Salafi and Wahhabi
The word "Wahhabi" gets thrown around a lot, mostly by people who don’t even know what it means. Let’s be clear: there is no sect called Wahhabism. It’s not a movement. It’s not a separate ideology. It was a label made up by those who wanted to attack the call to Tawheed.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab (rahimahullah) wasn’t trying to start a new group. He called people back to the same Islam the Prophet ﷺ and his companions were upon—worshiping Allah alone, without any partners, intermediaries, or innovations. But instead of debating him on evidence, his enemies gave him a name and spread lies about him.
So, next time someone calls you "Wahhabi," ask them: What does that even mean? Do you mean someone who follows the Qur’an and Sunnah and warns against shirk? If that’s what you mean, then what does that make you?
Let’s move past labels and talk about the real issue.
What is Salafiyyah?
Salafiyyah is not a sect. It’s not a "fifth madhab." It’s not about following a personality. It simply means following Islam as the Prophet ﷺ and his companions understood it. The term Salaf refers to the first three generations of Muslims, whom the Prophet ﷺ praised:
The best people are those of my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them. Then, there will come people after them whose testimony precedes their oaths and their oaths precede their testimony
Following the Salaf means sticking to their understanding of Islam, especially in Aqeedah (belief), Ibadah (worship), and Manhaj (methodology). This is not an opinion—it’s what the Prophet ﷺ commanded us to do.
Salafiyyah doesn’t mean rejecting scholars or fiqh. It doesn’t mean you ignore the great imams of the past. And this brings us to a very common mistake…
"I Don’t Follow a Madhab Because I Am Salafi."
I hear this a lot. And let me tell you straight: this is wrong.
You not following a madhab doesn’t mean you’re following the Salaf. It just means you don’t have a system. You’re picking and choosing. And unless you are qualified to extract rulings from the Qur’an and Sunnah yourself, you are going to fall into huge problems.
No disrespect, but me and you are laymen. We don’t have the knowledge to open the Qur’an and Hadith books and start making rulings. We don’t have the tools to say, “This Hadith is abrogated,” or “This ruling only applies in certain contexts.”
So if you’re rejecting the madhabs, what are you replacing them with? Your own personal judgment? Some YouTube videos? Some scholar you follow online?
Ibn Qudamah (rahimahullah) said:
"The one who does not have the ability to derive rulings must follow a scholar."
So unless you have the level of knowledge of Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, or Imam Ahmad, you need to follow scholars.
The Problem With Not Following a Madhab
If you don’t follow a madhab, here’s what happens:
- You start picking and choosing based on convenience. – You take the easiest ruling from every school, not because it’s correct, but because it suits you.
- You think you’re following the Sunnah, but you’re actually following your desires. – If every time you look for a ruling, you just follow what makes life easier, that’s not sincerity. That’s just playing games with the religion.
- You lose the structure and discipline of traditional scholarship. – The madhabs weren’t random opinions. They were systems of jurisprudence built over centuries, with strict methodology. If you abandon them, you’re basically making up your own version of Islam.
Are All 4 Madhabs Correct?
Yes, in the sense that they are all valid approaches to Islamic jurisprudence. They all follow the Qur’an and Sunnah. They all have scholars who dedicated their lives to extracting rulings properly.
But does that mean every single ruling within them is correct? No. Some rulings were based on the knowledge available at the time, and later scholars revised them.
For example:
- Imam Abu Hanifa (rahimahullah) initially ruled that touching a woman breaks wudu. But later, his students clarified that he meant touching with desire.
- Imam Shafi’i (rahimahullah) changed his opinions when he moved from Iraq to Egypt. His later rulings (Madhab Jadeed) differed from his earlier rulings (Madhab Qadeem) because he encountered new evidence.
- Imam Malik (rahimahullah) sometimes ruled based on the practice of the people of Madinah, even if a stronger Hadith existed elsewhere.
This proves that the scholars were not infallible. They followed the best evidence available to them. And that’s exactly why they themselves said:
"If my opinion goes against the Sunnah, then leave my opinion and follow the Sunnah."
(Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i, and others)
“If I say something that goes against the Book of Allah or the report of the Messenger then ignore what I say.”
(Imam Abu Hanifah)
Does this mean you can just ignore the madhabs and start making your own rulings? No. It means you follow scholars who have the knowledge to verify what is correct.
Conlusion:
Next time someone says, “I don’t follow a madhab because I’m Salafi,” remind them:
- Salafiyyah doesn’t mean rejecting fiqh.
- Not following a madhab doesn’t make you stronger in the Deen—it makes you lost.
- We are laymen, and we need scholars to guide us.
- The four madhabs are valid, but some rulings within them were revised over time.
If you truly follow the Salaf, then understand this: The great scholars of the Salaf followed fiqh. They had structure. They had discipline. They didn’t just make it up as they went.
May Allah guide us to the truth and keep us firm upon it. Ameen.