๐ In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful
๐ I remember when I was around 19 years old back in Saudi Arabia we had some British Bangladeshi neighbors whose kids would hang out with me from time to time. I still recall their names being Zainab, Zakiyyah, Adam and Ibrahim. They were around the ages of 10, 8, 6 and 2 or 3. During one of their visits, when two of them asked me "are you Salafi?" I honestly didn't know how to respond but said something like "I'm a Muslim. I'm Sunni." and they'd ask again "yes, but are you SALAFI?" since I couldn't adequately answer their questions, I tried to distract them with some children's games until they became disinterested in making sure if I'm "Salafi" or not.
Alhamdulillah after some years, Allah the Almighty guided me to understanding the importance of having the correct 'Aqeedah/belief. When a Muslim who wholeheartedly believes in Allah's Oneness (Tawheed) labels himself or herself "Salafi", they intend to clearly distinguish themselves from the other sects of people who claim to be Muslims. A lot of those groups are guilty of committing erroneous acts which are connected to shirk/polytheism and bid'ah/innovated religious matters, such as celebrating the so-called "mawlid an-nabi", praying towards cemeteries, supplicating to the dead, wearing amulets to protect oneself from jinns, practicing witchcraft or sorcery, getting into mut'ah/temporary marriage or legalizing zina/fornication, and outrageously considering somebody to be 'kaafir' just because of a certain sin etc.
๐ผ Is it mandatory to call yourself "Salafi" to be among those who enter Jannah Paradise? No. According to one of the sayings of the noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam in a Hadith, some people from hell/jahannam will ultimately be taken out by Allah the Most Forgiving if in their hearts is even a tiny bit of faith/Imaan in Him Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala while they also did what they could to follow the Sunnah of the beloved Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam. To avoid being admitted to jahannam, even for some minutes, we should strive for Allah's sake to do what Allah and His noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam love, one of them being to ensure that one's belief/'Aqeedah is not tarnished or spoiled by any polytheistic action and bid'ah/innovation.
๐๐งณ๐️๐ Imagine if you were shown a number of travel backpacks prior to embarking on a long trip to a friend's large mansion but before it can be reached you'd have to pass by several forests and mountainous areas. Which would you carry, a bag containing:
A ] Plastic toys and disposable plates?
B ] A number of can openers without even canned foods?
C ] Notebooks, pens which ran out of ink, and flashlights which aren't functional anymore?
D ] A gigantic box with different kinds of snakes?
Or E ] The backpack which has your basic essentials for traveling and hiking including solar flashlights that don't require batteries, lighters and matches, camping tent etc?
This is why as Muslims we can identify ourselves as "Salafi" to make it clear that we are not with the misguided sects who take Allah's Laws lightly or do certain good deeds incorrectly.
While no human is perfect, it is imperative to try our utmost to serve Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala in the way that He wants us to worship Him. How can that be achieved? By striving to patiently adhere to the teachings and tradition of the noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam while following how his companions/Sahabas RadhiAllahu 'anhum and the righteous predecessors (salaf) lived their lives to do what they could to stick to the Sunnah of the beloved Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam, without undue extremism and intentional negligence of our duties as Muslims.
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๐ Malik RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "I have left you with two matters which will never lead you astray, as long as you hold on to them: The Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet (Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam)."
Source: Al-Muwaṭṭa’ 1661
Grade: Sahih (Authentic) according to Ibn Abdul Barr
๐ Al-‘Irbad Ibn Sariyah RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: The Messenger of Allah SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam prayed with us one day. Then he SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam faced us and delivered an eloquent sermon that brought tears to our eyes and by it shook our hearts. It was said, "O Messenger of Allah, it is as if this is a farewell sermon. What do you instruct for us?" The Prophet Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "I advise you to fear Allah, listen, and obey, even if an Abyssinian slave is put in charge of you. Whoever lives after me will see many conflicts. You must adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the righteous, guided successors. Hold firmly to it (to his Sunnah/tradition) as though biting with your molar teeth. Beware of newly invented matters, for every newly invented matter is an innovation (Bid'ah) and every innovation is misguidance."
Source: Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4607
Grade: Sahih (Authentic) according to Al-Arna’ut
๐ Abdullah Ibn Amr RadhiAllahu 'anhu narrated: Allah's noble Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "What comes over my nation will surely be what came over the children of Israel, step by step until if one of them fornicated with his mother, one from my nation would do the same. Verily, the children of Israel split into seventy-two sects and my nation will split into seventy-three sects. All of them will be in Hellfire except for one sect." They said, “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam said, "Those who follow my way and my companions."
Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2641
Grade: Hasan (Fair) according to Al-Albani
https://mjustsharingislam.blogspot.com/2021/01/poem-what-it-means-to-be-muslim-and.html
https://www.abukhadeejah.com/the-label-salafi-and-who-they-are-by-ibn-taymiyyah-ibn-abdul-wahhaab-ibn-baaz-al-albaanee-and-ibn-uthaimeen/
https://youtu.be/ivHZp-USRyo
https://youtu.be/a5tkuP6l3LY
https://youtu.be/INRPX9bM4Gs
https://www.salafidvo.com/external-resources.html
https://t.me/salafidvo
