The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade imitating the disbelievers, yet he sometimes spoke their language and dug the trench?
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The questioner : May Allah forgive you, O honorable Shaykh. There are texts that forbid and warn against imitating the disbelievers. It is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the language of the disbelievers in his saying: It is also established that he dug the trench, meaning it was not known before that this was a method of the Muslims. How do we reconcile these texts?
The Shaykh : Imitating the disbelievers, may Allah bless you, applies to what is specific to them, not to their language, nor to taking from their crafts and experiences. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to learn the language of the Jews. He gave the order to learn the language of the Jews in order to read their books and respond to them in their language. This is not a matter of imitation. Imitation is to imitate what is specific to them, such as wearing their clothing, or naming with their specific names, or the like of that.
As for imitating them in what is beneficial in crafts and other matters, there is no harm in that. Yes, that is correct.
The questioner : What is the meaning of "specific characteristics of the Shaykh"?
The Shaykh : For example, currently there is a specific dress for the disbelievers in their clothing such that if you see this man, you say, "This is one of the disbelievers." This is forbidden for him. Similarly, if we assume that they style their hair in a specific way, it is not permissible to imitate them in that. As for what is external, it has no effect and does not harm.
This is the Sunnah, O Umm Khalid.
هذا سنه يا أم خالدThe Shaykh : Imitating the disbelievers, may Allah bless you, applies to what is specific to them, not to their language, nor to taking from their crafts and experiences. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to learn the language of the Jews. He gave the order to learn the language of the Jews in order to read their books and respond to them in their language. This is not a matter of imitation. Imitation is to imitate what is specific to them, such as wearing their clothing, or naming with their specific names, or the like of that.
As for imitating them in what is beneficial in crafts and other matters, there is no harm in that. Yes, that is correct.
The questioner : What is the meaning of "specific characteristics of the Shaykh"?
The Shaykh : For example, currently there is a specific dress for the disbelievers in their clothing such that if you see this man, you say, "This is one of the disbelievers." This is forbidden for him. Similarly, if we assume that they style their hair in a specific way, it is not permissible to imitate them in that. As for what is external, it has no effect and does not harm.