Why Talk about our Salaf?

01/08/2010| IslamWeb

Every nation boasts of its predecessors and the contributions they had made, whether in spiritual or materialistic fields. Every nation raises high the rank of its scholars and boasts about them and their history.

People normally do this to display the virtues of their predecessors and to set them as role models for the forthcoming generations in order to encourage them to follow in their footsteps and make them proud of having such predecessors.

 

The normal outcome of this is embodied by the zeal demonstrated by these new generations to actively work to improve and develop themselves to be carbon copies of their predecessors.

 

More than any other nation, we Muslims have a lot to be proud of and have many bright examples to follow among our Salaf (predecessors) .

 

Our Salaf certainly deserve to be held in  high esteem due to their precise compliance with the instructions of Allah and His Messenger, .

 

Who is it, then, that we refer to by the term "our Salaf"? They, are the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and those who followed in their footsteps.

 

They were leading examples for those who came after them in all regards, especially in how strictly they obeyed Allah and His Messenger, .

 

Our Salaf practiced the highest level of adherence to the sayings of the Prophet, , in all their affairs. This was clearly demonstrated by the way they practically lived their lives and was directly reflected in the way they performed their acts of worship.

 

In this section of our "Ramadan Oasis" we will shed light on the response of our righteous Salaf to the sayings of the Prophet, , regarding certain acts of worship. At the beginning of each section, we will state the relevant saying of the Prophet, , for which their lives proved to be a living example.