Correcting Some Errors Committed by Yusuf Estes Regarding His Comments About Salafiyyah

Correcting Some Errors Committed by Yusuf Estes Regarding his Comments on Salafiyyah
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CORRECTING SOME ERRORS COMMITTED

BY YUSUF ESTES REGARDING HIS
COMMENTS ABOUT SALAFIYYAH
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Verily all praise is for Allh, we praise Him and seek His aid and ask for His forgiveness, and we
seek refuge with Allh from the evils of ourselves and our evil actions. Whomever Allh guides
there is none who can misguide him, and whomever Allh misguides there is none who can
guide him, and I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allh Alone,
having no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. May the
Salt and Salaam be upon Prophet Muhammad (SallAllhu 'alayhi wa Sallam), his family, his
companions, and all those who follow him until the Last hour.

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“O you who have believed, fear Allh as He should be feared and do not die except as
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“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate
and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allh through whom
you ask things from each other, and (respect) the wombs. Indeed Allh is ever, over you,
an Observer.”
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“O you who have believed, fear Allh and speak words of appropriate justice. He will
amend for you your deeds and forgive your sins. And whoever obeys Allh and His
Messenger has certainly attained a great attainment.”
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{al-Ahzb (33): 70-71}
Verily, the most truthful speech is the book of Allaah. The best guidance is the guidance of
Muhammad (sallAllhu ’alayhi wa Sallam). The worst of affairs are the newly-invented ones, and
every newly-invented matter is an innovation. Every innovation is a misguidance and
every misguidance is in the Fire. To Proceed:
It seems long gone are the days when the general populous of Muslims knew exactly who to
refer to when seeking consultation in matters of belief, methodology and manners. The
predicament which has been eloquently described in the following hadeeth is surely upon us:
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Narrated ’Abdullah Ibn ’Amr Ibn al-’As (radi Allahu ‘anhu): “I heard Allah’s Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam) saying: “Allah does not take away the knowledge by taking it away from (the hearts of) the slaves, but
He takes it away through the death of the scholars till no scholar remains, people will take as their leaders
ignorant people who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So, they will go astray and will lead
the people astray.” 1
In current times, how many Muslims, with pin-point accuracy, does this hadeeth describe? Only
Allah knows the reality of this question, but we can safely say that we do know many incidents
which have bore witness to the prophetic accuracy of this hadeeth. Of these occurrences is what
transpired during a lecture presented by our brother, the Muslim apologist, Yusuf Estes 2 during
his Malaysian Tour of 2008. The whole incident was captured on camera and presented on
YouTube. 3 Actually, it is the first video which pops up, with over 7,000 hits, when the term
“Salafi” is typed in its search engine, which heightens the DEFCON level to the need of
clarification for the defence of ad-Da’wah as-Salafiyyah. The incident transpires due to a
question which is directed towards our brother Yusuf:
“There are many Islamic movements nowadays, how do we know which one is Salafi?”

