs a separate book of “Salafi teachings” to find this way. Shaykh al-Fawzan answers the one who asks where the Salafi manhaj is taken from:
“This is the methodology of the Salaf. It is that which is taken from the Quran and Sunnah. So do not say, where will I take the Salafi Minhaj from? I do not know the Salafi Minhaj, where will I take it from? My brother the Quran and Sunnah is that which will acquaint you with the way of the Salaf.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 23)
And because what the Salaf were upon explains the Book and the Sunnah, their way is not set aside in the name of following the texts themselves. Shaykh al-Albani writes:
“Due to this, it is not permissible for the Muslim to follow opinions or statements in the name of following the Book and the Sunnah which oppose what our Salafus-Salih were upon. That is because what they were upon was a clarification for the Book and the Sunnah.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 18)
Its two marks, in Shaykh al-Fawzan’s words, are knowledge that is acted on and action built on knowledge:
“This is true Salafiyyah and these are the qualities of the Salafus-Salih; beneficial knowledge and righteous action.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 21)
Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali describes the same call when he explains what the words “Salafi methodology” and “Salafi da’wah” mean:
“So when we make mention of the Salafi methodology and the Salafi da’wah, then we intend this blessed da’wah that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ), his noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Imams of guidance were upon, and those after them such as Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (d. 241H), Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728H), Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhab (d. 1206H).”
(Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali, Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 5)
“So this religion is complete. We are not in need of anyone’s personal opinions, personal thoughts or ideas and philosophies from any aspect or from any group. This religion has been completed in the Book of Allah and in the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and in the understanding of the Salaf – those who understood the book and the Sunnah with a true understanding in belief and worship.”
(Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali, Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 5)
The call has been known by more than one name, and Shaykh al-Albani notes that the names all point to one and the same meaning:
“Some of the Scholars – past and present – have coined a conventional term, ad-Da’watus-Salafiyyah (the call of as-Salafiyyah). Indeed, some others have called it the da’wah of Ansarus-Sunnatil-Muhammadiyyah, and others have called it the da’wah of Ahlul-Hadith. All of these names give proof for one meaning.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 5)
Its Characteristics
One straight, moderate path. Shaykh al-Fawzan introduces the verse of the Straight Path by saying, “This is the methodology of the Salaf and these are their traits (and) these are their characteristics,” then quotes Allah ﷻ:
“And verily, this is My Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path. This He has ordained for you that you may become Al-Muttaqun (the pious).”
(Qur’an 6:153, in the rendering printed in Shaykh al-Fawzan’s Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 12)
And he explains the word “straight” itself: “The meaning of straight path; is a moderate path.” It is one path, neither going to extremes nor falling short.
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 13)
Knowledge before speech and action. No one is expected to guess his way along this path. Shaykh al-Fawzan writes:
“It is not possible to obtain knowledge without learning and this is (by) learning from the people of knowledge and insight. Knowledge is received from the scholars.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 20)
On the same page he quotes the chapter heading of Imam al-Bukhari in his Sahih:
“Knowledge proceeds speech and action.”
(Imam al-Bukhari, chapter heading in his Sahih, as quoted by Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 20)
And the Book and the Sunnah themselves are learned through the scholars, not around them:
“Also, the Book and the Sunnah is not taken except by way of those firmly grounded scholars.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 24)
Unity upon the truth, and a warning against splitting. Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali builds his whole treatise on holding fast to the Rope of Allah. He quotes the verse:
“And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah and be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allah’s Favour on you, for you were enemies one to another but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His Grace, you became brothers.”
(Qur’an 3:103, in the rendering printed in Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali’s Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 3)
“The affair of this Ummah will not be upright except with obedience to this Messenger and following him with truthfulness and sincerity and by holding onto the Rope of Allah: The Book of Allah and the Sunnah of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).”
(Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali, Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 3)
“So pay attention O youth and hold fast to the rope of Allah as you have been commanded to by Allah, and beware of splitting, and cut off all the routes and means that lead to it, regardless of whether they are desires or fanaticism and so on.”
(Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali, Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 6)
Not Something New, and Not a Party Name
Taking the Salaf as an example is not an idea anyone invented in our time. Shaykh al-Albani states this plainly:
“This matter concerning the obligation of taking the Salafus-Salih as an example is not a newly-invented affair. Rather, it is an obligatory affair which has already been alluded to.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 15)
He supports it with the verse in which Allah ﷻ joins leaving the path of the first Believers to opposing the Messenger himself:
“And whosoever opposes the Messenger after the guidance has been clarified to him and follows a path other than the path of the Believers, We shall turn him to what he has turned himself to and his destination will be the Fire. And what an evil destination that is.”
