Imitation
Today, most of the Muslims' lives have become dyed with the same
color of the western civilization and lifestyles in the way of
thinking, visions, beliefs, education, teaching, culture, policy,
governing systems, economy and in all other different means of
life.
Currently, we observe that the
matter of imitation reached its worst peak. In fact, the extent of
imitating the non-Muslim West becomes very disgraceful for many
Muslims liked to imitate them in every vice and bad
customs.
They imitate them in scorning
the noble manners, values and religion…!
They imitate them in greed,
selfishness, deception, cheat, cunning and
betrayals..!
They imitate them in
instability, wearing obscene clothing, displaying beauty want only,
immorality, displaying effeminate manners..!
Moreover, there will be
inevitable humiliation and degradation because of the blind
imitation of them politically, economically, culturally, and
intellectually.
Unfortunately, they
(imitators) turned a blind eye to all what is beneficial, positive
and useful of their production in different means of life,
sciences, experiments, and inventions that Allah The Almighty made
permissible.
At-Tashabuh
(Assimilation):
Imaam Muhammad
Al-Ghuzee Ash-Shaf'i,
may Allah have mercy upon him, defined it as absorbing and adopting
the characteristics and manners of another group. It is done
deliberately and intentionally.
Taqleed
(imitation):
It is to copy the speech,
actions, beliefs or behaviors of someone else without any proof,
contemplation, reasonable consideration or careful
thinking.
Imitation From
a religious Perspective
Imitation is to follow someone
else in a religious ruling without making any legal reasoning and
discretion about such ruling and without any proof. In that point,
imitation will not be dispraised. Rather, it is desirable for
everyone who does not have the qualifications of legal reasoning
and discretion in the rulings of religion, to follow one of the
Mujtahid scholars as Allah The Almighty says:
{So ask of those who know the
Scripture [learned men of the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel
(Gospel)], if you know not.} [An-Nahl 16: 43]
Transliteration:
faisaloo ahla
alththikri in kuntum la
taAAlamoona
That means: if the lay person
follows one of the Mujtahid scholars, then it will be a kind of
imitation.
However, imitation will be
dispraised and unfavorable for the one who has the qualifications
of legal reasoning or discretion in the rulings of religion. And
whoever imitates another one in misguidance, religious innovation
or adheres to a specific opinion and enforce people to adopt will
be surely rejected.
Blind
Imitation
It is exactly the kind of
imitation that the Muslims adopted without reasonable
consideration, careful thinking or taking care from imitating
non-Muslims, treading the same path of them and following them in
the different means of life, manners and behaviors, forms of
production, beliefs, visions, way of thinking, philosophy, policy,
economy, literature, arts, culture, systems and legislations. They
absorbed their lifestyle without taking account of the principles
of the Islamic creed, the rulings of religion, or the noble moral
standards, and without adhering to the honorable Islamic
teachings.
Imitation is a
Character Flaw
1. Imitation is in fact a negative
attribute found only in those who have weak personality and thus it
is a character flaw.
2. Imitation implies the meaning of
absorption, defeat, blind following, apathy, adopting, blind
obedience without any careful thinking or considerable
consideration of what can be beneficial or harmful and without
differentiation between what can agree or contradict with the
rulings of religion.
Wisdom behind
Forbidding Imitation
Actually, forbidding imitation
in the Islamic Shari'ah has many interests and benefits. We know
some of them while many other still cannot be realized. Generally,
the serious repercussions of imitation are undeniable and known by
all people. As for Imitating non-Muslims, it has many harmful
effects that are witnessed by reality, experiments, and historical
investigation of the history of nations, peoples, civilizations and
the Islamic nation in particular.
Proofs that
Prohibit Imitation
First: Proofs
of the Noble Quran
Actually, forbidding imitating
non-Muslims is mentioned in many verses and in different styles.
Amongst them are:
1.
Explaining that imitation is a
general danger to the interests and entity of the Islamic nation:
Allah The Almighty Says:
{O you who believe! Take not
as (your) Bitanah (advisors, consultants, protectors, helpers,
friends, etc.) those outside your religion (pagans, Jews,
Christians, and hypocrites) since they will not fail to do their
best to corrupt you. They desire to harm you severely. Hatred has
already appeared from their mouths, but what their breasts conceal
is far worse.} [Al-'Imraan 3: 118]
Transliteration:
Ya ayyuha allatheena amano la
tattakhitho bitanatan min donikum la ya`loonakum khabalan waddoo ma
'anittum qad badatialbaghdao min afwahihim wama tukhfee sudooruhum
akbar.