1 Saheeh al-Bukhr vol. 1, no. 100 and Saheeh Muslim.
2 Yusuf Estes, (b. 1 January 1944 in Ohio, grew up in Texas), is an American convert to Islam and former National
Muslim Chaplain for the United States Bureau of Prisons and Delegate to the United Nations World Peace
Conference for Religious Leaders. Yusuf Estes was brought up in Houston in a Protestant Christian family;
members of the Disciples of Christ.
3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZVITfO-P94
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It seems from the contents of the question that the person who promoted the question is either
new to Salafiyyah or is looking into Salafiyyah and perhaps the person is, due to the multitude of
groups, religiously disorientated. The question is a very important question, which must be
answered correctly, based upon knowledge, so that the sincere seeker can be presented with clear
sign posts which lead directly to the destination of truth. However, two parts of the above
hadeeth materialise consecutively. The first part to materialise is “people will take as their leaders
ignorant people”. Unfortunately, the above question is directed to someone who is not from the
people of knowledge, but in reality, his expertise lies perhaps in comparative religion. Part of the
error is due to our inability to compartmentalise between a Muslim personality or a Muslim
apologist and someone who is firmly grounded in knowledge of Islam. It seems that just because
some Muslims are competent in the field of comparative religion, many take this for granted to
mean he must be a “Shaykh” or “aalim” in matters pertaining to the sciences of the Islam. Thus,
Islamic, scholarly credentials are superimposed over on an individual merely because he
possesses rhetoric or excels in comparative religion. More often than not, this results in the lines
becoming blurred and knowledge-based consultation being directed towards individuals who
simply have no scholarly right.
The second part “who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge” reverberates throughout
this YouTube video and culminates in a catalogue of errors. Yusuf Estes sets in motion his
answer in a mocking manner:
“Well ask them they’re real proud of it! Do you really want the answer to this one?
You guys want the answer to this one? It’s not our topic... you want the answer to
this (gesturing to someone in the crowd)? You don’t want to hear it do you? (He
leans forward and smiles) you’re not Salafi are you?” 4
Why the mockery and ridicule towards the people who love and defend the Sunnah? Is he not
aware of the dangers that accompany ridicule and mockery? Does he not love the people of the
Sunnah? If so, why the words “you’re not Salafi are you?” Would someone who has love and
respect for the Salafi manhaj articulate such counteractive words? The person who asked this
question was simply seeking a sincere clarification, and in return they received a cynical rhetorical
question which instantly undermined the magnitude of the question. He removes his glasses and
continues:
“Actually, there are things that are called deviant groups, and then there are groups
which are normal, but people try to turn it into something deviant. To be a follower
of a particular jurisprudence, such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanbali, Ja’fari – like

4 0.00 – 0.27
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this. According to al-Azhar University, they ruled on these five and said that these
are all Madhaahab {sic}... these are Madhaahab of learning how to make wudhu,
how to pray - things like that.” 5
The subtle assertion becomes apparent for the trained eye. It is the same old accusation, the one
which claims the Salafis stubbornly refuse to distinguish between real, deviant groups and the
historical tradition of the Madhaahib (schools of religious thought). Incidentally, this is quite
ironic, because we actually levy a counter claim saying that many don’t understand the difference
between permissible form of Taqleed (itibaa’) and its blame-worthy type. Let us take the
opportunity here to remind ourselves that it is not obliging upon any of the slaves of Allah to
follow a particular madhhab. We move to reinforce this important point by quoting the words of a
famous scholar who lived in an age wherein blind-following was considered mandatory. Shaykh
Muhammad Sultan al-Ma’soomi said in his response to the question which originated from the
land of the Rising Sun:
“Does everyone who is honoured with the Religion of Islam have to join one of the four
madhhabs?”
“As for the madhhabs, they are the opinions of the scholars, their understanding as regards
certain problems and their deductions. Allâh the most high did not make it obligatory to
follow these opinions, deductions and understanding, nor did his messenger, since they
contain that which is correct and that which is incorrect. There is nothing that is totally
correct except that which is established from Allah’s Messenger and very often the Imams
would make a pronouncement in a matter and then the truth would come too their
attention , being a variance with that, so they would retract from their sayings!
As for following one of the madhhabs or any other madhhabs, then that is neither
obligatory nor recommended and it is not binding for a Muslim to follow any one of them
in particular. Rather he who follows one of them in particular in every matter, then he is a
mistaken sectarian and a blind-follower. He is one of those who split up their Deen and
become sects and Allah, the Most High, has forbidden splits within the Deen:
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Verily, those who divide their religion and break up into sects (all kinds of religious sects),
you (O Muhammad SAW) have no concern in them in the least. 6
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6 Sooratul-An’aam (6): 159
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“And be not of Al-Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters the disbelievers in the Oneness

