al-Salafiyun wa al-Aimma al-Arbaa - صلى الله عليه وسلم -
- Author died
- 1442 AH
- Editions
- al-Dār al-Salafiyyah
al-Salafiyun wa al-Aimma al-Arbaa (The Salafis and the Four Imams) is a treatise by the scholar Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Khaliq (d. 1442 AH / 2020 CE), completed in Kuwait on 11 Rajab 1397 AH (1977 CE) to elucidate the Salafi stance on jurisprudence, legal reasoning (ijtihad), and the four canonical Sunni imams .
Background and Purpose
The author composed the work in response to criticisms from proponents of rigid imitation (taqlid), who asserted that calling for direct reliance on the Quran and Sunnah and unifying legal rulings diminished the standing of the four imams or sought to abolish jurisprudence altogether . Ibn Abd al-Khaliq aimed to demonstrate that the Salafi call does not demean the four imams—Abu Hanifa, Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal—but rather aligns directly with their core teachings on following textual proof (ittiba') and rejecting blind adherence .
Core Arguments and Methodology
The work argues that the four imams were themselves the authentic proponents of Salafism, having instituted the obligation to adhere to textual evidence and abandon blind imitation . Ibn Abd al-Khaliq maintains that modern Salafis are the truest followers of the imams because they implement the imams' explicit instructions to prioritize the Prophetic texts over personal opinion .
To support his thesis, the author cites historical interactions and statements from the imams demonstrating their mutual respect, lack of partisanship, and prohibition against imitating their rulings without knowledge of the underlying proofs . These include Abu Hanifa's prohibition on issuing fatwas based on his statements without knowing his evidence, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal's counsel to his student: "Do not imitate me, nor imitate Malik, nor al-Awza'i, nor al-Thawri; take from where they took" . The treatise contrasts the detriments of blind imitation with the religious benefits of adhering to textual evidence, engaging in valid legal inquiry, and benefiting from the extensive scholarly heritage left by the four imams .
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