Question: May Allaah be good to you O esteemed Shaykh. This questioner states: “in recent times the following statement has become widely used, ‘so and so is not a Salafee’ or ‘he is not from The Salafees.’ Are these types of statements considered as tabdee’ (considering a person to be an innovator) and therefore it is a must that the evidence is established upon him?”
Response: By Allaah, I warn from using these types of nick names. All praise is due to Allaah, It is more befitting for the Muslim and more befitting for the students of knowledge…that they are all upon goodness, they are upon the belief of the Salaf. Some of them may have some deficiencies or some ignorance; however they are not to be exited from Salafiyyah.
This type of speech is not permissible. This type of speech is not permissible between brothers, between students of knowledge, between the children of the Muslims and in the countries of the Muslims – this is not permissible.
If you know of some point of contention with your brother, then you should advise him. As for saying, he is not from ‘The Salafees’ or ‘is not upon salafiyyah’…maybe you yourself do not yet know what salafiyyah is!
Some of them claim salafiyyah and yet they don’t know what it is…If you were to ask him what is salafiyyah and what does it mean, then he will not know. Yes.
