Salafi movement
The Salafi movement or Salafism is a fundamentalist revival movement within Sunni Islam, originating in the late 19th century and influential in the Islamic world to this day. The name "Salafiyyah" is a self-designation, claiming a return to the traditions of the predecessors, the first three generations of Muslims, who are believed to exemplify the pure form of Islam. In practice, Salafis claim that they rely on the Qur'an, the and the of the, giving these writings precedence over what they claim as "later religious interpretations". The Salafi movement aimed to achieve a renewal of Muslim life, and had a major influence on many Muslim thinkers and movements across the Islamic world.
Salafi Muslims oppose bid'ah and support the implementation of . In its approach to politics, the Salafi movement is sometimes divided by Western academics and journalists into three categories: the largest group being the purists, who avoid politics; the second largest group being the activists, who maintain regular involvement in politics; and the third group being the jihadists, who form a minority and advocate armed struggle to restore early Islamic practice. In legal matters, Salafis advocate and oppose to the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
The origins of Salafism are disputed, with some historians like Louis Massignon tracing its origin to the intellectual movement in the second half of the nineteenth century that opposed Westernization emanating from European imperialism. However, Afghani and Abduh had not self-described as "Salafi" and the usage of the term to denote them has become outdated today. Abduh's more orthodox student Rashid Rida followed hardline Salafism which opposed Sufism, Shi'ism and incorporated traditional madh'hab system. Rida eventually became a champion of the Wahhabi movement and would influence another strand of conservative Salafis. In the modern academia, Salafism is commonly used to refer to a cluster of contemporary Sunni renewal and reform movements inspired by the teachings of classical theologians—in particular Ibn Taymiyya. These Salafis dismiss the 19th century reformers as rationalists who failed to interpret scripture in the most literal, traditional sense.
Conservative Salafis regard Syrian scholars like Rashid Rida and Muhibb al-Din al-Khatib as revivalists of Salafi thought in the Arab world. Rida's religious orientation was shaped by his association with Salafi scholars who preserved the tradition of Ibn Taymiyya. These ideas would be popularised by Rida and his disciples, immensely influencing numerous Salafi organisations in the Arab world. Some of the major Salafi reform movements in the Islamic world today include the Ahl-i Hadith movement, inspired by the teachings of Shah Waliullah Dehlawi and galvanized through the South Asian jihad of Sayyid Ahmad Shahid; the Wahhabi movement in Arabia; the Padri movement of Indonesia; Algerian Salafism spearheaded by Abdelhamid Ben Badis; and others.
Etymology
The term Salafi as a proper noun and adjective had been used during the classical era to refer to the theological school of the early movement. The treatises of the medieval proto-Salafist theologian Taqi al-Din ibn Taymiyya, which played the most significant role in formalizing the creedal, social and political positions of Ahl al-Hadith; constitute the most widely referred classical works in Salafi seminaries.It is only in modern times that the label Salafi has been applied to a distinct movement and theological creed. Both modernists as well as traditionalists could apply the term. Both movements might have opposite approaches but advocate a belief that Islam has been altered and is in need of a return to a previous form of Islam allegedly practised by the Salafiyya.
Tenets
According to Bernard Haykel, "temporal proximity to the Prophet Muhammad is associated with the truest form of Islam" among many Sunni Muslims. Salafis are first and foremost religious and social reformers engaged in creating and reproducing particular forms of authority and identity, both personal and communal. They define reformist project first and foremost through creedal tenets. Also important in its manhaj are certain legal teachings as well as forms of sociability and politics.The Salafi da'wa is a methodology, but it is not a madhhab in fiqh as is commonly misunderstood. Salafis oppose to the Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali, Hanafi or Zahirite law schools of Sunni fiqh. The followers of Salafi school identify themselves as Ahlul Sunna wal Jama'ah and are also known as Ahl al-Hadith. The Salafiyya movement champions this early Sunni school of thought, also known as traditionalist theology.
Salafis place great emphasis on practicing actions in accordance with the known sunnah, not only in prayer but in every activity in daily life. For instance, many are careful always to use three fingers when eating, to drink water in three pauses, and to hold it with the right hand while sitting. The main doctrines of Ibn Taymiyya's school, also referred by various academics as "al-Salafiyyah al-Tarikhiyah" consist of:
- revival of "the authentic beliefs and practices" of Salaf al-Salih
- "upholding tawhid "
- rejection of partisanship towards madhahib
- literalist adherence to religious scriptures
- loyalty to Islamic rulers who ruled by Sharia
- objection to bid'ah and heresies
Views on ''Taqlid'' (adherence to legal precedent)
Although Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab had personally rejected the practice of taqlid, Wahhabi scholars sometimes favoured following the Hanbali madhhab and permitted taqlid in following fatwas. The doctrinal rejection of taqlid by Wahhabis would lead to subsequent emergence of prominent Wahhabi ulema such as Sa'd ibn 'Atiq, Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'dii, al-Uthaymin, Ibn Baz, etc.; who would depart significantly from Hanbali law. Leading Salafi scholar al-Albani staunchly opposed following any of the four schools, Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Shafi'i.
