Dought & clear - , Ruling on imitating thekuffaar, and the meaning of the phrase, “What the Muslims think is good is good before Allaah” .

What is the Islamic ruling on the issue of imitating the kuffaar in
their customs and dealings? What are the guidelines concerning that in
Islamic sharee'ah? Is every imitation of the actions of the kuffaar
regarded as a haraam kind of imitation – knowing thatthere are many
things that the kaafirs do that are not haraam and are not condemned
by sharee'ah, where the one who does them does not do them merelyto
imitate the kuffaar, but because he thinks those things are good, as
Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "What the Muslims
think is good is good before Allaah"?
Please advise us, may Allaah honour you, and please give me a detailed
answer and explain to me the guidelines on this matter.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The Muslims have no need to imitate any of the other nations in
matters of religious rituals and acts of worship, for Allaah has
perfected His religion and completed His Favour, and chosen for us
Islam as our religion, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
"This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour
upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion"
[al-Maa'idah 5:3]
Islam forbids the Muslimsto imitate the kuffaar, especially the Jews
and Christians, but this prohibition does not apply to all their
affairs, rather it applies to matters of their religion and things
that are unique to them, by which they are known.
It was narrated from AbuSa'eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "You will certainly follow the ways of those who came before you
hand span by hand span,cubit by cubit, to the extent that if they
entered the hole of a lizard, you will enter it too." We said: "O
Messenger of Allaah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?" He
said: "Who else?" Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1397; Muslim, 4822.
This hadeeth indicates that it is haraam to imitate the Jews and the
Christians, and that those who follow them and tread the same path as
them are criticized. Islam has reinforced this prohibition, by
describing those who imitate the kuffaar as being of them.
It was narrated that 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umar said: The Prophet (peaceand
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever imitates a people is
one of them." Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3512; classed assaheeh by
al-Albaani in Irwa' al-Ghaleel, 2691.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This at the very least indicates that it is haraam to imitate them,
although the apparent meaning is that the one who imitates them is a
kaafir.
Iqtida' al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem, 237.
The one who imitates the kuffaar feels that inferior and defeated,
sohe hastens to make up for his feelings of inadequacy by imitating
those whom he admires.If these people were to ponder the greatness of
Islamic sharee'ah and understand how corruptis that civilization they
are running after, they would realize that they are doing wrong and
that they have forsaken something that is perfectand true for
something that is imperfect and corrupt.
Secondly:
The types of imitation which are forbidden to us are many.
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan said:
The things in which the kuffaar are imitated include acts of worship,
such as imitating them in matters of shirk, such as building
(structures) over graves, building shrines and exaggerating about
them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"May the curse of Allaah be upon the Jews and the Christians, for they
took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship." Al-Bukhaari,
425; Muslim,531. And he told us that when a righteous man among them
died, they would build a place of worship over his grave, and install
images therein, and that they were the most evil of mankind.
Al-Bukhaari, 417; Muslim, 528. Nowadays there are instances of major
shirk because of exaggerationconcerning graves, as is well known to
scholars and ordinary folk alike. The cause of that is imitation of
the Jews and Christians.
Another example is their imitation of the festivals of shirk and
bid'ah, such as birthday celebrations,whether it is the birthday of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or the
birthdays of presidents and kings. Or these festivals of bid'ah and
shirk may be namedafter days or weeks, such as a country's national
day or independence day, or Mother's Day, or hygieneweek, and other
days or weeks that are celebrated. All of these have come to the
Muslims from the kuffaar, for Islam has only two festivals: Eid
al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. Anything else is bid'ah and an imitation of
the kuffaar.
From a khutbah entitled al-Hathth 'ala Mukhaalafat al-Kuffaar
(Exhortation to be distinct from the kuffaar)
In the answer to question no. 47060 we have stated that it is
forbidden to imitate the kuffaar in the clothing that is unique to
them and in the customs that are unique to them, suchas imitating them
by shaving the beard.
