Contemporary Salafi-minded Muslims see post-prophetic corruption as the start of Islam’s decline

Evidence

A FEW WEEKS LATER, Rami joined Ezzat and a group of others who were studying aqeedah, the creed of Islam, in their spare time. They would gather in a room in Queens and talk through various Islamic concepts, focusing on the time of the Prophet, his companions, and the following two generations for lessons. (The Prophet is reported to have said, “The best people are those living in my generation, then those coming after them, and then those coming after [the second generation].”) These three generations are referred to as as-Salif as-Salih, the righteous predecessors, and they were role models for Rami and his friends. The group saw the righteous predecessors as the Muslims who built Islam from nothing, who perfected the religion, and who superintended its spread across much of the world. As they understood it, the decline of the Muslims began after these predecessors, when various corruptions and innovations from outside proper Islam began seeping into society. And according to their study, the duty of contemporary Muslims is thus to revive the religion as it once had been. — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 878

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines as-Salif as-Salih (the righteous predecessors) and aqeedah (the creed of Islam) as technical terms.