of Allah). (31) Of those who split up their religion (i.e. who left the true Islamic
Monotheism), and became sects, [i.e. they invented new things in the religion
(Bid’ah), and followed their vain desires], each sect rejoicing in that which is with
it. 7 Islam is a single Deen and there are no madhhabs or ways therein which one is
obligated to follow except for the way of Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and
his guidance.” 8
So in what manner do we handle:
“According to al-Azhar University, they ruled on these five and said that these are
all Madhaahab {sic}... these are Madhaahab of learning how to make wudhu, how
to pray - things like that.”
Shaykh Saalim at-Taweel was asked about this peculiar statement and he said in reply:
This statement is false. The Madhaahib are not four or five or more than that. Each Major Scholar
had his students, books and madhhab, for instance like the Madhab of the Dhaahirryah or the
Madhhab of ’Awzaa’i, however the Madhaahib which have become famous are the four, and what is
intended by this are the four famous Madhaahib (i.e. Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali). As for
the madhhab Ja’fari, which is mentioned in the question, this is not from the Madhaahib of Ahlus
Sunnah and it is external of Ahlus Sunnah. So the one who attaches this innovated methodology to
the Sunnah, it is either done out of ignorance or for an evil intention.
After informing his audience that groups such for sports and other worldly affairs are
permissible and that there is no such thing as “Radical Islam”, Brother Yusuf goes on to say:
“Now having said that, and I am talking about the words only and not the people,
there are very good people who call themselves Soofees... they are very good, but
the word Soofee itself was not something that came from the Prophet Muhammad.
So you can be a good person without being a Soofee, ok? And you can get to Allah
without following a tareeqa (a school of Sufism). Now, I have heard some of them
say, “You can’t,” and now there are going to have to prove their point to me.”
The statement which needs to be challenged and clarified is: “There are very good people who
call themselves Soofee.” We wonder does this general tazkiyyah (commendation) for
individuals who hold to a deviant group help the questioner on his quest for finding the truth.
Wasn’t the very nature of the question a plea to sift out the weeds (deviant groups) from the
flowers (people of the Sunnah)? Another question we are forced to ask is what initially and

7 Sooratul-Room (30): 31-32
8 From the book: hal lil Muslim mulzam bi itibaa’ madhhab mu’ayyan min al-Madhaahib al-Araba’ah? (Is it
obliging upon a Muslim to follow one of the four Madhabs?)
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ultimately makes a person “good”? Is it primarily his kind nature, polite manners and zuhd
(Abstemiousness)? Or is it his unadulterated belief in Allah and the other articles of faith,
combined with his tenacity in remaining firm on the path of the people of the Sunnah? It is
reported from Imaam Maalik from the narration of ’Abdullaah bin Yoosuf at-Taneesee who
spoke about a man from the city of Nasiyeebeen who came to Imaam Maalik. The man
informed Imaam Maalik that: “there are some people called as-Soofiyyah in the city who, when
they finish eating, begin reciting poetry and dancing.” Imaam Maalik exclaimed “are they
insane?!” The man responded: “No.” Maalik then asked: “Are they boys?” The man replied:
“No, they are old and intelligent men.” Maalik then said: “We have never heard of this from any
of the people of Islaam.” 9 Ibn ul-Jawzee transmitted in Talbees Iblees that Imaam ash-Shaafi’ee
stated: “If a person practices Sufism(tasawafa) at the beginning of the day, he doesn't
come at Zuhur except an idiot” and that “Nobody accompanied the Sufis forty days and
had his brain return(never)”.
Then Estes says:
“And when somebody says, ‘we are Salafi’ first of all I am going to guess that he
doesn’t know the Arabic Language. I’m going to guess he probably doesn’t know.
Or he said it so much he forgot what it really means. Salaf means someone who is
dead and gone (someone chuckles in the crowd). These are your predecessors, so a
guy is standing tell you, ‘I’m dead’ (more people in the crowd chuckle)!? And they
say: Salaf as-Saalih, Righteous Predecessor. Ok, I’m a dead righteous guy?! It
doesn’t work!” 10
Ibn Taymiyyah says in his Majmoo’ al-Fataawaa:
There is no criticism for the one who proclaims the way (madhhab) of the Salaf,
who attaches himself to it and refers to it. Rather, it is obligatory to accept that
from him by unanimous agreement because the way (madhhab) of the Salaf is
nothing but the Truth.! 11