Thirdly:
The prohibition on imitating the kuffaar applies to their acts of
worship and the customsthat are unique to them and by which they are
distinguished, not the things that they do and invent from which we
may benefit. There is no sin on the Muslims if they share in that,
ratherthe Muslims should be in the forefront of such things.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen said:
With regard to the phrase "imitation of the kuffaar", that does not
mean that we should notuse anything that they have manufactured. No
one says such a thing. At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and afterwards the people used to wear clothes
made by the kuffaar anduse vessels made by them.
Imitation of the kuffaar means imitating their clothing and
appearance, and the customs that are unique to them. It does not mean
that we should notride what they ride or wear what they wear. But if
they ride in a specific way that is unique to them, then weshould not
ride in that way. If they tailor their clothes in a certain fashion
that is unique to them, we should not do likewise. But if we have cars
that are similar to theirs and fabric that is similar to theirs, there
is nothing wrong with that.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 12, question 177.
And he said:
The definition of imitating is when the imitator does somethingthat is
unique to those whom he is imitating. Imitation of the kuffaar refers
to when a Muslim does something that is one of their unique
characteristics. With regard to that which hasbecome widespread among
the Muslims and is no longer something by which the kuffaar
aredistinguished, then this is not imitation of the kuffaar, and it is
not haraam because it is an imitation, unless it is haraam for some
other reason. What we have said is what is indicated by the meaning of
the word tashabbuh (imitation).
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 12, question 198.
In the answer to question no. 21694 you will find a detailed
discussion of the ruling on imitating the kuffaar.See question no.
43160 for further details.
Fourthly:
There are both beneficial things and harmful things in non-Muslim
civilization. We should not ignore the good things and take the
harmful things. This attitude was summed up by Shaykh al-Shanqeeti
(may Allaahhave mercy on him) whosaid:
Our attitude towards western civilization may be one of four things,
and there is no fifth:
1- Ignoring this civilization, good points and bad alike.
2- Adopting it in whole, good points and bad.
3- Adopting the bad things and not the good.
4- Adopting the good things and not the bad.
The first three are undoubtedly wrong and only one of them is
undoubtedly good, which is the last one.
Adwa' al-Bayaan, 4/382.
Fifthly:
With regard to the words of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be
pleased with him), "What the Muslims think is good is good before
Allaah", this does not refer to things that go against sharee'ah but
which may be deemed good on the basis of rational thinking. Imam
al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:"Whoever thinks
something is good issuing a ruling." It does not refer to when one
person thinks a thing is good but the majority ofpeople do not. Rather
this phrase may be interpreted in one of two ways, both of whichare
sound:
1 – That what is meant istraditions and customs that do not go against sharee'ah
2 – That what is meant isthe proof of scholarly consensus, for the
Muslims are unanimouslyagreed that thinking a thing is good is
consensus which counts as evidence. So this thing must be good before
Allaah as well. This is what is indicated by the words, "What the
Muslims think is good."
See al-Mabsoot by al-Sarkhasi, 12/138' al-Faroosiyyah by Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 298.
These interpretations mentioned above are applicable if we take
thewords of Ibn Mas'ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) as applying
to all the Muslims in general. But from the context it seems that he
is referring to the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) only, and not others. What Ibn Mas'ood said was:
"Allaah looked into the hearts of His slaves and found that the heart
of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was the best
of all His slaves' hearts. So He chose him for Himself and sent him
with His Message. Then He looked into the hearts of all His slaves
after the heart of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and He found that the hearts of his companions were the best of
all His slaves' hearts, so He made them the helpers of His Prophet,
fighting for thesake of his religion. So what the Muslims think is
good is good before Allaah and whatever the Muslims think is bad is
bad before Allaah."
Narrated by Ahmad, 3418; classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani in
Takhreej al-Tahhaawiyyah, 530.
Whatever the case, it is not correct to quote the words of Ibn Mas'ood
(may Allaah be pleased with him) as evidence for thinking as good that
which is forbidden in Islam, such as imitating the mushrikeen.
And Allaah knows best.