A Salafi (Arabic: سلفي‎) is a Muslim who emphasises the Salaf ("predecessors" or "ancestors"), the earliest Muslims, as model examples of Islamic practice.^[1] The term has been in use since the Middle Ages but today refers especially to a follower of a modern Sunni Islamic movement known as the Salafiyyah, which is related to or includes Wahhabism, so that the two terms are sometimes erroneously viewed as synonymous.^[2] Salafism has become associated with literalist, strict and puritanical approaches to Islamic theology and, in the West, with the Salafi Jihadis who espouse violent jihad against civilians as a legitimate expression of Islam.^[3] Academics and historians use the term to denote "a school of thought which surfaced in the second half of the 19th century as a reaction to the spread of European ideas," and "sought to expose the roots of modernity within Muslim civilization."^[4]

Just who, or what groups and movements, qualify as Salafi remains in dispute. In the Arab World, and possibly even more so now by Muslims in the West, it is usually secondary to the more common term Ahl-as-Sunnah (i.e., "People of the Sunnah") while Ahl al-Hadith (The People of the Tradition) is more often used in the Indian subcontinent to identify adherents of Salafi orthodoxy, a term used more in Arabic academia to indicate scholars and students of Hadith. All are considered to bear the same or similar connotation and have been used interchangeably by Muslim scholars throughout the ages, Ahl al-Hadeeth possibly being the oldest recorded term used to describe the earliest adherents^[5] while Ahl as-Sunnah is overwhelmingly used by Muslim scholars, including Salafis as well as others, such as the Ash'ari sect, leading to a narrower use of the term "Salafi".^[6] The Muslim Brotherhood includes the term in the "About Us" section of its website^[7] while others exclude that organisation^[8] in the belief that the group commits religious innovations. Other self-described contemporary salafis may define themselves as Muslims who follow "literal, traditional ... injunctions of the sacred texts" rather than the "somewhat freewheeling interpretation" of earlier salafis. These look to Ibn Taymiyyah, not the 19th century figures of Muhammad Abduh, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, and Rashid Rida.^[4]

According to the 2010 German domestic intelligence service annual report, Salafism is the fastest growing Islamic movement in the world.^[9]

The Salaf[link]

The first generations of Muslims are collectively referred to as the "Pious Predecessors" (as-Salaf as-Saleh),^[10] and include the "Companions" (Sahabah), the "Followers" (Tabi‘un) and the "Followers of the Followers" (Tabi‘ al-Tabi‘in). These are revered in Sunni Islamic orthodoxy and their example used in understanding the texts and tenets of Islam by Sunni theologians since the fifth Muslim generation or earlier, sometimes to differentiate the creed of the first Muslims from subsequent variations in creed and methodology (see Madhab),^[11][12] to oppose religious innovation (bid‘ah) and, conversely, to defend particular views and practices.^{[13] [14]}

This veneration is based on a number of records of the sayings of Muhammad who said, "I am the best Salaf for you"^[15] and, as narrated in the Sahih al-Bukhari of `Abd Allah ibn `Umar, a companion of Muhammad; "The best people are those of my generation, and then those who will come after them and then those who will come after them..."|Sahih al-Bukhari collected by Muhammad al-Bukhari^[16] Other narrations indicate that there will follow people who will bear false witness of Islam,.^[17]

Tenets[link]

Salafis view the Salaf as an eternal model for all succeeding Muslim generations in their beliefs, exegesis, method of worship, mannerisms, morality, piety and conduct: the Islam they practised was pure, unadulterated and, therefore, the ultimate authority for the interpretation of the Sunnah.^[18] This is not interpreted as an imitation of cultural norms or trends that are not part of the legislated worship of Islam but rather as an adherence to Islamic theology.^[19] Salafis reject speculative theology (kalam) that involves discourse and debate in the development of the Islamic creed. They consider this process a foreign import from Greek philosophy alien to the original practice of Islam. The Imam, Al-Dhahabi (d. 748H / 1348) said:

It is authentically related from ad-Daaraqutnee that he said: There is nothing more despised by me than kalam. I say: He never entered into kalam nor argumentation. Rather, he was a Salafi.^[20]

Salafism holds that the Qur'an, the Hadith and the consensus (ijma) of approved scholarship (ulama) are sufficient guidance for the Muslim. As the Salafi da'wa is a methodology and not a madh'hab, Salafis can come from the Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali or the Hanafi schools of Sunni jurisprudence^[21] and accept teaching of all four if supported by clear and authenticated evidence from the Sunnah. Their interpretation is based on a strict form of Athari theology and they are generally opposed to imitation (taqlid) of a religious authority's rulings in matters of law.

