Salafism is a Complete Way of Life

Further, the strict and rigid guidelines inherent to Salafism ended the uncertainty and chaos most respondents experienced in relation to “the complex choices presented by modern life”, a finding that closely resembles Davidman’s (1991) study of young secular Jewish women converting to Orthodox Judaism in the United States. The significance of following rules and regulations based upon ‘authentic’ sources was thus an important part of this new way of life, as Saima noted:

Salafiyyah gives you the evidence, but it also gives you the rules and regulations from the Qur’an and Sunnah and the Sahaba, the Taabioon and the Atbaa at-Taabioon (first three generations of Muslims [the Salaf]). They all explain how to be Salafi and adhere to it, so you’re not in chaos.

This diligence was apparent regardless of whether respondents had an academic background—NMH Rahima explained that one of the first things that her brother (who became Muslim and Salafi before she did) taught her was that she should always ask for daleelbefore accepting knowledge from anyone, a principle she told me she had adhered to ever since:

My brother said to me: “Look, if anybody tells you anything, ask them—is it in the Qur’an or did the Prophet Muhammad do it?”

Jamila also highlighted how living her life in accordance with new rules meant that she was in constant remembrance of Allah, an excellent example of “the actual [spiritual] experience of religious persons”, for whom “lived religion” or “invisible religion is a part of rather than apart from everyday life” (Roberts and Yamane 2016:17):

Suddenly I began to live my life by rules I didn’t even know existed before. Everything was about my Creator. I used to get up in the morning and take for granted that I’ve got food and clothing. But now, every single thing I do is connected to giving thanks to my Lord and remembering Him. It was a big change, but I liked it because it made it easier for me to be constantly aware of the decision, I’ve made to become Salafi.

Ultimately, respondents viewed Salafism as a complete way of life, offering guidance on the most mundane and the most extraordinary of matters. Amal explained how Salafism is also an ideal system for social justice, since it regulates every aspect of the lived experience of its members daily lives. This demonstrates not only how “rigid revivalism is in large part an attempt to reestablish independence from the world system”, but also shows the “reclaiming of authority over a sacred tradition that ‘is to be reinstated as an antidote for a society [astray] from its cultural mooring’” (Shupe and Hadden 1989:111):

In Salafiyyah if we see someone in hardship, we don’t ignore them we help them. We have rich and poor people, but we give obligatory zakat and sadaqah (alms) if we have a lot of wealth—giving to the poor is normal for us …  But look at what happened with the banks in 2008, this didn’t happen in the Gulf because they follow the Prophet’s (ﷺ) way in how they use money. So even in business we’ve got rules to follow. Our daily life is based on rules.