The Generality of the Hadith: Whoever Imitates a People Is One of Them
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Question:
The questioner asks: Does the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “Whoever imitates a people is one of them,” cover matters of this world and religion, or is it specific to religion only?
Answer:
It covers imitating the disbelievers. It is not permissible in matters of religion; that is more severe. Imitating them in matters of religion is more severe. Likewise, imitating them in matters of customs and traditions, walking, clothing, eating, and drinking. Imitating them in their specific matters is not permissible. It is included in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)Sunan Abi Dawud 4031Hasan Sahih (Al-Albani). Yes.
The questioner asks: Does the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “Whoever imitates a people is one of them,” cover matters of this world and religion, or is it specific to religion only?
Answer:
It covers imitating the disbelievers. It is not permissible in matters of religion; that is more severe. Imitating them in matters of religion is more severe. Likewise, imitating them in matters of customs and traditions, walking, clothing, eating, and drinking. Imitating them in their specific matters is not permissible. It is included in the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
He who copies any people is one of them.
من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، محاضرات في العقيدة والدعوة-088-مفهود العبادة في الإسلام|صالح الفوزان|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:29:03)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.