Considering the "Salaf" understanding from the Ibn Taymiyyah viewpoint

It is said that Ibn Taymiyyah is one of the pioneers of the project of "the authenticity of the Salaf understanding". Narrowing down the concept of the Salaf, he considers that the "Khalaf" scholars are not worthy of understanding the religious texts and must adjust their understanding with the Salaf understanding; maintaining that Salaf understanding is superior to the Khalaf. The purpose of this essay is to examine whether this basis is valid or not? And whether the authority of Salaf understanding is boundless or limited? The basis of many deviant sects, especially Wahhabism, goes back to the theories of Ibn Taymiyyah; therefore, in this essay, the view of Ibn Taymiyyah is examined. In this study, after analyzing Ibn Taymiyyah's view on Salaf understanding, we came to the conclusion that the reasons cited by Ibn Taymiyyah in the authority of understanding the Salaf is not valid. They are either too broad or contradict with the reason and historical evidences. This leads us to the point that understanding the Salaf as a basic theory is not authentic.