Salaf (Arabic: سلف, "ancestors" or "predecessors"), also often referred to with the honorific expression of al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ (السلف الصالح, "the pious predecessors"), are often taken to be the first three generations of Muslims.[1] This comprises companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (the Sahabah), their followers (the Tabi'un), and the followers of the followers (the Taba 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 of Islam. The generations of Muslims after the third are referred to as the Khalaf.[4]
