ANSWERED: Ahl As Sunnah wal Jama'ah

[Yusuf]

keep on hearing conflicting opinions, just last week in aqidah lesson, sheikh said they were. Are salafis within 'a.s.w.j' or not, according to the majority of the sunni ulema?..

[Mossy]

Just treat them as any other muslim unless they say something which makes you go eh. Some salafis will be, some won't be - just have a good opinion unless they start incitin or spreading baatil.

[Yusuf]

Some salafis will be, some won't be.

Whats that supposed to mean? So, the shuyukh that generalise and say that 'salafis' are ahlul bid'ah are wrong, and those that generalise and say that 'salafis' are within ahl as sunnah are wrong?

[Mossy]

There is a concept of the "salafi" dawah. The deviation of this from the established norm is usually considered to be in aqeedah (as I'm sure you've seen copious material on). Some land in the anthropomorphist camp. Others land in Hanbali aqeedah land. Some salafis reject the madhab structure completely. Others respect it greatly.

A person can be "salafi" either by deed or action. Someone could claim no adherence to the minhaj, yet effectively act out all it's populist tenets. Another could ascribe to it yet have an aqeedah that is within the realms of the Hanbali madhab.

One must be careful to seperate the individual from the concept - a concept which is not clearly defined (heck, I've met all sorts). You can say that a flavour of the salafi minhaj is incorrect because they believe that he is literally above his throne. But you should be careful about ascribing it to individuals that you meet, especially with regards to this particular group.

I guess it depends on whether you're talking about the group of individuals or the popular ideal. It's like saying all muslims have good akhlaq I suppose..

My advice was just how to deal, you'll hear contrasting opinions amongst the scholarship as to the overall validity.