From the Medeival period, Sunni scholars had used the label "Salafi", to denote Muslims who professed Athari theology. Prior to the 1920s, when Salafi circles used the terms "mad'hab al Salaf" and "Salafiyya", they usually retained it's theological meaning. This was how first Rida understood and used Salafi epithets. Late 19th century Salafi scholars such as Nu'man al Alusi and Mahmud Shukri Al Alusi also described Salafis ("al-salafiyyun") as those who accept the Divine attributes without explaining them rationally or falling into anthropomorphism. Najdi scholars such as Abd al-Rahman ibn Hasan and Abd al-Latif ibn Abd al-Rahman too spoke of Salafi beliefs in the same way. Both Rida and his fellow Syrian reformer, Jamal al-Din al-Qasimi, referred to Salafis as Sunni Muslims who adopted Athari theology and rejected the allegorical interpretation of God’s attributes. Yet in few occasions before 1920s, both Rida and Qasimi had used these terms in loose ways that would have puzzled an attentive reader.