9 Dr Ahmad Bakeer Mahmood (ed.), Tarteeb ul-Madaarik wa Taqreeb al-Masaalik (Beirut: Daar Maktabah al-
Hayaat, 1387 AH/1967 CE), vol.2, p.54. Also in Dr Taahir Muhammad ad-Dardeeree (ed.), Manaaqib Maalik, li-
Qadi Eesaa bin Mas’ood az-Zawaawee (Madeenah, KSA: Maktabah Tayyibah, 1411 AH/1990 CE), p.157. Az-
Zarawaylee, Risaalah Dhamm al-Bida’ wa Ahlaha, p.236. Also in al-Waghleesee, al-Mi’yaar ul-’Arab, vol.11,
p.34 and refer to what was stated by ash-Shaatibee as al-Wanshareesee transmitted from him in the same book,
vol.11, p.39.
10 3:11
11 Majmoo al-Fataawaa, vol.4, p.149
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The words of Ibn Taymiyyah seem to be at odds with the claim of brother Yusuf. Ibn
Taymiyyah informs us categorically that not only should one refrain from criticising the one who
refers to himself as a Salafi, but it is also obliging to accept that from him by unanimous
agreement. The phrase which steps up to challenge the logic of Yusuf is the part when Ibn
Taymiyyah said: “who attaches himself to it and refers to it”. So how can someone attach
himself to the madhhab of the Salaf and what does it mean to attach one’s self to the madhhab
of the Salaf? To affiliate oneself to a thing can be achieved (in Arabic) by adding the Arabic
letter ‘Yaa’ (known as the Yaa an-Nasab or Yaa an-Nisbah) to the end of the word you wish to
affiliate yourself, someone or something with. This word could be a continent, country, city or
even a school of thought. A practical example of this can be displayed through the use of the
term ‘Hanafi’ (C7 #).
This term basically involves the attaching of oneself (perhaps in matters of
fiqh and mannerisms) to a particular school of thought which is attributed to Abu Hanafi; it
doesn’t mean that you are claiming to be dead, or even more absurd, that you are Abu Hanifa
(who died many centuries ago)!
So what caused Brother Yusuf to err in this instance? The cause is the same cause which
many have fallen victim to 12 , and such is due to a failure to separate correctly when
distinguishing between the terms ‘Salafi’ and ‘Salaf’. Brother Yusuf mistakenly believes that when
you say “Salafi” you are calling yourself “Salaf”, which is a term we use to refer to someone who
preceded us. But as we explained above, the term ‘Salafi’ has the Yaa an-Nasab suffixed to it
which modifies its meaning, making it a relational adjective. The relation here is in matters of
belief, practice and manners. He also says that we refer to ourselves as ‘Salaf as-Saalih’, which is
an odd accusation devoid of any proof or logic. Also, usage of the term ‘Salaf’ does not require
that the thing you are referring to be dead (contrary to Yusuf Estes’ definition), because if it did
only mean how Yusuf intended, how are we meant to understand the following hadeeth when
the prophet Muhammad addressed his daughter, Fatimah by saying:
G d K
“Indeed, I am for you a blessed Salaf.” 13
This whole catalogue of errors demonstrates, once again, the importance of drinking from
the fountain of people of knowledge and not from people who, themselves, should be drinking
from the same fountain. Not only is our brother Yusuf outside the dominion of the scholars,

