Refuting the doubts of the people of desires regarding their indifference to imitating the disbelievers.

The Shaykh : The Muslim’s awareness of this point of difference relieves him of some of the difficulties or doubts that some of the people of desires use as an excuse, who do not care in the slightest about imitating the disbelievers in an obvious manner. So they doubt: “Well, what are the limits of imitation?” Knowledge tells us that, without a doubt, imitation has degrees, and the lowest of these degrees may be a source of difficulty, where one wonders, “Is this imitation or not?” Let us give an example: wearing a shirt with short sleeves, as some young men do. Do you see this as imitation or not? If we say it is not imitation because the phenomenon of imitation in this shirt is not strong, that is not the case with wearing trousers that cover the private parts, especially for the one who is praying. But if we move to a third example, which is the jeans, there is no doubt that the jeans have a benefit; they cover the private parts and ward off heat and cold. However, this is the clothing of the disbelievers, not the clothing of the Muslims at all. It was reported in Sahih Muslim that when a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and greeted him, he said: . My intention is that imitating the disbelievers, as the logicians say in some matters, is “a matter of gradation.” Sometimes it is clear imitation, and sometimes it is not. So we gave, for example, the shirt with short sleeves, which may not be imitation. But that is not the case with the trousers, and a fortiori, it is not the case with the jeans; because the jeans are purely the attire and traditions of the disbelievers, and they do not ward off heat or cold, but rather involve effort in their making and wearing. Then we come to the last example, wearing the cap. So imitation has degrees; some of it is cut off as imitation without any doubt whatsoever, and this is the example of the cap. And some of it is where the view hesitates, wondering, “Is it imitation or not?” And its example is the shirt. Here now the importance of difference appears, my brother. If you are not convinced that this is imitation, then differ, differ from the disbelievers. Here the importance appears: differ from them. And I am certain that if the Muslims as a nation had been guided in their behavior and in themselves by this jurisprudence, you would not find the open sinfulness of shaving the beards spreading in the Islamic world. Why? Because they found someone saying, “My brother, leaving the beard is a recommended practice. If you leave it, you have a reward, and if you shave it, there is no harm on you, because it is a recommended practice.” Even if we assume it is only a recommended practice, but you are imitating the disbelievers. No, this is not imitation, it is a custom. Well, a custom—differ in your custom from the custom of the polytheists. And perhaps you remember with me, in the rituals of Hajj, his saying (peace be upon him): regarding the departure from Muzdalifah. So one of the objectives of the Shari'ah is that the Muslim intends to differ from the polytheists. And this is a rule under which, if not thousands, then hundreds, or at least dozens, of examples fall. This is our view on the issue of wearing the wristwatch on the right hand rather than the left.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills.