Salafiyyah: A Leftist Movement?

(In reply to "Brother"'s comment in my previous entry, "Something to think about..")

Brother said:
i think the fact of the matter is in general the Salafi movement brings in a reformist mentality which is refreshing viz a viz the kind of taqlid mentality which unfortunately have befallen the community.

Brother is giving the impression that the taqleed mentality is a recent phenomenom. A point to note is that the taqleed mentality is something that has been going on for ages, such that even the four imams (Aboo Haneefah, Maalik, al-Shaafi'ee and Ahmad rahimahumullaah) worried about it.

We can read the words of the 4 Imams opposing taqleed such as "wa laa tuqallidoonee" (and do not blindly follow me), or in other words that advise us to abandon their opinions in the presence of authentic hadeeths. We can read about it in Shaykh al-Albaanee's book, Sifaat Solaat an-Nabee.

However, if it is being raised to our parents or grandparents (I'm referring to Singapore context.. probably it refers to Malaysia and Indonesia as well.. I'm not too sure..), we would hear them say, "But in the past, my teachers said that if we follow (the madhhab of) al-Shaafi'ee, we should only stick to it and not take from others (i.e. other madhhabs)."

SubhaanAllaah.. it is as though the Deen is only based upon one madhhab! Whereas the Deen is based upon al-Kitaab and as-Sunnah (of course, as understood by the Sahaabahs as they were the Prophet's students, followed by Taabi'een and Taabi' at-Taabi'een radiyAllaahu 'anhum).

Brother said:
however the issue here is - how does this movement position itself in a way that it does not break away from the mainstream or be seen as a leftist which if you look at it rationally is the case today or the perception which surrounds us.

Salafiyyah is a leftist movement? SubhaanAllaah... even if it is true that the Salafiyyah or Salafiyyoon is perceived as a leftist movement, we should know how this perception came about in the first place.

Scenario: A Salafee caller comes to a group of Muslims and inform them that what they are practising is against the Sunnah. He then presented the evidences to the Muslims. Not being able to accept that what they have been practising all these years are incorrect, they oppose the caller, label him a "Wahhabi". And when they are asked "What is Wahhabi?", they'd say, "Oh, Wahhabi is Wahhabi" or they'd say, "Wahhabi is not from Ahlus Sunnah."

So who is being leftist here? Or has it been an effort to marginalise the truth from the people?

Thus, do the Salafiyyoon purposely break away from the mainstream or people who claim to be from the mainstream break the Salafiyyoon away from the mainstream? That is, the Salafiyyoon are being marginalised by people who simply could not accept that what they have been practising is incorrect.

What's more unfortunate is when these people are influential in the community, thus influencing the community to marginalise the Salafiyyoon.

Brother said:
the challenge which we face today is to integrate with the rest of the muslims and showcase to everyone the truth in a matter which would be wildly exceptable and not otherwise.

In addition to what I've mentioned earlier, I believe we all know that integration is a two-way traffic. Take the scenario of a new student coming into class. The class should make him feel welcome while he makes the effort to blend in with his new classmates.

The same goes with the issue of integration into the community.

Didn’t Hasan al-Banna said that “we should come together upon common grounds”?

What is our common ground? Al-Kitaab and as-Sunnah.

But how do we know we are adhering to them the way it should be? Follow the understanding of the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and Taabi’ at-Taabi’een radiyAllaahu a’nhum.

This is the manhaj of the Salaf and this is how we as Muslims should unite, especially if we claim to be Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Ja’maa’ah.

But many Muslims who “call for coming together upon common grounds” do not adhere to this manhaj, including Hasan al-Banna himself.

To conclude, whatever the issue is, it goes back to manhaj, that is, referring to the manhaj of the Salaf.

Wallaahu a'lam.