12 Another individual who falls in to this error is Abdul Kareem Hattin. A refutation of him can be found here:
http://www.salafimanhaj.com/pdf/SalafiManhaj_AbdulKarimHattin
13 Muslim (no. 2482)
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but he is also someone who lacks knowledge in the basic Usool of the religion and of the Arabic
language, which makes his gambled guess “first of all I am going to guess that he doesn’t
know the Arabic Language,” a product of pure irony. Yusuf continues:
“The one who came up with this idea was actually a very good scholar, but he was
a loner in that he had his own thing going. He didn’t come from a particular
following of anything, he just come {sic} up with a lot of stuff on his own. He was
an expert in his studies of hadeeth; he was one of the best Muhaddith (scholar of
hadith) in the last century. He died in September 1999 14 .” 15
The scholar who Yusuf is referring to is the Muhaddith (scholar of Hadeeth) of our time, Imaam
Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee. 16 Here is where things really take a turn for the worse,
and things are said which amount to Gheebah (slandering). Is he not aware of the famous saying:
“

" 17
The flesh of the scholars is poisonous
The first of these baseless accusations is the disturbing claim that Shaykh, Naasir ad-Deen was
the one who formulated the term Salafi. This is a serious accusation which implies many
deplorable things. In all honesty, it would have served him well to exhaust every possible route
of personal error in his own understanding and judgement before making such sweeping
indictments against one the inheritors of the Prophets. The charge here is simple and clear; that
Shaykh al-Albaani coined a new, religious term which has no scholarly chain of narration. So was
the term Salafi invented by the great Shaykh, al-Albaanee? Imam adh-Dhahabee, who died
748AH, said:
“It is authentically related from ad-Daaraqutnee that he said: There is nothing more
despised by me than 'ilmul-kalaam (innovated speech and rhetoric). I say: He never entered
into 'ilmul-kalaam, nor argumentation. Rather, was a Salafee (a follower of the Salaf).” [Siyar
vol.16, p.457]
As-Sam’aanee (d.562H) said in al-Ansaab, vol.3, p.273:
“As-Salafi: this is an ascription to the Salaf and following their ways, in that which is
related from them.”
lbn al-Atheer (d.630H) said in al-Lubaab fee Tahdheebul-lnsaab, vol.2, p.162), commenting upon the
previous saying of as-Sam'’aanee: "And a group were known by this ascription.”

14 He actually died 1420AH\2nd October 1999CE
15 3:45
16 http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/alalbaanee.htm
17 A famous statement often used by the Salaf to stress the level and importance of the Ulama.
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Given the fact that Shaykh al-Albaani died in the year 1420AH and that the two quoted Imams
died centuries before him, we can safely conclude that the term ‘Salafi’ was used long before the
birth of Shaykh al-Albaani. Many Scholars used the term “Salafi” long before the birth of Shaykh
al-Albaani and to attribute it to Shaykh al-Albaani as a brain-child is a grave error which needs to
be retracted from. What does Yusuf exactly intend by the words, “...but he was a loner in that
he had his own thing going.” We struggle to understand this in any form of positive context,
and thus we are forced to conclude that this is nothing more than a disparaging remark. What
made it harder to rub away the dirt off this remark is the coupling of this remark with the
statement that follows it, “He didn’t come from a particular following of anything, he just
come (sic) up with a lot of stuff on his own.” The claim is quite obvious here, and it reads
that the Shaykh introduced “a lot of stuff” into the religion, stuff which was never practised
before in the history of Islam, which is tantamount to accusing the Shaykh of inventing multiple
innovations. So why did he accuse our Shaykh of coming “up with a lot of stuff on his own”?
Perhaps his tongue indulged in such, because he does not truly comprehend the difference
between a Mujaddid (one who revives and aspect of Islam) and a Mubtadi’ (one who innovates
something new into Islam). Al-Alqamee said in his explanation of fore-mentioned narration that
the meaning of tajdeed (revival) is revival of action upon the Book and the Sunnah and command
in accordance with them – that had been effaced. Mistakenly he considers the Shaykh to have
innovated various things in Islam when the reality is he resuscitated comatose Islamic-rooted
beliefs and practises which had long been abandoned by Muslims. Can Yusuf Estes meet the
challenge of producing evidence for a single one of these things that he accuses him of? And if
not is he prepared to retract this statement and make sincere tawbah to his Lord? So how accurate
is Brother Yusuf’s assessment of Shaykh al-Albaani? Do his scholarly contemporaries view him
in the same negative light? And if not, whose words should we accept to be in alignment with
the truth? The former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Imaam ’Abdul Aziz Bin Baaz 18 said
regarding Imaam Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee:
“In the modern era, I have not seen anyone more knowledgeable, in matters
pertaining to hadeeth, under the canopy of the sky, than the Great Shaykh,
Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaani.”
Then the Imaam was asked about the hadeeth wherein the Messenger of Allah said: “Verily, on
the eve of every century Allah will send to this Muslim nation (Ummah) someone who will
revive and renew for it the Deen." 19 So he was asked: “Who is the Mujaddid (reviver) of this

18 http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnbaaz.htm
19 Hadeeth is reported by Abu Hurairah and recorded in Sunan Abu Dawud
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century?” He replied: “In my opinion, Shaykh Muhammad Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee is

the Mujaddid of this era.” 20 Shaykh Muhammad Bin Saalih al-’Uthaimeen 21 said while
commenting on Shaykh al-Albaani:
“What I know about the Shaykh (al-Albaani), through my few meetings with him, is that
he is very eager to act according to Sunnah and keen to wage war against Bid’a
(innovation), irrespective whether it is in (matters) of aqeedah or action. As for my
acquaintance with him through his written works, then I have come to know him through
such, and I have come to know that he possesses a great deal of knowledge in the science
of hadeeth. Allah, the Most High, has caused many people to benefit from his written
works, in terms of knowledge, methodology and in the renaissance of Science of Hadeeth.
This has yielded great benefit for the Muslims, and all Praise is for Allah. As for his written
works in the field of verification and checking of Hadeeth, then what an excellent work.”
Imaam Muqbil bin Haadee al-Waadi’i 22 (rahimahullah) said regarding Imaam Naasiruddeen:
“What I believe, and I take account of it in front of Allah, is that Shaykh Muhammad
Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee is from the Mujadideen (the revivers of the Deen), who the
Messenger of Allah spoke the truth about when he said: “Verily, on the eve of every century
Allah will send to this Muslim nation (Ummah) someone who revives and renews for it its affairs.” 23
We learn here that not only did his illustrious contemporaries confirm him as a man deeply
rooted in knowledge and someone who was firm upon the Sunnah and an enemy of Bid’a, but
they also consider him to be that special individual who is sent by Allah to rejuvenate and
remedy many of the affairs of the Ummah at the eve of every century. This again consolidates
our previous point concerning the difference between a Mujaddid and a Mubtadi’. So we bang the
hammer and usher in the noble jury and ask: on the scales of justice and equity do the words of
Brother Yusuf Estes succumb faster to gravity or the words of the major scholars of Islam?
Yusuf continues:
“If you see a picture of him, you look at me and look at him, you’d say they must
come from the same family (i.e. due to physical resemblance) – very much alike.
His name was Shaykh Naasiruddeen al-Albaanee; he did some wonderful things,
Maashaa Allah we make du’a for him, but this is a mistake, and I make more
mistakes really than anybody. So it’s not that but the mistake was to say that we

