Discussion of the issue that the outward appearance is an indicator of the inner state, and providing examples of this.

The Shaykh : The outward appearance is an indicator of the inner state, contrary to what many people who do not reason suppose. Perhaps it would be beneficial to remind people of one or more examples that most people overlook, which have a connection to the rectitude or corruption of the heart. This is what the majority of Muslims, especially the youth among them, have been afflicted with: dressing up and imitating the disbelievers. The worst of this imitation is in matters that explicitly contradict the authentic hadiths, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . First, shaving the beard contradicts this explicit command: . Second, it is an imitation of the Christians, as you heard in the hadith and as is the reality. I do not wish to prolong the discussion of this issue, despite its importance, because I only touched upon it incidentally. Part of this dressing up is turning away from the dress of Muslims in their countries. Each one of them should preserve the dress of his country, but we see Muslims in all countries, despite their differing customs and attire, as indicated by what we observe in this country which gathers people from all corners of the lands of Islam. We find many styles of dress, but no uniformity among them. There is no problem with this, because the Wise Lawgiver did not obligate Muslims to adopt a specific dress that they must adhere to. However, at the same time, He obligated them not to adopt a specific dress that is the dress of the disbelievers. It is as if Muslims today have agreed to unify their attire according to the non-Muslim European pattern. Therefore, you find the Syrian, the Egyptian, the [blank], the [blank], and the [blank], and so on, all wearing the shirt and trousers, a European style, and few of them preserve the dress of their country.
This imitation has its effective impact on the hearts of Muslims without them realizing or being aware of it at all. Therefore, we must concern ourselves, among other things, with rectifying the outward appearance as well as the inner state. This is because this rectification of the outward appearance leads to rectitude in the inner state, and corrupting the outward appearance leads to corruption and wickedness in the inner state.
This is a word I intended, or was inspired, to say on the occasion of that dispersion that occurred among some of you when you found the ground empty without any crowd. We want to maintain proper conduct. We are not forced to do so, but rather we are among those who follow the commands of the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his authentic Sunnah.