(Qur’an 4:115, in the rendering printed in Shaykh al-Albani’s Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 15)
The people upon this way are the group the Prophet ﷺ said would remain upon the truth until the end. Shaykh al-Fawzan quotes his words:
“There will not cease to be a group from my Ummah victorious upon the truth, not harmed by those who forsake them or those who oppose them until the affair of Allah comes…”
(The Prophet ﷺ, in the wording quoted by Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 11; Sahih Muslim)
And Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali says of the Salafi methodology itself:
“So let us bite tightly onto this Salafi methodology that we talk to you about for indeed it is the truth. It is the methodology of the Victorious and Aided Group (At-Ta’ifatul-Mansurah) that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) informed us of; it is upon the truth and that will never cease to be upon the truth. It is the methodology of the Saved Sect and that is the Aided Group, which Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) spoke of when he said that the Ummah will divide – and Allah established the truthfulness of that narration – and the Ummah has indeed divided.”
(Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali, Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed pp. 5-6)
As for the name itself, calling oneself “Salafi” is not a new label either. Shaykh Ibn Baz was asked about a man who calls himself “as-Salafee” and “al-Atharee,” and whether that is a term of commendation. His answer, quoted in the notes to Shaykh al-Albani’s book from his lecture Haqqul-Muslim, was:
“If he is truthful in saying that he is Athari or Salafi, then there is no problem. This is like what the Salaf used to say, ‘So and so is Salafi, or so and so is Athari.’ This is a term of commendation from which there is no escape, rather it is a term of commendation that is obligatory.”
(Shaykh Ibn Baz, as quoted in the notes to Shaykh al-Albani’s Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 5, note 18)
What Salafiyyah Is Not
It is not a bare claim or a title. Shaykh al-Fawzan warns against exactly that:
“This is not by just claiming or attributing to oneself (Salafiyyah) without actualizing that by reality; (as some do) either by way of ignorance or by way of desires.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 8)
“…this individual is not Salafi even if he titles himself with it. The consideration is not given to claims, but the consideration is in the reality of the affair.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 10)
It is not blind following of a person or fanaticism for a group. Shaykh Ibn Baz makes the student of knowledge’s duty the opposite of that:
“And it is binding upon the student of knowledge to understand this well, to be just, honest and truthful, and to seek and search out the truth – and to be distant from, and cautious of the affairs that lead to differing; to beware of following desires, and of blind following and having fanaticism to this person or that person, or to a particular group, or to anything else for that matter. It is obligatory to follow the truth and to stick to it and to warn from whatever opposes it, even if it is something said by your own father, or brother or anyone else.”
(Shaykh Ibn Baz, commentary in Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 15)
Shaykh al-Fawzan says the same about following a person who merely carries the name:
“But the one who calls to this without it being a reality or blindly follows someone who claims Salafiyyah; then this one is not upon the methodology of the Salaf and this does not benefit at all, rather it harms him.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 25)
And it is not the crimes and vandalism that are pinned on its name. Shaykh al-Fawzan notes that some attribute every crime and affliction to the Salafis, then answers:
“Salafiyyah is free from this and the Salaf are free from this. This is not the way of the Salaf.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 24)
“The Salaf are free from this as their methodology is beneficial knowledge, righteous actions, brotherhood in the religion of Allah, cooperating upon righteousness and piety, and this is the methodology of the Salaf.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 24)
Holding Fast to It
The command to hold on was given by the Prophet ﷺ himself, in the advice he gave when he foretold the differing that would come. Shaykh al-Fawzan quotes it at the start of his book:
“For those of you who live (after me) will see much differing. You must then follow my Sunnah and the sunnah of the rightly-guided khulafa after me. Adhere to it and bite onto it with your molar teeth. And beware of new invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is a misguidance.”
