Imitating.

Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, brothers and sisters.

InshAllaah you have been living good lives, striving for the pleasure and reward of Allaah subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that we would be among those who would live good lives here so that we could be among those who abide and have, a resting place in Jannah. And that we would be protected from the torment and punishment of the hellfire. And with Allaah is the pleasure and goodness.

So I thought that I should start and write something about imitating, today and inshAllaah it will help us in this life so that we wouldnt be falling into it. So the truth is that it is forbidden for us, as muslims to imitate any celebrity, leader or anyone who is not pious nor doing good. Because there are Hadiths which tell us, that Muhammad Sallallaahu Alayhi Salaam forbidded us from imitating. Because it makes one to behave and be like the one who he or she is imitating. But we should be taking our examples from Muhammad Sallallaahu Alayhi Salaam, as there is the Sunnah (Prophet's (saw) way/ example) which we should take as an example. Because in Sunnah it clearly states that how Prophet Sallallaahu Alayhi Salaam used to do things, how he reacted to some things, very much that how he used to live his daily life, how he treated others and these kinds of things. So as muslims we should take him as our example, not any celebrity because we can see pretty much that what they do. And mostly what they do is of no good, they use drugs, sing about non good things and they do all that just to get money. Mostly as it is their job and how they get the bread on the table.

So here are some of the Hadiths which I told about, not specifically but mentioned that there are some of Prophet's Sallallaahu Alayhi Salaam saying that imitating is forbidden.

-The prophet (S.A.W.) said, "You will surely follow the ways, steps, or traditions of those who came before you, span by span and yard by yard (very closely) even if they entered a lizard's hole you will enter it." The companions asked, "Oh prophet, you mean the Jews and Christians?" so he answered, "Who else!" [Reported by Imam Bukhari]

-The second hadith is "He is not one of us, he who imitates others. Do not imitate either the Jews or the Christians." [Reported by ImamsTermithy & Abu-Dawd]

-The third hadith is "If one imitates another nation he will be from them." [Reported by Imam Abu-Dawd]

And the things that we shouldnt be imitating, are things that the non-muslims do in their religion, their worship and their holidays. But there are things that are allowed to be imitated, such as the engineering, astronomy, computer science, and the new means of communications, etc. These things, of course, are allowed or obligatory to be used by Muslims according to their needs. The proofs to this assumption are:

- The digging of the trench around Madinah in the Battle of Al-Ahzab, which was done by the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) and his companions as a defense system was imported from Non-Muslims (Persian).
Taken from http://islam1.org/khutub/Imitation_of_None-Muslims.htm concerning the topic of imitating.

So inshAllaah this has made you think about this, brothers and sisters. As this is really a thing that we should be aware of, as there are these modern day ''idols''. Celebrities and other ppl who are imitated while they serve no good to anyone (not even to themselves sometimes). JazakAllaah Khair, and inshAllaah this has provided some information and knowledge to you. May Allaah subhanahu wa ta'la forgive me and those who may have said something that they shouldn't have said in their ignorance.

Assalaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh, brothers and sisters.