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Q: 216 ? Title: I'd like to know about your view about this matter. Here in my country, salafi/wahhabi claim that they are the best ummah among the other islamic group which has different...

Question

I'd like to know about your view about this matter. Here in my country, salafi/wahhabi claim that they are the best ummah among the other islamic group which has different comprehension with them, they have an excuse that the definition of salafi itself is three generation after the leadership of Nabi SAW (sahaba, tabi'in, tabiut tabi'in), so their way of ibadah is far away from bid'ah. Is it true? Just for you to know that I sometimes join with salafis tabligh and learn from them, but I don't accept totally to their knowledge. Please explain it to me so I am not trapped in a confussion. Jazakallah....

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

It is a known principle in the world of advertisement that in order to market a product well, it needs to be promoted under an attractive name or title.? However, as a consumer, it is necessary to look at the product's details and specifications, and not just be swayed by its appealing name.? Similar is the scenario with a group who are promoting their incorrect beliefs under the catchy title of "Salaf?sm."? Although this group claims to follow the way of the pious predecessors (salaf), they, in reality, follow the way of a select few scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah ???? ???? who, despite their vast knowledge, held several views contrary to the vast majority of the scholars and were heavily criticized for it[1].

Modern day Salaf?s are of many types and it is difficult to generalize them all together.? Some are Salaf? in 'aq?dah but follow a madhhab in fiqh, while others are Ash'ar? (used to include both Ash'ar?s and M?tur?d?s in the context of Salaf?sm) in 'aq?dah but Salaf?s in fiqh, whereas many are Salaf?s in both 'aq?dah and fiqh.

The topic of Salaf?sm in fiqh mainly revolves around the issue of taql?d (following one of the four accepted madh?hib, namely Hanaf?, Sh?fi'?, M?lik?, and Hanbal?).? Much has been written on our site (askimam.org) regarding this before.

As for 'aq?dah, the salient characteristic of the Salaf?s is their view on the sif?t (attributes) of All?h.? The Salaf?s only accept the literal meaning of sif?t of All?h and refute any interpretations of it.? Therefore, according to them, All?h has an actual face (wajh), hand (yad), and shin (s?q).? Furthermore, according to many Salaf?s, All?h physically ascends (istiw?') on the Throne ('Arsh)[2].? With such beliefs, one has essentially associated features to All?h which are the same as that of his creation, thus violating the governing principle regarding the features of All?h:

?????? ?????????? ?????? ?????? ?????????? ?????????? (??????: 11)

There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, All-Seeing (Qur'?n 42:11).

The Ash'ar?s, on the other hand, have two approaches in understanding the sif?t of All?h:

1) To depute unto All?h the apparent meaning of which might lead to resemblance with His creation

2) To interpret the text within its linguistic meaning in such a way that it does not show any resemblance with His creation.

Therefore, the Ash'ar?s accept that All?h has a wajh, yad, s?q, and that He does istiw?' on the 'Arsh.? However, the meaning and the description of the wajh or the istiw?', for example, is only known by All?h[3].? This is the first approach according to the Ash'ar?s.

An example[4] of the second approach, for example, can be seen in understanding the following had?th:

????? ??? ???? ?? ????? ?? ???? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??? ???? ????? ?? ??? ????? ??? ???? ??? ?? ???? ???? ??? ???? ???? ? ??? ???: ( ???? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ?????? ?? ???????? ????? ?? (???? ???????? ??? ?????? ??????? ?? ??? ?????)

The Prophet ??? ???? ???? ???? said, "Our Lord, the Most Blessed and High is He, descends each night to the sky of this world during the last third of the night and says, "Who is calling Me so that I may respond, who is asking Me so that I may give, who is asking Me for forgiveness so that I may forgive him?" (Bukh?r?)

According to the Ash'ar?s, one meaning of the descending of our Lord is in relation to His mercy.? In other words, All?h's special mercy descends during the last third of each night.? However, according to the literal approach of the Salaf?s, it means that All?h physically descends each night.? This is similar to their incorrect belief of All?h physically sitting on the 'Arsh.? This implies that the laws and restrictions of physical space (mak?n) also apply to All?h and that He has a body, both concepts which have been rejected by scholars of all times.? This concept will lead one to question where All?h was before He created the 'Arsh.? Obviously, All?h existed before the 'Arsh and was never confined to the area of the 'Arsh.? Our belief is that All?h is as He was before the creation of the 'Arsh.? Therefore, it is necessary to interpret such h?d?ths and ay?hs to understand them correctly.

Considering the above, we advice you to not go in the lessons conducted by the Salaf?s as you may not be able to distinguish between their views and the correct views of the vast majority of the mainstream scholars.? However, it is extremely important that good relations and proper etiquettes be maintained when conversing and interacting with the Salaf?s.? Disagreement cannot and should not be an excuse for disrespect of any kind.

And Allah knows best

Wassalamu Alaikum