20 Majallat al-Asaalah, no.23
21 http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnuthaymeen.htm
22 http://dammaaj.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/biography-of-shaikh-muqbil/
23 Hadeeth is reported by Aboo Hurayrah (radi Allaahu ’anhu) and is found in the Sunan of Aboo Dawood and
others.
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need to have a group to call ourself (sic) by to distinguish ourselves from the
people of Ahul Bid’a... well the Ahul Bid’a means people of innovation, so will call
ourselves on the same manhaj or methodology of the Salaf as-Saalih – that’s what
he was saying (i.e. Imaam al-Albaanee). We are on the methodology of the
righteous predecessors; that’s what he is trying to say. But the people turned it into
a group and used that to justify whatever they did. It’s not acceptable, that is not
acceptable and he would of never endorsed it, because his own students have told
me themselves 24 , they didn’t endorse it; Muhammad Jibaali, Ibn ‘Uthaimeen, you
can go and talk to them in Saudi Arabia yourself, see them or talk to their students
at least, and ask them and they will say no! No! No! This is not what we meant, not
like this. Not going in and pointing at people and calling them kaafir and labelling
all the leaders and things like that – that was never intended.”
This is where the reader needs to maintain a keen eye while we unravel the knot in this par of his
speech, because found in this part of his speech are unfounded accusations and misconceptions
which need to be brought to the forefront for the simple need of clarification. So after
enlightening the audience on his physical resemblance to the Shaykh, he tells us that the Shaykh
did some wonderful things and that we should make du’a for him, but then he says, “But this is
a mistake”. The vagueness of the word “mistake” is removed by his following statement, “So
it’s not that but the mistake was to say that we need to have a group to call ourself {sic}
by to distinguish ourselves from the people of Ahul Bid’a...” Straight away we are prompted
to ask where exactly lays the error of Shaykh al-Albaani?! Is he saying his mistake was to
advocate the name Salafi so that we may distinguish ourselves, for the sake of clarity, from the
people of innovation and misguidance? If this is his claim, then we have already shown the
bankruptcy of this assertion via the solid statements of the Salaf. Maybe he is not saying this
(despite it being the most apparent probability), and he is actually attaching error to the Shaykh
due to that “the people turned it into a group and used that to justify whatever they did.”
If he intends this to be Shaykh al-Albaani’s error, then this needs to be refuted from two angles:
9 How does he know that these so-called people who ‘turned it into a group and used that
to justify whatever they did justify’ were actually Salafi and were in any way or form
attached to the Shaykh? Also, which Salafi, after the death of the Shaykh, uses the term
‘Salafi’ to justify whatever he does?! We strongly demand here that Yusuf Estes furnishes
us with proof to support the validity of this claim.

24 He says this with emphasis.
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9 Moving on the supposition that a group did rise after the death of al-Albaani and did
hijack the name Salafi and did abuse the term Salafi like a stolen credit-card to do
whatever the desired to do, how would this return to be an error of Shaykh al-Albaani?!
This type of thinking sounds akin to the fallacious concept of original sin which is found
in the teachings Christianity.
No matter which way you orientate the statement of Yusuf Estes, the question repeatedly still
comes up: where exactly is Shaykh al-Albaani’s error?! Another observation we would like to
point out here is that Shaykh Muhammad Bin Saalih al-’Uthaimeen was not a student of Shaykh
al-Albaani. This glaring error necessitates us to inquire, who exactly were these people he spoke
to?
Another glaring error is the lack of ability to realise that the people of the Sunnah or the
Salafis are in fact a group or sect, and this is made quite clear in the following hadeeth: “And this
Ummah will divide into seventy-three sects all of which except one will go to Hell and they (i.e. the Saved Sect) are
those who are upon what I and My Companions are upon (i.e. those who follow My Way and the Way of my
Companions).” 25 And the Hadeeth: “There shall not cease to remain a single group from my community upon
the Truth, victorious; they are unharmed by those who abandon them and those who oppose them. They will
remain (in my community and in such a state) until they fight the liar (i.e. the Anti-Christ (Dajjal).” 26 So both
hadeeths describe the people who cling to the Sunnah with terms such as Taa’ifa or Firqa.
Muslims need to learn to understand that just because we are a sect or a group, that doesn’t
necessitate the conclusion that the Salafis have split from the Jamaa’a or that we fall under any of
the verses which prohibit sectarianism. On the contrary, the 72 sects have split from the Salafis,
and thus have split from the Jamaa’a. The Jamaa’ah by definition is in summary what Abdullah
ibn Mas’oud said:
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“The Jamaa’ah is what concurs with the truth, even if you are alone.”
The long quote ends with a statement which makes it self-evident that Brother Yusuf Estes is
not clear regarding the true attributes of Salafis. How could he say: “Not going in and
pointing at people and calling them kaafir and labelling all the leaders and things like
that – that was never intended,” and then think that this is the mischievous, devious traits
of the Salafis?! Does he not visit the multitude of Salafi websites and in particular their

