The Humble I

Knowing, Doing, Becoming

Are Salafis ahl al-sunnah?

May 28, 2026

Salafism Reconsidered

Salafism Reconsidered is a forthcoming publication from the Jawziyyah Press & Turath Publishing, which we hope will be available for purchase between mid to late July, inshallah. The book explores the beliefs, practices and claims of contemporary Salafism across forty-two chapters, four appendices, and 372 pages, and asks if today’s Salafism actually represents the path… Continue reading

knowledge & learning, religion, salafism reconsidered

Are Salafis ahl al-sunnah?, exploring Salafism, refuting Salafism, Salafism Reconsidered

About Me

My name is Surkheel Sharif (aka Abu Aaliyah). Born and raised in London, England, I began my more formal, but gradual studies of the Islamic sciences around the late 1980s (just a few years after having quit my degree in Astrophysics). I also gained an MA in Islamic Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London, in 2009.

I’ve translated a few Islamic works from Arabic into English; one of them, a short text on Muslim spirituality, called The Exquisite Pearl (2000). I have also authored a few books, including: More Fish Please & the Earth’s Complaint (2011); Fussing Over the 15th of Sha’ban & the Golden Rule of Differing (2011); A Muslim’s Guide to Modernity (2025); and Salafism Reconsidered (forthcoming)

I am the founder and current Director of the Jawziyyah Institute (est. 1999): a non-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating an Islam true to its time-honoured tradition, relevant to its current context, and of benefit to wider society.