Are there guidelines and rules by which one can know if a Muslim is imitating a disbeliever and if a man is imitating a woman?

The questioner : If you would permit me, O our Shaykh, are there any rules or guidelines to know whether this falls under the category of imitating the polytheists or not? Or whether that falls under the category of women imitating men or men imitating women? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : First, you must mention two legal principles. The first principle, to which your question relates, is imitation, whether it is a Muslim imitating a disbeliever, or a man imitating a woman, or a woman imitating a man. This is the first principle, and upon it your clarification and question are based. The other principle
- the adhan is called andThe Shaykh : he repeats with it Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar -
and this is a deviation from the polytheists. So if you keep the second principle in mind, you will not feel the need to ask the question related to the first principle. Is this clear, or does it need clarification?

The questioner : It needs clarification.

The Shaykh : It needs clarification. Now, regarding the first principle: Imitation occurs in something that is specific to disbelievers by custom, so the matter returns to custom. We give an example of this: the beret. There is no doubt that the matter remains such that it is a symbol of disbelievers. Here come all the hadiths that revolve around the prohibition of imitation, including his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): We take the opposite image of this entirely, which is a matter shared by many non-Muslim peoples or nations, but this matter has spread among Muslims, so it has become a normal matter. This matter is not specific to disbelievers to the exclusion of Muslims. Here comes the second principle: which is the intention to deviate from the polytheists. Deviating from the polytheists is more specific than imitation, meaning that every imitation in which a Muslim falls, he has contradicted his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And not every matter in which a Muslim deviates from the polytheists, if he does not contradict the truth that it is imitation, so there is generality and specificity between the two principles, as the jurists say. For example, from our reality today, as I have said repeatedly.