What is the meaning of the statement, “Whoever imitates a people is one of them”?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner asks about the saying of the ProphetMishkat al-Masabih 4347. Does this mean that he is one of them in disbelief?
The Shaykh:
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says that the least of the states of this hadith is that it indicates the prohibition of imitation. This is the least of its states, even though its apparent meaning indicates that the imitator is a disbeliever. Imitation has categories: some of it is disbelief, such as imitating them in calling upon the dead and seeking aid from the dead. This is disbelief.
And some of it is a major sin among the major sins, such as building on graves. This is a major sin and a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah). And some of it is a sin, such as imitating them in clothing, shaving the beard, and lengthening the mustache. This is a forbidden sin, but it does not necessitate disbelief. Yes. May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father.
Imitation that is disliked (makruh) is like imitating them in leaving the dyeing of white hair. This is disliked because white hair is not of their making, but rather it is of Allah’s making. However, they were commanded to change it, only to change it with something other than black, in order to differ from the Jews, because the Jews do not dye their hair. Yes, this is for dislike, not for prohibition. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah guide you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says:
The Shaykh:
Some imams and some of the great scholars did not dye their hair because dyeing is not obligatory. That is, they did not dye it; they did not change the white hair because they understood it to be for dislike, not for prohibition. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh Abdul Latif, and Shaykh Ibn Sa’di, none of them dyed their hair. Yes.
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner asks about the saying of the Prophet
God’s messenger as saying, “He who copies any people is one of them.”
صلى الله عليه وسلم من تشبه بقوم فهو منهمThe Shaykh:
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says that the least of the states of this hadith is that it indicates the prohibition of imitation. This is the least of its states, even though its apparent meaning indicates that the imitator is a disbeliever. Imitation has categories: some of it is disbelief, such as imitating them in calling upon the dead and seeking aid from the dead. This is disbelief.
And some of it is a major sin among the major sins, such as building on graves. This is a major sin and a means to shirk (associating partners with Allah). And some of it is a sin, such as imitating them in clothing, shaving the beard, and lengthening the mustache. This is a forbidden sin, but it does not necessitate disbelief. Yes. May Allah reward you, Your Eminence, father.
Imitation that is disliked (makruh) is like imitating them in leaving the dyeing of white hair. This is disliked because white hair is not of their making, but rather it is of Allah’s making. However, they were commanded to change it, only to change it with something other than black, in order to differ from the Jews, because the Jews do not dye their hair. Yes, this is for dislike, not for prohibition. Yes.
The questioner:
May Allah guide you, Your Eminence, father. The questioner says:
The Shaykh:
Some imams and some of the great scholars did not dye their hair because dyeing is not obligatory. That is, they did not dye it; they did not change the white hair because they understood it to be for dislike, not for prohibition. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), Shaykh Abdul Latif, and Shaykh Ibn Sa’di, none of them dyed their hair. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما معنى قوله «من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم»؟ للشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.