THIRD REMINDER. Friday. IMITATING THE KUFFAR. Bismillah. Let's continue from the second REMINDER; The second type is imitation that is permissible. This means doing something which is not originally taken from the kuffaar, but the kuffaar do it too. This does not involve a prohibition on resembling them, but one may miss out on the benefits of differing from them.  Imitating or resembling the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) and others with regard to worldly matters is permissible only when the following conditions are met:  1. That should not be any of their traditions or rituals by which they are distinguished. 2. That should not be part of their religion. A matter can be proven to be part of their religion though a trustworthy source, such as an aayah of the Qur’aan or a hadeeth of His Messenger, or via well-established reports, such as the prostration of greeting which was permitted to the previous nations. 3. That should not be anything in Islam which refers specifically to that matter. If there is a specific reference in Islam, either approving or disapproving of it, then we must follow what our religion says about it. 4. This resemblance should not lead to going against any of the commands of sharee’ah. 5. That should not involve celebrating any of their festivals. 6. The resemblance should be only according to what is needed, and no more.  May ALLAH keep guiding us and protect us from any satanic influences. Aameen.