Imitation of the disbelievers is one of the most undermined sins yet one of the most damaging. Look at the state of the ummah today vs what we were. We went from a united nation that based our values from Allah’s religion, we competed in justice, generosity, and modesty. We had honorable and selfless goals to benefit our community. Today we are divided, we are intolerant and cut off ties for petty reasons, our life goals revolve around ourselves for materialistic gains, we take disbelievers as role-models and compete in having the most luxury, the most friends, the most likes/followers, the best looks, so on. May Allah guide us, this is all an imitation of the disbelievers that has led us to lose our strength. And this is why Allah blocks this path right from the start. To us, the rulings against plucking eyebrows, shaving beard, certain hairstyles and clothing, and other imitations, may all feel like negligible matters. We may think, why does it matter to Allah? Think about it, does a child closely imitate their older sibling for other than love and admiration? These so called small acts seed our love for the disbelievers, it grows and grows until you look at a group of people and cannot tell the believers apart from the disbelievers, both in appearance and values. The Prophet (SAW) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” [Abu Dawood 3512, saheeh by al-Albaani]

Dear ummah, the path of disbelief leads towards nothing but destruction. Yet we are imitating their actions while neglecting Allah’s rulings which He based off great wisdom that takes into account our human nature in order to lead us to a path of success in this world and the after. Take heed the warning of the Prophet of Allah: “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?” [al-Bukhaari 1397, Muslim 4822]