2.
Warning against them and not
to be deceived by their bad characteristics and misleading desires,
Allah The Almighty Says:
{O you who believe! Take not
the Jews and the Christians as Auliya' (friends, protectors,
helpers, etc.), they are but Auliya' to one another. And if any
amongst you takes them as Auliya', then surely he is one of them.
Verily, Allah guides not those people who are the Zalimun
(polytheists and wrong¬doers and unjust).} [Al-Ma`idah 5:
51]
Transliteration:
Ya ayyuha allatheena amano laa
tattakhithoo alyahooda wannasara awliyaa` ba'duhum awliy`ao ba'din
waman yatawallahum minkum fa-innahu minhum inna Allaha laa yahdee
alqawma aththalimeen.
3.
Explaining their envy,
deception and wishing evil for Muslims, Allah The Almighty
Says:
{Many of the people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you
away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy from
their ownselves, even, after the truth (that Muhammad Peace be upon
him is Allah's Messenger) has become manifest unto them.}
[Al-Baqarah 2: 109]
Transliteration:
Wadda katheerun min ahli
alkitabi law yaruddoonakum min ba'di eemanikum kuffaran hasadan min
'indi anfusihim min ba'di ma tabayyana lahumu alhaqqu fa'foo
wasfahoo hatta ya`tiya Allahu bi-amrihi inna Allaha 'ala kulli
shay-in qadeer.
Second: Proofs
of the Sunnah
1.
It was narrated on the
authority of 'Abdullaah Ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with them,
that the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon
him, said: "Whoever imitates a group people is one of them."
[Reported by Ibn Hibaan, Authentic]
2.
It was narrated on the
authority of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said:
"You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you
hand span by hand span, cubit by cubit, to the extent that if they
entered the hole of a lizard, you will enter it too." We said: "O
Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?" He
said: "Who else?" [Reported by Al-Bukhari, Authentic]
3.
It was narrated on the
authority of 'Abdullaah ibn Omar, may Allah be pleased with them,
that the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon
him, said: "Differentiate yourself from the Mushrikeen
(polytheists, disbelievers): trim the moustache and let the beard
grow." [Reported by Muslim, Authentic]
This Hadith has clear-cut
evidence and a direct command to be different from non-Muslims. It,
furthermore, indicates that it is Haram (forbidden) to tread the
same path of them.
Reason behind
such Blind Imitation
1- Ignorance of the reality of
Islam.
2- Not adhering to the teachings of the
Islamic education.
3- Mass media.
4- Great amounts of leisure
time.
5- Weakness of the belief of Al-Walaa`
Wal-Baraa` (loyalty and friendship vs. disavowal and
enmity).
6- Many are impressed by the material
development and progress, ignoring the reality of the western
civilization.
Solutions
1-
Inventing some modern methods
that can protect us from such violent attack that aims to undermine
our basic tenets of faiths. The most important tool is the mass
media in which the development of the intellectual presentation
styles should be observed.
2-
Establishing a complete
defensive strategy that should be carried out by all; houses,
schools, educational authorities, institutions of Da'wah and
guidance as well as the security organizations.
3-
Raising up and educating
children according to the noble Islamic teachings from the
beginning of their tender ages. This will give them immunity
against such mottos so that they may not accept them. In fact, this
entails the crucial role of families, educational curricula,
knowledge and schools.
4-
Scholars and thinkers of the
Islamic nation should play their crucial role towards their
societies and nation. They, moreover, should pay much attention to
inviting people to the religion of Allah The Almighty and lead and
guide such invitation in conformity with the way of the Messenger
of Allah, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, and the righteous
Salaf (forefathers) of that nation.
5-
Activating the noble message
of Masjid, reviving its primary role as a place for disseminating
the religious knowledge for all Muslims in simple styles that befit
the mainstream of the modern age. Such things should be done under
a sound educational and scientific supervision.
6-
Clarifying the reality of such
imitation and that the bad effects of imitation affects not only
the outer appearance but beliefs and heart as well.
