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Salaf (Arabic:سلف, 'ancestors' or 'predecessors'), also often referred to with the honorific expression ofal-salaf al-ṣāliḥ (السلف الصالح, 'the pious predecessors'), are often taken to be the first three generations ofMuslims.[1] This comprises companions of theIslamic prophetMuhammad (theSahabah), their followers (theTabi'un), and the followers of the followers (theTaba al-Tabi'in).[2] Their religious significance lay in the statement attributed to Muhammad: "The best of my community are my generation, the ones who follow them and the ones who follow them",[3] a period believed to exemplify the purest form ofIslam. The generations of Muslims after the third are referred to as theKhalaf.[4]
TheTabi‘un, the successors ofSahabah.
TheTabi‘ al-Tabi‘in, the successors of theTabi‘un.
