Shaykh Saalih Al-Fawzaan was asked:

Question:

The one who says: “I am a Muslim and I do not ascribe to Salafiyyah nor to other than it from the sects”.  What is the validity of this statement of his?

Answer:

“The one who does not ascribe to the Salaf, then he is not upon the methodology of the Salaf even if he says “I am Muslim”. So he is upon a methodology that opposes the methodology of the Salaf. He differs a lot or little with the methodology of the Salaf. So it is upon him to leave off these statements and learn beneficial knowledge and hold fast to what the Salaf of this Ummah were upon.  From where will he take the authentic Islam except from the methodology of the Salaf? As for independence, as they call it, then this is misguidance and deviance:

وَمَنْ شَذَّ شَذَّ إِلَى النَّارِ
And whoever deviates, he deviates to the Fire

[Reported by Tirmidhi no. 2167]

End quote.

[Hajjatul-Ummah Li Manhaj as-Salaf (pg. 27)]

Translated by

Faisal bin Abdul Qaadir bin Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan