'' or '''''Salaf as-Sālih''''' () can be variously translated as "(righteous) predecessors" or "(righteous) ancestors." In Islamic terminology, it is generally used to refer to the first three generations of Muslims :
'', who had met or had seen him while in a state of ''īmān'' (belief), and then died on that state.
'' Tāba'īn :'' (Arabic: التابعين, "The Successors") Those who had met or had seen the ''Saḥabah'' while in a state of ''īmān'' (belief), and then died on that state.
'' At-Taba' At-Tāba'īn :'' (Arabic: التبع التابعين, "The Successors of the Successors") Those who had met or had seen the ''Tāba'īn'' while in a state of ''īmān'' (belief), and then died on that state.
In a '' ḥadīth '' (prophetic tradition), the Prophet Muhammad says of the ''Salaf'', "The best people are those living in my generation, then those coming after them, and then those coming after." ( Bukhārī )
Following is an incomplete alphabetical list of the ''Salaf''.
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