Salafism condemns many common practices as polytheism (shirk) and impermissible intercession of religious figures, such as venerating the graves of Islamic prophets and saints. They maintain that many other practices are bid‘ah or innovation, beliefs or actions of worship are totally without sanction. Salafis believe that Islam's decline after the early generations results from religious innovations and from an abandoning of pure Islamic teachings; that an Islamic revival will only result through emulation of early generations of Muslims and purging of foreign influences.

Salafis, similar to adherents of most other Islamic denominations, place great emphasis on ritual - not only in prayer but in every activity in daily life. Many are careful to always use three fingers when eating, drink water in three pauses with the right hand while sitting^[22] and make sure their jellabiya or other garment worn by them does not extend below the ankle so as to follow the example of Muhammad and his companions.

History[link]

From the perspective of Salafis the history of the Salafi dawah starts with Muhammad himself. They consider themselves direct followers of his teachings as outlined in the Qur'an and Sunnah (prophetic traditions), and wish to emulate the piety of the first three generations of Islam (the Salaf). All later scholars are merely reviver's (not 'founders') of the original practices. Modern scholars may only come to teach (or remind) Muslims of the instructions of the original followers of Islam, who based their beliefs and actions on the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Landmarks claimed in the history of Salafi da'wah are Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d.240 AH / 855 AD) who is known among Salafis as Imam Ahl al-Sunnah, and one of the three scholars commonly titled with the honorific Sheikh ul-Islam, namely, Taqi ad-Deen Ibn Taymiyyah (d.728 AH / 1328 AD) and Ibn al-Qayyim (d.751 AH / 1350).^[23][24][25]

Early examples of usage[link]

• Some scholars, such as Ibn Taymiyyah, have noted: "There is no criticism for the one who proclaims the madh'hab of the Salaf, who attaches himself to it and refers to it. Rather, it is obligatory to accept that from him by unanimous agreement because the way of the Salaf is nothing but the truth."^[20]

• The term salafi has been used to describe to theological position of particular scholars. Abo al-Hasan Ali ibn Umar al-Daraqutuni (d. 995 C.E., 385 A.H.) was described by al-Dhahabi as: "Never having entered into rhetoric or polemics, instead he was salafi."^[26]

• Also, al-Dhahabi described Ibn al-Salah, a prominent 12th century hadith specialist, as: "Firm in his religiosity, salafi in his generality and correct in his denomination. [He] refrained from falling into common pitfalls, believed in Allah and in what Allah has informed us of from His names and description."^[27]

• In another of his works, Tadhkirat al-huffaz, al-Dhahabi said of Ibn al-Salah: "I say: He was salafi, of sound creed, abstaining from the interpretations of the scholars of rhetoric, believing in what has been textually established, without recourse to unjustified interpretation or elaboration.^[28]

• In his book, Tabsir al-Muntabih, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani mentioned the ascription al-Salafi and named Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdillah ibn Ahmad Al-Sarkhasi al-Salafi as an example of its usage. Ibn Hajar then said: "And, likewise, the one ascribing to the salaf."^[29]

• Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani also used the term, salafi to describe Muhammad ibn al-Qaasim ibn Sufyan al-Misri al-Maliki (d. 966 C.E., 355 A.H.) He said that al-Malaiki was: "Salafi al-madh'hab – salafi in his school of thought."^[30]

• In the book Al-Ansaab by Abu Sa'd Abd al-Kareem as-Sama'ni, who died in the year 1166 (562 of the Islamic calendar), under the entry for the ascription al-Salafi he mentions an example or more of people who were so described in his time.^[31] In commenting upon as-Sama'ni, Ibn al-Athir noted; "And a group were known by this epithet."^[32]

Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab[link]

Many today consider Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab as the first figure in the modern era to push for a return to the religious practices of the salaf as-salih.^[33] His evangelizing in 18th century Arabian Peninsula was a call to return to the practices of the early Muslims. His works, especially Kitab at-Tawhid, are still widely read by Salafis around the world today, and the majority of Salafi scholars still reference his works frequently.^[34] After his death, his views flourished under his descendants, the Al ash-Sheikh, and the generous financing of the House of Saud and initiated the current worldwide Salafi movement.^{[citation needed]}

