The Salafists

                                The  Salafists

By- AHMED NOOR

Ahle-Hadith or Salafism has attracted  attention in present days due to many reasons. In India, the movement of Ahle-Hadith is  attracting   the young generation, while Sunni Muslims   and followers of Deoband and Barveli* seminaries are at loggerheads with  the Salafists for their rigid thoughts.

   Salafism derives from the term the pious forefathers (al-salaf al-salih), the first three generations of Muslims who had the first-hand experience of the rise of Islam. Followers of  Salafism claim that they are best and puritan and oppose Barveli thoughts  and Sufi. They have also some difference with Wahhabism*  which springs Tablique Jamaate and Jamaate Islami. Although  Salafi ideology   has   some extent affinities  with the Wahhabism, they have some differences. As a rule, all Wahhabis are Salafists, but not all Salafists are Wahhabis.

  Salafists   practice Quran and Hadith (traditions of Prophet Muhammad) and  do not believe in taqleed or association. The  Sunnis have  beliefs in compliance with the four schools of thoughts of Sunni jurisprudence whereas Salafis follow only when their ruling is supported by Quran and Sunnah. As a result,  a division  is seen  in practice of   Salah (prayer) and fiqh (jurisprudence).

  Salafists claim  that  they exist with the inception of Islam. However  the  fundamental  of Salafism are rooted in the writing of Ibn Taymiyya*.  Because of sticking   their thoughts, Salafists are  an aggressive attitude towards the Sunni belief and they openly oppose the customs of Sunnis.   They argue that any other sources of guidance the Quran, the Sunna and consensus of the companions will lead Muslims away from the straight  path because  they do not represent the original revelation of the  prophetic model.  They said  the  Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) predicated that Muslims would from other sources, resulting in sectarianism and deviancy. To avoid this, he advised his followers to remain focused on his Sunna and the Qur’an to ensure the purity of Islam: “I am leaving you two things and you will never go astray as long as you cling to them. They are the Book of Allah and my Sunna.”Due to their historical proximity to the  prophet, it is thought that the faith and practice of the  al-salaf al-salih was exemplary, and it is this that the modern  Salafists seek to capture  in their own lives.  Like Wahhabis, they   strongly   condemn  Barveli thoughts or  Sufi Islam as they think, the Sufis Islam   has  corrupted  Islam.  According to them to visit Sufi mausoleums and to pray and invoke intercession (shafa’at) is totally against Qur’an and Islamic teachings.  The Salafists found that Muslims have not understood and implemented the true Islam, deviating from the path of original teachings of the Qur'an and the Prophet Sunnah as seen in their practice of associating the one God with others (shirk) and veneration of the saints and their tombs. In their view, Muslims had lost the true knowledge of Islam and so that they were considered to have been guilty of ignoring and polluting the pure Islam.

 In India, to  protect the purity of Islam,  Salafists   refrain from any political tendency and activities. For them, educating Muslims the true Islamic teachings through da'wah (preaching) is privileged over political activities including those aimed at establishing an Islamic state, the doctrine of  Abul Ala al-Mawdudi of Jamaat Islami  and Sayyed Qutub of Egypt. The doctrine  that governance and sovereignty only belong to the one Allah as the only creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe. This doctrine has implications that since Allah is the only one who has authority to regulate the universe and human, those Muslims and Muslims rulers who do not implement the laws of God are considered in opposition against His authority and sovereignty and can be declared as unbelievers. Salafists  argue that political activities can cause, conflicts and divisions within the Muslim World.They assert that the doctrine of tawhid al-hakimiyyah (sovereignty only belong to the one Allah)can incite a revolutionary  spirit that encourages Muslims to rebel against their ruler. This obsession with maintaining and propagating a pure understanding of Islam has produced a strong tendency toward isolationism.

According to the Web sites of the  Salafis,  in India, they are 25-30 million. It has 21 branches and 200 branches at district levels and 40 branches are in local levels.  Salafis ulemas  attract Muslims particularly youths  through their speeches and literature.

However, opponents of Salafis  accused  Salafists of   creating  bigotry  and making colonized mosques which further create more divisions in the Muslims. ‘The Salafis supposed ‘greed’ in demanding that ‘all Muslims follow only their school of thought’ says the Sunni ulemas. The tussle among them is seen in many mosques  as they try to wrest control of the administration. It gives them the power to spread their ideology from the mosques.

 Salafis movement is  making an impact in most of the countries. However, it is not a homogenous  movement   and has contradictory tendencies which have sprung up in different countries.

Notes

Barelvi is a term used for the movement following the sunni hanafi school of jurisprudence originating in Bareilly,Utter Pradesh.The movement has to do with the practices and Sufism of Classic Islamic Mystics, it is often referred to as a Sufi movement. The movement was in existence (as is today) under the banner of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jammat.

Deobandi  are strong proponents of the doctrine of Taqlid. In other words, they believe that a Muslim must adhere to one of the four schools of Sunni Islamic Law.

  The Four Schools-  The vast majority of Muslims give this right of independent reasoning to only four ancient Muslim theologians and jurists who lived in the first three centuries of Islam.Imam Abu Hanifa of Kufa,Imam Malik bin Anas of Medinah Imam Muhammad al-Shafi of Medinah,Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal of Baghdad.

Wahhabism is named after an eighteenth-century preacher and scholar, Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab(1703–1792). He started a revivalist movement in the remote, sparsely populated region of  Najad advocating a purging of practices such as the popular "cult of saints", and  shrine and tomb visitation, widespread among Muslims, but which he considered idolatry , impurities and innovations in Islam

 Taqi ad-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah  known as Ibn Taymiyyah (22 January 1263 – 26 September 1328) was a Islamic scholar, theologian and logician.

References

1 -Anatomy of the Salafi Movement-Quintan Wiktorowicz

2-Jihadi-Salafi views of the Islamic State By Joas Wagemakers

3-Salafi Ritual Purity by Richard Gauvain

3-Global Salafism: Islam’s New Religious Movement

Author : Roel Meijer Publisher : Columbia University Press

4- From Wahhabis to Salafis- David Commins

5-Sufis and Salafis in the  contemporary age.-Lioyd Ridgeon.

6) Salafism and Sufisim- is there real conflict- Asgar Ali Engineer.