Other Salafi movements, however, believe that taqlid is unlawful and challenge the authority of the legal schools. In their perspective, since the madhahib emerged after the era of Salaf al-Salih ; those Muslims who follow a madhhab without directly searching for Scriptural evidences would get deviated. These include the scholars of Ahl-i Hadith movement, Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Muḥammad Ḥayāt al-Sindhī, , al-Shawkānī, etc.; who completely condemn taqlid, rejecting the authority of the legal schools, and oblige Muslims to seek religious rulings issued by scholars exclusively based on the Qur'an and Hadith; with no intermediary involved. The Ahl-i Hadith ''ulema would distinguish themselves from the Wahhabis who followed the Hanbali school while they considered themselves as following no particular school. In contemporary era, al-Albani and his disciples, in particular, would directly criticise Wahhabis on the issue of taqlid due to their affinity towards the Hanbali school and called for a re-generated Wahhabism purified of elements contrary to doctrines of the Salaf.
Other Salafi scholars like Sayyid Rashid Rida follow a middle course, allowing the layperson to do taqlid only when necessary, obliging him to do Ittiba when the Quranic evidences become known to him. Their legal methodology rejects partisanship to the treatises of any particular schools of law, and refer to the books of all madhahib. Following Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Qayyim, these scholars accept the rich literary heritage of Sunni fiqh and consider the literature of the four Sunni law-schools as beneficial resources to issue rulings for the contemporary era. At the far end of the spectrum, some Salafis hold that adhering to taqlid is an act of shirk.
Contemporary Salafis generally discard the practice of adhering to the established rulings of any particular Madhhab, condemning the principle of taqlid as a bid'ah and are significantly influenced by the legal principles of the Zahirite school, historically associated with anti-madhhab doctrines that opposed the canonization of legal schools. Early Zahirite scholar Ibn Hazm's condemnation of taqlid and calls to break free from the interpretive system of the canonized schools by espousing a fiqh directly grounded on Qur'an and Hadith; have conferred a major impact on the Salafiyya movement. Salafi legalism is most often marked by its departure from the established rulings of the four Sunni madhahib, as well as frequently aligning with Zahirite views mentioned by Ibn Hazm in his legal compendium Al-Muhalla''.
Scholarly hierarchy
notes that due to the peculiarity of its methodology, Salafis enjoy a relatively less rigid scholarly hierarchy of authorities. Most Salafis unlike other traditional and pre-modern Muslims do not subscribe to a hierarchy that rigorously "constrains and regulates... the output of opinions". As an interpretive community, Salafi tradition, "in contrast to other Muslim traditions of learning", is "relatively open, even democratic".Methodology and hermeneutics
Contemporary proponents of the Athari school of theology largely come from the Salafi movement; they uphold the Athari works of Ibn Taymiyya. Ibn Taymiyya himself, a disputed and partly rejected scholar during his lifetime, became a major scholar among followers of the Salafi movement credited with the title Shaykh al-Islam. Other important figures include major scholars important in Islamic history, such as Ahmad ibn Hanbal. While proponents of Kalam revere early generations of Salaf al-Salih, viewing Muhammad and the Sahaba as exemplar role models in religious life, they emulate them through the lens of the classical traditions of the madhahib and its ulama. On the other hand, Salafis attempt to follow the Salaf al-Salih through recorded scriptural evidences, often bypassing the classical manuals of madhahib. Nonetheless, both Salafis and Mutakallimun emphasize the significance of the Salaf in the Sunni tradition.Salafi Muslims consider Qur'an, Sunnah and the Actions or Sayings of the Sahaba as the only valid authoritative source for Islam. While Salafis believe that investigation of novel issues should be understood from the Scriptures in consideration of the context of modern era, they oppose rationalist interpretations of Scriptures. In addition to limiting the usage of logic with regards to textual interpretations, Salafi scholars also reduce the importance given to medieval legal manuals and texts, giving more priority to the texts from the early generations of the Salaf. Salafis favor practical implementation as opposed to disputes with regards to meanings, meaning may be considered either clear or something beyond human understanding. As adherents of Athari theology, Salafis believe that engagement in speculative theology is absolutely forbidden. Atharis engage in strictly literal and amodal reading of the Qur'an and Hadith and only their clear or apparent meanings have the sole authority in creedal affairs. As opposed to one engaged in Ta'wil, they do not attempt to conceptualize the meanings of the Qur'an rationally; and believe that the real meanings should be consigned to God alone. Following the Salafi hermeneutic approach, Salafis differ from that of non-Salafis in some regards of permissibility.
Ibn Taymiyya was known for making scholarly refutations of religious groups such as the Sufis, Jahmites, Asha'rites, Shias, Falasifa etc., through his numerous treatises. Explaining the theological approach of "Salafiyya", Ibn Taymiyya states in a fatwa: