Furthermore, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد said;

1. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq: The first Caliph,
2. Umar ibn al-Khattab: The second Caliph,
3. Uthman ibn Affan: The third Caliph
4. & Ali ibn Abi Talib The fourth Caliph
5. and the 100,000 Muslim followers who met Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد  while having IMAN, are also the Sahabah
6. As Well the Ahle Bayt, family of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد including the wives of Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد, Ummahat-ul-Mu’minin

• Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 179 AH): Founder of the Maliki school.
• Imam Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH): Founder of the Hanafi school.
• Hasan al-Basri (21–110 AH)
• Said ibn al-Musayyib (d. 93 AH)
• Uwais al-Qarani
• Al-Awzai (d. 157 AH): A leading jurist.
• Ath-Thawri (d. 161 AH): A renowned scholar and ascetic.
• Ibn Sirin: Famous for dream interpretation and Hadith narration.
• Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri (d. 124 AH): A major figure in the early recording of Hadith.
• Umar II (Umar ibn Abdul Aziz): The Umayyad caliph, often regarded as the fifth of the “Rightly Guided” Caliphs.
• Mujahid ibn Jabr: A famous student of Ibn Abbas and authority on Qur’anic commentary
• and many more

• Imam Ash-Shafi’i (d. 204 AH): Founder of the Shafi’i school.
• Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal (d. 241 AH): Founder of the Hanbali school
• and many more

• Imam al-Bukhari (194–256 AH / 810–870 CE) is considered a Atba‘ al-Tabi‘in (Met Taba’ al-Tabi’in ie 3rd Generation), and many more.

The Term “Salafi” refers to those who claim to follow the methodology (manhaj) of the first three generations.

Salaf vs. Tabaeen

• Salaf is the umbrella term for the first three generations.
• Tabaeen is specifically the second generation only.
• Both are respected, but the Sahaba (first generation) are considered of higher merit than the Tabaeen.

Salafism at its core seeks to emulate the first three generations of Muslims, by calling on muslims to follow the Quran & Sunnah directly, as opposed to going through a chain of scholars.

In addition, the dawah of Salafis emphasises ijtihad (independent reasoning), ie one should go directly to the Salaf (1st, 2nd and 3rd generation muslims), and ignore all other generations afterwards.

Furthermore, Salafism states that for something to be accepted as part of ISLAM, for example, a fiqh opinion or the authenticity of a hadeeth, it has to be 100% authentic and absolutely correct. For Aqeeda, absolute certainty is fine, but for lesser issues, sometimes this is not attainable.

Where authenticity cannot be attained, it’s called di’ef (weak) hadeeth. This concept of  di’ef (weak) hadeeth is totally reject/discarded by modern Salafis.

Even though there is high certainty (but not absolute certainty) that di’ef (weak) hadeeth is correct to some extent.

This goes against the Real Salaf (1st, 2nd & 3rd Generation Muslims), who accepted di’ef (weak) hadeeth, and generally only reject very very very weak hadeeth. And this rejection of di’ef (weak) hadeeth was after considerable investigation.

Modern Abani Salafis prefer Sahih al-Bukhari over Basically Everything – Directly contradicting the above hadeeth as well as Salafism itself.

The Tabi’un, are the 7th century scholor’s (2nd generation), these are the scholars who in their lifetime met and interacted with the Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum (صحابة رضي الله عنهم). The Tabi’un learned, observed, and transmitted Islam through this direct connection with Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum (صحابة رضي الله عنهم). By observing the lives, actions, and worship of the Sahaba, the Tabi’un saw a living, practical manifestation of Islamic teachings, embodying the spirit of the Sunnah passed down to them.

But the Salafi movement has totally ignored the best generation after the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد and Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum (صحابة رضي الله عنهم). And instead are following Imam Al-Bukhari (9th century), Ibn Taymiyya (13th and 14th centuries), Albaani (20th century), ibn Uthaymeen (20th century) & Bin Baaz (20th century).

And the reason Salafis are following these scholars, and not the scholars from the first 3 generations, is because Salafism is Sectarianism. Salafism is a sect-based and highly active in propagating division in the Ummah on certain issues.

In addition, Salafis tend to quote from Imam Al-Bukhari, Ibn Taymiyya, Albaani, ibn Uthaymeen & Bin Baaz because Salafis do not have many scholars from 7th century to the 20th century, who adhere to their brand of Islam. The number of Modern Salafi scholars with a comprehensive understanding of the Quran, Sunnah, Hadeeth, and Academic integrity is limited.

Previous generations of Muslims have always followed Madhabs & Taqleed, accepted Di’ef (weak) hadeeths, within certain limitations, whereas modern Salafis totally reject this notion. 

To fill the vacuum of lack of esteemed scholars, the Salafis occasionally also quote and use literature or rulings of Hanablis, which is itself a contradiction. On the one hand, opposing madhabs and on the other hand, then quoting and using from Hanbali’s madhab to further their deviant aims.

In Pakistan & India , salafi’s also use literature from eminent Hanafi Deobandi scholars & Islamic Universities (Madrassas) because they have limited literature in Urdu by Salafi & Hanbali madhab.

A major difference between the modern Salafi and the 1st & 2nd generation muslims is the way they used to read their Salaah.

The Tabi’un (2nd generation muslims and the real salaf), ie Imam Malik & Imam Abu Hanifa did not adhere to doing Rafa Yadain, the constant raising of hands in Salaah during Ruku and Sajda, putting hands on the chest, keeping feet wide apart, and reading 20 Tarawih in Ramadan.

Whereas Imam Bukhari from the 9th century (4th generation) adhered to rafa yadain, 8 Tarawih not 20 etc

Surely Tabi’un, the generation closest to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد & Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum, would be emulating the salaah more according to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد & Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum, because the time span was much shorter. Plus, many Ahle Bayt & Sahaba (رضي الله عنهم) were alive, many relatives of the Ahle Bayt & Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum (رضي الله عنهم) were alive, so therefore Tabi’un were able to preserve and document their actions more accurately than later generations.

Imam Malik (2nd Generation Muslim) preferred the action of the people of Medina (‘Amal Ahl al-Madinah) as a binding, authentic source of Sunnah over Hadeeth. Why, because it is Sunnah, is what the Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد emphasized, not Hadeeth

The above hadeeth states that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد read 11 rak`at in Ramadan. Firstly, this hadeeth relates to Tahajjud, the night prayer in the last third of the night before Fajr, whereas Tarawih is prayed with Isha Salaah. But this is the primary proof of 8 Tarawih by Salafis, so let’s use this hadeeth.

But Another Hadeeth states

So there is Hadeeth of 8 Tarawih, and there are many for 20 Tarawih (see below)…

But it’s clear from Hazrat Umar Hadeeth (from Masjid al-Haram in Mecca), Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina (Imam Malik Actions & Sayings), al-Aqsa Mosque, and Kufa (Iraq) (Imam Abu Hanifa Actions & Sayings) that from the very beginning of Islam, that 20 Rakaat (NOT 8) tarawih became the norm of the Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum (رضي الله عنهم), i.e., the SUNNAH. This is clear from the Hadeeth’s. See Below

Remember in Islam, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)  emphasized Sunnah (Not Hadeeth).

Makkah, Madina, Kufa all had a large number of Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum & Tabi’un as well.

Surely, if Hazrat Umar, other Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum & the Tabi’un were wrong with 20 Rakat Tarawih, surely these disagreements would have come forward, and other scholars would have documented and codified them. for future generations to read and see.

But this was never documented, meaning there was no disagreement, meaning there was a consensus among the Sahaba Radi Allahu Anhum, and later the Tabi’un, and after them the Taba Tabi’un, that tarawih is 20, and the SUNNAH is 20.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ  مُحَمَّد said