Some Salafis reject the Wahhabi label because they consider it unfounded, an object of controversy,^[35] holding that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab did not establish a new school of thought but restored the Islam practisced by the earliest generations of Muslims.^{[citation needed]} Followers of Salafiyyah consider it wrong to be called "Wahhabis" as the 16th Name of God is al-Wahhab ("the Bestower") and to be called a "Wahhabi" they see as being equal to Allah, which they strictly prohibit. Wahhabism has been called a "belittling" and derogatory term for Salafi,^[36] while another source defines it as "a particular orientation within Salafism,"^[21] an orientation some consider ultra-conservative,^[37][38] and yet another describes it as a formerly separate current of Islamic thought that appropriated "language and symbolism of Salafism" until the two became "practically indistinguishable" in the 1970s.^[39]

Trevor Stanley states that, while the origins of the terms Wahhabism and Salafism "were quite distinct" – "Wahhabism was a pared-down Islam that rejected modern influences, while Salafism sought to reconcile Islam with modernism" – they both shared a rejection of "traditional" teachings on Islam in favor of a direct, more puritan reinterpretation. Stéphane Lacroix, a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris, also affirmed a distinction between the two: "As opposed to Wahhabism, Salafism refers here to all the hybridations that have taken place since the 1960s between the teachings of Muhammad bin ‘Abd al-Wahhab and other Islamic schools of thought. Al-Albani’s discourse can therefore be a form of Salafism, while being critical of Wahhabism."^[40]

The migration of Muslim Brotherhood members from Egypt to Saudi Arabia and Saudi King Faisal's "embrace of Salafi pan-Islamism resulted in cross-pollination between Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab's teachings on tawhid, shirk and bid‘ah and Salafi interpretations of the sayings of Muhammad.^[41]

Contemporary Salafism[link]

Salafism is attractive because it underscores Islam's universality.^[42] It insists on the literal truth of Muslim scripture and what might be called a very confined and narrow brand of sharia or religious law.^[42] Yet they may challenge secularism by appropriating secularism's traditional role of defending the socially and politically weak against the powerful.^[43]

In recent years Salafis have come to be associated with the jihad of Al-Qaeda and related groups that advocate the killing of civilians, which are opposed by most other Muslim groups and governments, such as Emir Khattab an islamist revolutionary from Saudi Arabia who died fighting in Chechnya and has often been quoted denouncing violence against non-combatants. Debate continues today over the appropriate methods of reform, ranging from violent "Qutubi jihadism" to lesser politicized proselytizing.^{[citation needed]} A majority of Salafi scholars stand firmly with the present-day manifestations of jihad, particularly as it relates to terrorism and the killing of civilians and innocents. They hold their opinion against as:

No individual has the right to take the law into his own hands on any account. Even the closest of Prophet Muhammad's companions never killed a single of his opponents even when invectives were hurled at him day and night in the first thirteen years of his Da'wah at Makkah. Nor did they kill anyone in retaliation when he was pelted with stones at Ta'if.

The spread of Salafism has prompted political leaders in the Middle East to accommodate a greater role for jihadist in public policy.^[44]

Salafist jihadism is a school of thought of Salafi Muslims who support jihad. The term was coined by scholar Gilles Kepel^[45][46] to describe Salafi who began developing an interest in jihad during the mid-1990s. Practitioners are often referred to as Salafi jihadis or Salafi jihadists. Journalist Bruce Livesey estimates Salafi jihadists constitute less than 1 percent of the world's 1.9 billion Muslims (c. 10 million).^[45]

Despite some similarities, the different contemporary self-proclaimed Qutubi groups often strongly disapprove of one another and deny the other's Islamic character.^[36][36][47]

Salafism in China[link]

Salafism is intensely opposed by the Hui Muslims in China, by the Hanafi Sunni Gedimu and Sufi Khafiya and Jahriyya. So much so that even the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Chinese sect, which is fundamentalist and was founded by Ma Wanfu who was originally inspired by the Salafis, condemned Ma Debao and Ma Zhengqing as heretics when they attempted to introduce Salafism as the main form of Islam. Ma Debao established a Salafi school, called the Sailaifengye (Salafi) menhuan in Lanzhou and Linxia, and it is a completely separate group than other Muslim sects in China.^[48]

Salafis have a reputation for radicalism among the Chinese Gedimu and Yihewani groups. The Sunni Muslim Hui avoid Salafis, even if they are family members, and they constantly disagree.^[49]

The amount of Salafis in China is so insignificant that they are not included on percentage lists of Muslim sects in China.^[50]

