Know that It is obligatory to have unconditional obedience to Allāh and His Messenger (ﷺ). There is no path to Jannah except by way of the Ṣaḥābah. Allāh said,
وَمَن يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَىٰ وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّىٰ وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا ﴿١١٥﴾
And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way, We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination!
[al-Nisāʾ, 4:115]
Also, the rulers are to be obeyed and the scholars respected.
The manhaj of the Salafīs is not one that is broad and accommodates a wide range of ideologies and methodologies as some people like al-Maʿrābī claim. In reality, the manhaj of the Salafī is not broad and general; it is detailed and specific. The way of the Salaf was detailed explanation. For example, it was not enough to say that it is not permissible to take the sword against the Muslim ruler, but they went one step further and said it is not permissible to incite the people to pick up the word against the Muslim ruler. The inciter is worse than the one who actually does the action. This is the manhaj of the Salaf.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that what he feared most for his Ummah is callers leading the people astray, callers standing at the gates of the hellfire.
The Salafī manhaj is one that is based on clarity. The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned, “There never ceases to be a group from my Ummah who will always be upon the truth, and they are not harmed by those who oppose them.” This group is always present. Sometimes they are seen and are loved by the people, such as the Ṣaḥābah after the death of the Prophet (ﷺ), and sometimes they are hated, such as Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. The Salafīs are clearly upon the truth whether they are liked or whether they are hated.
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymīyyah mentioned that the Muslims are of three categories as it relates to Islām:
1. the aided, victorious group;
2. the group that abandons them;
3. and the people of opposition (people of bidʿah)
Ask yourself, which group are you with?
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “I have left you on this clear white plain, its night is like its day, anyone who leaves it will be destroyed.” There are no generalities in this statement. How can anyone after knowing this Ḥadīth go astray? The Prophet (ﷺ) did not leave us upon generalities or vagueness.
The people of bid’ah sometimes come with the clothing of Salafīyyah and lead the Salafīs astray. They quote some of the scholars that we love, they quote ayahs from the Qurʾān, but they do not espouse the Salafī manhaj and ʿaqīḍah. They are not Salafī despite what they claim. These people are the most dangerous to the Salafīs because they try to resemble the Salafīs. So be aware of them and their deviation so you can guard yourself against them.