7-
Affirming the issue of enmity
between Awliaa` Ar-Rahmaan (worshipers of the Most Gracious) and
Awliaa Ash-Shaytaan (followers of Satan). This enmity started from
the age of Adam, may Allah exalt his status, and will persist to
the Day of Resurrection. Consequently, the two parties will never
be gathered together. The first party aims to inviting people to
worshiping Allah The Almighty while the other invites people to
worship and obey At-Taghoot (i.e. every object that is worshipped
instead of Allah The Almighty) and fighting Muslims to hinder them
from following their religion. Allah The Almighty
Says:
{And they will never cease
fighting you until they turn you back from your religion (Islâmic
Monotheism) if they can.} [Al-Baqarah 2: 217]
Transliteration:
Wala yazaloona yuqatiloonakum
hatta yaruddookum 'an deenikum ini istata'u.
8-
Instilling and enhancing hope
in the souls that the Help of Allah The Almighty is near. It was
narrated on the authority of 'Abdullaah Ibn Omar, may Allah be
pleased with them, that the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace
of Allah be upon him, said: "You will fight the Jews and you will
prevail over them, so that a rock will say, 'O Muslim! there is a
Jew, come and kill him!" [Reported by Muslim, Authentic]
And in another narration with
the same chain of transmission, the Prophet, prayers and peace of
Allah be upon him, said: "There is a Jew behind me." [Reported by
Muslim, Authentic]
Surely, the believer has a
strong belief that Allah The Almighty will defend His religion and
raise His word high. Surely, a guided group of such nation will
continue guiding by truth and by it establishes justice. Moreover,
there will still be a group of that nation which will continue
victoriously adhering to the truth; those who let them down or
differ from them do not harm them and they will keep adhering to
this path until the decree of Allah reaches them.
The path is clear and truth is
obvious. The supporters of right of scholars and callers should
only have sincere intentions and spare no efforts in supporting
such cause. The real man who has the praised independence is the
Muslim who adheres firmly to the teachings of his religion, has
full trust in it, and feels proud because of it.
Those whom we
are forbidden to Imitate
1- Shaytan
(Satan): It was
narrated on the authority of 'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar, may Allah be
pleased with them, that the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be
upon him, said: "No one among you should eat with his left hand, or
drink with it, for the Shaytan eats with his left hand and drinks
with it." [Reported by Muslim; Authentic]
Ibn Al-Qayyim,
may Allah have mercy upon him, said: "The Prophet, prayers and peace of
Allah be upon him, explained that the reason behind prohibiting
eating and drinking with the left hand is that the accursed Satan,
eat and drink with his left hand. So we come to know that a person
should intentionally avoid doing actions that resemble the actions
of the accursed Satan because of that prohibition. Narrations
prohibit such imitation is actually ample."
2- All
non-Muslim people: It
was narrated on the authority of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri, may Allah be
pleased with him, that the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be
upon him, said: "You will certainly follow the ways of those who
came before you hand span by hand span, cubit by cubit, to the
extent that if they entered the hole of a lizard, you will enter it
too." We said: "O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and
the Christians?" He said: "Who else?" [Reported by Al-Bukhari,
Authentic]
3- Followers
of Innovations: It was narrated
that Abu Qilabah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "Do not sit with those who follow
their whims for I cannot be sure that they will not tempt you into
misguidance or confuse you about what you have known of
religion."
4- Al-Fusaaq
(corrupt people): Imaam Al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy upon
him, said: "If Ahl Al-Fisq (corrupt people) have a specific
and unique clothes (that distinguish them), then others will be
prohibited to wear such clothes because the one who does not know
them may think that they are from such deviated group and thus
think ill of them, and then he will be sinful and they (the
imitators) will be sinful for they made him to think ill of
them."
5- Men
imitating women and women imitating men: It is one of the Major sins. It was
narrated that 'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them,
said: The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, cursed
effeminate men (those who assume the manners of women) and those
women who assume the manners of men, and he said, "Turn them out of
your houses.", The Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him,
turned out such-and-such man, and Omar, may Allah be pleased with
him, turned out such-and-such man. [Reported by Al-Bukhari,
Authentic]
In another narration,
'Abdullah Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, reported that
the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, said: "Allah
has cursed those women who imitate men and those men who imitate
women." [Reported by Muhammad Jar-Allah As-Si'eedi,
Authentic]
Ibn Hajar, may
Allah have mercy upon him, said: "At-Tabaari, may Allah have mercy
upon him, said, this indicates that it is not permissible for men
to imitate women either in clothing or adornments that are
exclusive for them (women)."
