The Magic Word Crafted Through Wordplay: Salafiyyah

     Today's world is witnessing the unstoppable spread and rise of a reformed Salafism, striving to adapt to the modern age in some way. The reaction of youth and new converts to the fragmented, weakened, dependent, and humiliated state of the Islamic world is generally (consciously or not) "Salafi." The way those in the West who seek to preserve their identity and refuse to be oppressed act is "Salafi." The resistance of those who believe their country is under occupation is generally "Salafi"... in short, Salafism is experiencing its golden age. So, who are these people and what are their ways and methods?

Hassan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb

     Essentially, "Salafism" or more accurately, "Salafiyyah," began in the fourth Hijri century, according to Muhammad Abu Zahra's book "History of Islamic Schools", when some individuals who separated from the Hanbali school gave themselves this name. However, in its true sense, it can be said to be the school established by Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah of Harran and his loyal student Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyya. Ibn Taymiyyah, whom Imam Abul Hasan Subki described as "one whose knowledge outweighed his intellect," was initially a Hanbali scholar but later went astray and began to follow his own distinct path. He started saying things no one had ever said before, such as "Allah is a body composed of particles, He moves, and He is obliged to create good things," and "Hell is not eternal; it will end one day." He began to deny Sufi scholars and disliked words like "tawassul, istighathah, tashaffu". He even criticized some of the great Sahaba.

     As for the word "Salafiyyah": The word "Salaf," as is known, means "predecessor" or "one who came before." The disinformation and illusion Established by this language have been accepted even in today's most reputable sources. According to those who follow this path and are unaware of the matter, or those who fall under the sway of Salafis, Salafiyyah is "the path Muslims followed until the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools were established." It is even called "Ahl al-Sunnah al-Khassah." This is a very innocent statement for someone with weak or no knowledge of religion and history. However, with a little research, an incredible amount of misinformation and manipulation emerges. Firstly, stating that "the Ash'ari and Maturidi schools were established later" is fundamentally wrong, because Abul Hasan al-Ash'ari and Abu Mansur al-Maturidi did not establish new schools. They merely codified the existing Ahl al-Sunnah creed in books and explained it in a way that even new converts to Islam could understand.

     Another claim of the Salafis is that "Imam Azam Abu Hanifa and Imam Ghazali explained the Salafiyyah path in their books." However, the word or phrase written in the books of these scholars is "Salaf" and "Salaf al-Salihin" (meaning the name given to the Muslims of the first two centuries praised in hadith). In other words, the Salafi group, seeking a legal basis for themselves and wanting to deceive the Islamic world, has displayed a strange example of wordplay by transforming the term "Salaf" and "Salaf al-Salihin" into "Salafiyyah." It is quite clear in the sources that the term "Salaf" was used for the Sahaba and the Tabi'in. Therefore, the mujtahids and imams explained the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah, which is the creed of the Salaf, not a "Salafiyyah" school. There is no such school as Salafiyyah within the creed of Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah.

     Let's move on to its historical development: Approximately five centuries after Ibn Taymiyyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim laid the foundation of this path and codified its principles in books, Salafism was revived as a deceptive element of another movement. After the second half of the 18th century, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab emerged from the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, a region called Najd. He took Muhammad ibn Saud, the tribal chief of a place called Diriyah, with him and opened a completely new path for the Bedouins, who had no share in Islam, whose hearts were hardened, and whose morals were low. The name of the path, quickly established with ample British money and weapons, was seen as "Wahhabism" by those who knew its true nature, purpose, and essence, but as Salafism and the revival of Salafism by those who were unaware and saw it as an innocent movement (the fabricated excuse was: in creed, it was the Salafi school of Ahl al-Sunnah, and in practice, the Hanbali school).

     Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab further advanced the principles established by Ibn Taymiyyah, such as hostility towards Sufism, istighathah, and intercession. He also tried to criticize the imams of the various schools of thought. He began to declare that people living before his time and principles worshipped tombs and graves and were polytheists. He accused both Ahl al-Sunnah and Shia of polytheism. This label most pleased the desert Bedouins. For the desert people who had never seen the light of day, "Dolce Vita" was beginning! Since a legal basis had now been provided, marauders plundered settlements, shared women as concubines, and goods as spoils of war. Due to internal unrest and problems with Russia within the Ottoman Empire, the Wahhabi bandits quickly reached the Haramayn-i Sharifayn (Mecca and Medina). As a result, after conflicts, intrigues, and so on, Saudi Arabia, considered by many to be the first Salafi state, was founded in 1932.

     Over time, the Saudis reduced their harshness and reliance on sword and shield. They saw that besides the money from Hajj and Umrah, oil revenues were also increasing, so they began to spread their books with gilded, coated paper, and luxury prints all over the world, establishing centers everywhere. They tried to establish a theoretical framework for their cause and influence young people... and time worked in their favor! The religions of pure and unadulterated Wahhabi-Salafi states were presented as "Sunni" in sources. With the involvement of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, Rashid Rida, Sayyid Qutb, and Hasan al-Banna, who emerged from Egypt, the center for producing discord and innovation in the 20th century, the scope further expanded.

     Then... Communism and Socialism collapsed worldwide (leaving a few dysfunctional remnants). As soon as the Cold War ended, a new enemy needed to be formed, and this enemy immediately presented itself in a - supposedly - "green" color: Al-Qaeda, terrorist acts, attacks in Kenya and Tanzania, the Taliban, September 11th, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen... the situation quickly became chaotic!

     The golden age of modern Salafism was about to begin... The struggle against Russia, the remnant of the USSR, in Chechnya, in Bosnia under Serbian oppression, in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in the lands of Iraq against the US and its allies, was the most preferred scene for the Salafi-looking Wahhabi movement, because it involved defending a homeland, and naturally, the simplistic logic of "one person is one person" applied. However, innocent defensive struggles in some places gradually degenerated, ranging from the killing of innocent civilians to terrorizing areas as suicide bombers. Furthermore, in places where Salafis settled, theoretical dissemination also accelerated with abundant Saudi money and aid. Concepts like homeland defense and jihad caused hot-blooded young men eager to do something to easily fall into this trap.

     Additionally, Salafis played an active role in the rapid spread of Islam in the West. They caused the young people they contacted to learn Islam in this way and to experience difficulties with their living environments.

     So, how do you recognize a Salafi, or someone who unknowingly falls into this path, or at least is somehow influenced by the Salafi mentality? Here are a few clues: If a person constantly talks about "taghut" (a word used in the Al-Quran Al-Kareem in a few places meaning things or people worshipped besides Allah, or things that distance one from Allah) and describes taghut as the regimes and forms of administration in many of the countries in the region called the contemporary Islamic World, and if they refer to Sayyid Qutb, Hasan al-Banna, Abdullah Azzam, Jordanian Khattab, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, and the book "Milestones, and if they try to subtly criticize Sufism, Muhyiddin ibn Arabi, Wahdat al-Wujud, and the four imams of the schools of thought, and if they speak of the door of "ijtihad" not being closed and that it should not be closed, and if they try to derive meaning from the Quran according to their own understanding, and if they say that shaving the beard is forbidden, and if they claim that voting in Turkey or similar countries leads to shirk (polytheism), and if they call Ibn Taymiyyah "Shaykh al-Islam" and a great imam, and if they say that actions are a part of faith... if they hold such claims, which an average Anatolian person or someone who has studied in a madrasah, read the books of the four imams of the schools of thought and their students, and has been exposed to Sufism, or at least loves great Sufi figures, would not hear, then it can be understood that this person is at least unconsciously inclined towards the Salafi mentality!