25 Reported by at-Tirmidhee - Hasan
26 Reported in Sahih Muslim
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sections dedicated to the issues of takfeer? 27 This is the type of error non-Muslim think tanks
fall head first into when chronicling the history of the Salafis 28 ; they blend together the
takfeeris, jihadis and sometimes the Ikhwaanis under the banner of Salafiyyah. We suggest
Brother Yusuf takes the time out to visits websites such as SalafiManhaj.com,
CalltoIslam.com and SalafiPublications for a true reflection of how Salafis conduct their
affairs surrounding the issue of Takfeer.
Advice for the noble reader:
The main endeavour of this critique is to herd the flock of the Allah’s Messenger back to the
path which heads towards his scholarly inheritors. Not only have Muslims become ignorant
regarding the lofty status of the people of knowledge, but many Muslims have become ignorant
regarding exactly what constitutes a person of knowledge. It seems nowadays one only need an
eloquent tongue, a small amount of Arabic vocabulary and a noble title on his makeshift résum±
to be considered a person of knowledge. It is imperative that we learn the true characteristics of
the people of Knowledge so that we can sustain our spiritual nourishment, particularly in these
times when Muslims have become more numerous, groups have become more complex in their
disputes and the callers to the gates of the fire are many. Muhammad Ibn Seereen
(rahimatuAllahi ‘alaihi) said:

!"

#

"This knowledge is a matter of Deen, so be careful who you take your Deen from." 29
Muhammad Ibn Seereen lived in a time when the Sunnah beamed brightly on the faces of the
people like the Sun rays on a cloudless day. So what about these days? Days during which the
dark clouds of shirk, kufr and bida’ block out the rays of the Sunnah like clouds on a rainy day.
The people of the Sunnah are a minority which necessitates the fact that their scholars are even
less. This reality does not cause the believer to despair, but rather it renews his dynamism to
search out and locate the true inheritors of the prophet. The remedy for much of our ignorance
can be found in the noble verse:
K . +. AIUV

Ask the people of the Reminder, if you do not know. 30

27 To declare someone to be a disbeliever.
28 We provide here a link to an excellent website which dispels the myth and the common practise of coupling the
Salafis with other misguided, extreme groups: http://www.thewahhabimyth.com/
29 Introduction of Sahih Muslim no: 62
30 Soorah an-Nahl (16):43
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However, the problem nowadays lies not just in the neglect of this verse but also upon whom to
accurately apply it. So how should we analyse the people, who breathe the same air as us, in these
turbulent days of ours? What legacy and advice have the people of knowledge left behind for us
to hold firm to during chaotic storms of fitnah and division? The Imaam of the people of
Sunnah, of his time, Abu Muhammad Khalf al-Barbahaaree (died 329H) said in his monumental
work Sharhus Sunnah:

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31
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May Allah have mercy upon you - examine the speech of every one of the people of your
particular time, and do act hastily nor enter into anything until you enquire and observe;
did any of the Companions of Allah’s Messenger speak about it or any of the scholar? So if
you find a narration from them, then hold firmly to it, do not go beyond it for anything or
give preference to anything over it and thus fall into the fire.
Contained in this quote is a formula which inoculates from the deceases of misguidance and
misplaced dependency, for every single Muslim, no matter his level. We ask Allah Azza wa Jalla
to connect our hearts to the hearts of the real people of knowledge, and we ask Him Azza wa
Jalla to aid the Muslims to be real to themselves when understanding the reality of their levels
and that He humbles them for the good of the people and for the good of themselves. May
Peace and blessings of Allah be showered upon His Messenger Muhammad, his noble
Companions, his family and everyone who follows their guidance until the Last Day.

31 Sharhus Sunnah (p.61)
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Correcting Some Errors Committed by Yusuf Estes Regarding His Comments About Salafiyyah

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Correcting Some Errors Committed by Yusuf Estes Regarding His Comments About Salafiyyah

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