6-
Animals: It was
narrated on the authority of Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased
with them, that the Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon
him, said: "Be straight in the prostrations and none of you should
rest his forearms on the ground (in the prostration) like a dog"
[Reported by Al-Bukhari, Authentic]
In another narration,
'Abdur-Rahman Ibn Shible, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The
Prophet, prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, forbade from three
things in prayer: pecking like a crow, spreading one's forearms
like a carnivore, or always praying in the same place like a camel
keeping to its own territory" [Al-Albani, Good]
Ibn Taymiyah,
may Allah have mercy upon him, said: "Imitating animals in the actions
that are deemed disliked in religion, is dispraised and prohibited
i.e. imitating their sounds, actions and so such as barking like
dog, or braying like donkeys and the like.
Ruling on
imitating non-Muslims
Shaykh
Muhammad ibn 'Uthaymeen, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"The actions of the enemies of
Allah and our enemies, the kuffar (infidels), fall into three
categories:
1- Acts of worship
2- Customs
3- Manufacturing and work
With regard to the acts of
worship, it is well known that it is not permissible for any Muslim
to imitate them in their acts of worship. Whoever imitates them in
their acts of worship puts himself at great risk and that may lead
to him becoming a Kafir who is beyond the folds of
Islam.
With regard to customs such as
dress etc., it is Haram (prohibited) to imitate them because it was
narrated on the authority of 'Abdullaah Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be
pleased with them, that the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace
of Allah be upon him, said: "Whoever imitates a group of people is
one of them." [Reported by Ibn Hibaan, Authentic]
With regard to manufacturing
and professions: in the case of those which serve a general
interest, there is nothing wrong with us learning from what they do
and benefitting from it. This does not come under the heading of
imitating them, rather it is a kind of sharing in beneficial
actions and the one who does that is not regarded as imitating
them.
Ruling on
imitation
First:
The type of imitation of
non-Muslims which constitutes Shirk (polytheism) or Kuffr
(disbelief), such as imitating them in their beliefs, imitating
them is some of their acts of worship, or imitating the Jews,
Christians and Magi in the matters that can nullify the principles
of our Tawheed (monotheism) and creed Like Ta'teel; it is the
negation of a Name or attribute of Allah The Almighty, atheism, the
belief that Allah The Almighty is limited inside one of His
creatures and that He unites with His creation. As well as
exaggeration about the Prophets and righteous, devoting worship and
seeking help from others than Allah The Almighty, and implementing
the man-made rulings and systems. All of such things are either
Shirk or Kuffr
Second:
Some imitation is disobedience
and sin, such as imitating non-Muslims in some of their customs and
habits like eating and drinking with the left hand, wearing gold
rings, adornment with gold for men, shaving beards, women imitating
men and men imitating women, and the like.
Third:
There is another kind of
imitation that is Makrooh (disliked). It is what varies between
being Mubaah (permissible) or being Haram (prohibited). This may
happen if the ruling is not clear i.e. that the ruling of some
behaviors, customs and worldly matters may vary between being
permissible or being prohibited. Such matters will be considered
Makrooh (disliked) in order not to include Muslims under the
heading of imitation.
Fourth:
Another kind of imitation is
Mubaah (permissible); It is which is not an exclusive
characteristic of them of the worldly life matters. That is to say
it does not distinguish them from the righteous Muslims. It must
not cause serious harm to the Muslims, nor contribute to the
interest of the non-Muslims and cause the Muslims to fall into
subjugation and belittlement or the like. One of the permissible
actions (i.e. actions in which imitation is permissible) is the
positive materialistic production and positive worldly sciences
(i.e. that are not related to religion).
We ask Allah The Almighty with
His Sublime Names and Attributes to include us among those who
adhere firmly to His Noble Book and the Sunnah of his Prophet,
prayers and peace of Allah be upon him, and to make us die on
Islam, Certainly, He is All-Hearer and the Answerer.
May prayers and peace of Allah
be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his household, and his
companions.
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