The Kuomintang Sufi Muslim General Ma Bufang, who backed the Yihewani (Ikhwan) Muslims, persecuted the Salafis, forcing them into hiding. They were not allowed to move or worship openly. The Yihewani had become secular and Chinese nationalists, and they considered the Salafiyya to be "heterodox" (xie jiao), and people who followed foreigners' teachings (waidao). Only after the Communists took over were the Salafis allowed to come out and worship openly again.^[51]

In contrast to his treatment of Salafis, General Ma allowed polytheists to openly worship, and Christian missionaries to station themselves in Qinghai. General Ma and other high ranking Generals even attended the Kokonuur Lake Ceremony where the Chinese "God of the Lake' was worshipped, and during the ritual, the Chinese national anthem was sung, all participants bowed to a portrait of Kuomintang party founder Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and the God of the Lake was also bowed to, and offerings were given to him by the participants.^[52] Ma Bufang invited some Kazakh Muslims to attend the ceremony honoring her god.^[53] Ma Bufang received audiences of Christian missionaries, who sometimes gave him the Gospel.^[54][55] His son Ma Jiyuan received a silver cup from Christian missionaries.^[56]

Comparison with other forms of Islamism[link]

Salafism differs from the Islamic revival movements of the 1970s and 1980s commonly referred to as Islamism, in that many Salafis reject not only Western ideologies such as Socialism and Capitalism, but also common Western concepts like economics, constitutions, political parties and revolution.^{[citation needed]}

Salafi Muslims often preach disengagement from Western activities like politics, "even by giving them an Islamic slant."^[57] Instead, it is thought that Muslims should stick to traditional activities, particularly Dawah. Nevertheless, Salafis do not preach willful ignorance of civil or state law. While preaching that the Sharia takes precedence, Salafi Muslims conform to civil or state law as far as they are required, for example in purchasing mandatory auto insurance. A Salafi Muslim might purchase "third party, fire and theft" insurance in order to avoid going to jail, but he/she would not purchase "fully comprehensive" insurance because commercial insurance is seen as gambling.^{[citation needed]}

Criticism[link]

Salafism, or at least the so called "puritanical" forms of it, has been recently criticized by Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl of UCLA School of Law. El Fadl claims that the Salafi methodology "drifted into stifling apologetics" by the mid-20th century, a reaction against "anxiety" to "render Islam compatible with modernity," by its leaders earlier in the century.^[58]

Some Salafi writers would allegedly claim, for example, that "any meritorious or worthwhile modern institutions were first invented and realized by Muslims." The result was that "an artificial sense of confidence and an intellectual lethargy" developed, according to Abou El Fadl, "that took neither the Islamic tradition nor" the challenges of the modern world "very seriously."^[59][60]

Egyptian scholar Tawfik Hamid says that Salafist Muslim fundamentalists believe that Saudi Arabia's petroleum-based wealth is a divine gift, and that Saudi influence is sanctioned by God. Thus this extreme brand of Sunni Islam that spread from the Saudi Arabia to the rest of the Islamic world is regarded not merely as one interpretation of the religion but the only genuine interpretation. The expansion of violent and regressive idea, he continues, began to take global roots in the late 1970s, and is precisely due to the growing financial clout of Saudi Arabia. In his words, this Arabian sponsored version of Islam is “puritanical, extreme and does, yes, mean that women can be beaten, apostates killed and Jews called pigs and monkeys.”

German Government's Statement on Salafism[link]

German government officials have stated that Salafism has a strong link to terrorism but have clarified that not all Salafists are terrorists. The statements by Germany government officials criticizing salafism were televised on Deutsche Welle broadcasts for the week of April 18, 2012.

Salafi scholars[link]

Older authorities accepted by modern Salafis as Salafi[link]

[edit] Arabian Peninsula

[edit] Egypt

[edit] India

[edit] Mesopotamia and Greater Khorasan

[edit] Greater Syria

[edit] Al-Andalus

[edit] Yemen

Contemporary Salafi scholars[link]

[edit] Afghanistan

• Muhammad Muhsin Khan

[edit] Albania

[edit] Egypt

• Muhammad Hussein Yacoub

[edit] Mauritania

• Muhammad Ash-Shanqeeti

[edit] Morocco

• Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali

[edit] Pakistan

• Ehsan Elahi Zaheer

[edit] Saudi Arabia

[edit] Somalia

• Muhammad Al-Sumaalee^[62]

[edit] Syria

• Muhammad bin Jamil Zeno

[edit] Yemen

• Abdur-Rahman al-Mu'allimee al-Yamani
• Muqbil bin Haadi al-Waadi'ee

See also[link]

Islam portal

References[link]