Are all pious sheikhs Salafis?

The groups closest to the Sunnah are the Salafis, as they refer religious matters back to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and to what the early generations of the Ummah and the people of the three favored centuries agreed upon, while upholding the Sunnah and avoiding innovations.

However, this does not mean that all pious shaykhs are Salafis, or that only Salafis are pious. Piety is doing what Allah has commanded and refraining from what He has forbidden.

A distinction must be made between the Salafi methodology, which is infallible in its legitimate principles (the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus), and the individuals affiliated with it, who are not immune from error. It is not permissible to attribute the errors of individuals to the methodology, just as a distinction must be made between Islam and what Muslims do.