What is the ruling on imitating the disbelievers in their customs and industries?

The questioner : He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah bless your days. The issue of imitating the enemies: the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade that for noble reasons. Since the enemies, whoever they are, have importance and products they use, how can we benefit from the good they have without falling into imitation? And do the unlegislated interests have a share in this issue?

The Shaykh : Yes, what the enemies of Allah the Exalted and our enemies, who are the disbelievers, do, is divided into three categories: acts of worship, customs, and industries and works. As for acts of worship, it is well known that no Muslim can imitate them in their acts of worship. Whoever imitates them in their acts of worship is in great danger; it may lead to his disbelief and his exit from Islam.
As for customs, such as clothing and the like, it is forbidden to imitate them, based on the saying of the Prophet As for industries and crafts that contain general benefits, there is no harm in learning from what they have made and benefiting from it. This is not a matter of imitation, but rather a matter of participating in beneficial works, in which one who does so is not considered to be imitating them. As for the questioner’s statement, “Do all unlegislated interests fall under this?” We say that the original establishment of unlegislated interests should not be made an independent proof. Rather, we say: if we verify that these unlegislated interests are a benefit, then the Shari'ah has testified to their validity and acceptance, and they become part of the Shari'ah. If the Shari'ah testifies to their harm, then they are not unlegislated interests, even if their doer claims they are unlegislated interests. If it is neither of these, then they revert to the default ruling. If they are from acts of worship, the default ruling for acts of worship is prohibition. If they are from other than acts of worship, the default ruling for them is preservation. Yes, yes.