Salafism: A Pink Explanation and Reader

Salafism began as a breakaway from the Hanbali madhhab of Sunni Islam, but no longer resembles either the Hanbali madhhab in particular or Sunni Islam in general. The Sal...afist departure from traditional Islamic scholarship has resulted in differences in theology and in jurisprudence.
In terms of scholarly method, the sect rejects the idea that it is necessary to follow the rulings of one qualified scholar or a school of qualified scholars. Islamic scholarship is achieved through training in the Islamic sciences by a reliable instructor whose chain of training and knowledge is unbroken until the very early days of Islam. One is considered to be a reliable scholar after one has been approved by a reliable instructor or scholarly committee.

The Wahhabi departure from traditional Islamic scholarship has resulted in differences in theology and in jurisprudence.

The reasons that the beliefs of the Salafists are frowned on is that most of them involve tajsim, or attributing body/mass to Allah. This is the main difference between Sunni (and Shia) `aqidah and Wahhabi `aqidah. In addition the attribution of a literal body to Allah, Salafists have adopted the belief that the Prophets are not protected from minor sins.

In terms of scholarly method, the sect rejects the idea that it is necessary to follow the rulings of one qualified scholar or a school of qualified scholars.

Most Salafists profess that God has a literal body. This is because of their tendency towards the literal interpretation of Islamic source-texts such as the Qur'an and the Ahadith. There are also other theological differences, but this is the most major. Neither Sunni nor Shia Muslims accept this literalist interpretation of Islamic texts and the resulting literalist view of God.

In terms of practise, Salafists reject the validity of intercession. Their basic worship, the salat (prayers), is a hodge-podge of aspects of salat according to the various Sunni Islamic madhahib. This happened because of the picking and choosing that occurred when the sect was formed. They have also deviated from accepted methods of purifying objects from najisat; and they have changed certain rulings pertaining to wudu.

Salafist methods, beliefs, and practises are rejected by both Shia and Sunni Islam.

The Beliefs of the Sunni Way
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=2252&CATE=24
Salafis go against the Sunnis in [their] belief that Allah has a wajh (lit. “face”), ‘ayn (lit. “eye”), yad (lit. “hand”), and qadam (lit. “foot”) in the literal sense of these words. [h: They also go against the Sunnis by believing] that He Most High’s entity is literally above the heaven, adducing as proof certain verses and hadiths, although they are mistaken in their understanding.

Rather, the position of the righteous early Muslims from among the Companions, Followers, and followed Imams is that Allah is transcendently beyond the literal meaning of the above-mentioned things because of the baseless anthropomorphism that they comprise, and because...the verses and hadiths that have mentioned these matters are interpreted according to meanings that befit His Most High’s entity.
...
As for a person’s believing that Allah is literally characterized by the above-mentioned matters, this is a completely false position and it goes against the position of the vast majority of the Imams of the Muslims in every time and place. Among the useful books about this subject are Daf‘u Shubah al-Tashbih bi-Akuff al-Tanzih, by the Hanbali Imam and hadith master, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Idah al-Dalil fi Qat‘i Hujaj Ahl al-Ta‘til, by the great Shafi‘i Imam, Badr al-Din b. Jama‘ah. Both books have been published.

There are several articles about this issue. One can find them at http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/default.htm or http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/anthro/indxanthro.htm. Another source of reliable information about Sunni Islam is http://www.sunnipath.com/.

Literalism and the Attributes of Allah
http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/littlk.htm

Is Salafi Aqida the Same as Sunni Aqida?
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=124&CATE=24

Who or What is a Salafi?
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=1685&CATE=91

Matters of belief, and the difference between mainstream Sunnis and Salafis
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=7030&CATE=24

Freedom Is Delicious. Je suis arrivée.Admins can edit posts and moderate comments. Authors can post.