(The Prophet ﷺ, in the wording quoted by Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed pp. 5-6; Sunan Abi Dawud and Jami’ at-Tirmidhi)
Holding fast has a shape, and Shaykh al-Fawzan lays it out as two things a person needs:
“Especially for the one who sets out upon the Minhaj of the Salaf, he is in need of two affairs: One: Knowledge of the way of the Salaf, as we have mentioned. Two: Adherence to that way at whatever it may cost him.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 9)
“Certainly, the one who adheres to this way will meet harm, harassment, accusations, and evil titles from those in opposition; but it is an obligation that he remains patient, because he is certain with what he is upon.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 9)
“Firstly, he learns the way of the Salaf; (secondly) he follows it with perfection; (thirdly) he has patience upon what he encounters from the people, but it does not suffice here; he must also spread this path, by calling to Allah and inviting (others) to the Salafi methodology and clarify it to the people. This is true Salafiyyah.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 10)
Learning the way of the Salaf is itself part of holding fast. Shaykh al-Albani writes:
“It becomes binding upon everyone who wishes to be upon this Salafi manhaj, just as he studies the Book and the Sunnah, then it is upon him to also study what the Salafus-Salih, from the Companions, the Tabi’een and their followers were upon. This is because they were the ones who conveyed to us this da’wah in a correct manner.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 35)
Centuries before, Imam al-Awzaa’ee (d. 157H) had already described this holding fast, in words Shaykh al-Albani’s book quotes from him:
“Patiently restrict yourself to the Sunnah and stop where the people stopped, say what they said and avoid what they avoided. Take the path of your Salafus-Salih, for indeed, what was sufficient for them is sufficient for you.”
(Imam al-Awzaa’ee, as quoted in Shaykh al-Albani’s Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. 35, note 34)
Holding fast also means staying tied to the scholars and asking them. Shaykh Ibn Baz writes:
“And likewise for the students of knowledge, they consult with and maintain ties with the scholars – and that they follow them upon their methodology in clarifying the truth and warning from differing and disputing and following of desires. And likewise for the general Muslims that they must remain steadfast upon the truth, and they ask the scholars who are known for the Sunnah and known for steadfastness upon Allah’s Religion and they know them for being upon the truth.”
(Shaykh Ibn Baz, commentary in Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed pp. 17-18)
“So ask the people who know what has been revealed, if you know not.”
(Qur’an 16:43, in the rendering printed in the commentary of Shaykh Ibn Baz in Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, printed p. 18)
And the work begins with purifying what a person believes and does, and teaching it, before anything else is built on it. Shaykh al-Albani said, in words quoted in the introduction to his book:
“It is inevitable that we must begin with at-tasfiyah wat-tarbiyah (purification and education). So any movement that has not been established upon this foundation, then there is no benefit in it at all.”
(Shaykh al-Albani, in the introduction to Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology, printed p. XV)
Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, summed up the whole matter in one sentence, which Shaykh al-Fawzan quotes:
“The later part of this Ummah will not be corrected except by that which corrected its first part”
(Imam Malik, as quoted by Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 25)
And Shaykh al-Fawzan closes his book with the path itself, for whoever wants it:
“So whoever desires this methodology, then it is upon him to know it, learn it, and implement it within himself first and then call it and clarify it to the people. This is the path of salvation and this is the path of the saved group: Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jamaa’ah.”
(Shaykh al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics, printed p. 26)
Further Reading
- Methodology (Manhaj): the path of the Salaf in understanding and practice, set out in full.
- The Saved Sect (Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jama’ah): the saved group the Prophet ﷺ described, and who they are.
- Tawheed (Monotheism): the call the Salaf were upon, before everything else.
References
- Shaykh Muhammad Nasir ad-Din al-Albani, Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology: An Islaamic Manual of Reform (TROID Publications, Toronto; compiled and translated by TROID Publications; Second Edition, May 2009).
- Shaykh Rabi’ ibn Hadi al-Madkhali, Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj, with additions from Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Aziz ibn Baz (Salafi Publications, Birmingham; translated by Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Wahid ‘Alam; First Edition, December 2015).
- Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan, Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics (Al-Binaa Publishing, USA; translated by Abu Anas Atif Hasan, translation verified by Rasheed Barbee; 1st Edition, Shawwal 1434 AH / September 2013 CE).
✓ Verified 2026-10-23 against Shaykh al-Albani’s Fundamentals of the Salafee Methodology (TROID Publications), Shaykh Rabi’ al-Madkhali’s Holding Fast to the Salafi Manhaj with Shaykh Ibn Baz’s commentary (Salafi Publications), and Shaykh al-Fawzan’s Salafiyyah: Its Reality & Characteristics (Al-Binaa Publishing). Quotations are reproduced from those books; wording, scholar, book, and printed page for each quotation are recorded in the article’s source file.