Resemblance (fiqh)

According to Shafi‘i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Ibn al-Madini, Abu Dawud and al-Daraqutni, human actions and so resemblance are classified into three types:^[6][7]

• Natural (intrinsic/innate acts), such as eating, drinking, sleeping, resemblance does not apply to these.

• Customary acts, such as eating habits or clothing, resemblance in these may be prohibited.

• Voluntary acts, such as marriage or sources of livelihood, resemblance can also apply to these.

According to a hadith (Sunan Abi Dawud 4031), "مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ" — "Whoever imitates a people is one of them."^[8]Imitating non-Muslims in religious matters, beliefs, or essential religious practices can lead to disbelief, such as worshipping idols or celestial bodies, disrespecting a prophet, the Holy Quran or the Holy Kabah, or belittling a Sunnah. Some acts are considered signs of disbelief, such as wearing a zunnar (belt), a specific hat or marking the forehead like non-Muslims. Those who commit these acts are considered disbelievers, and they must reconvert to Islam and renew their marriage contracts.^[9] Such acts, whether wearing a belt or a specific hat, are considered disbelief.^[10] Placing a specific hat on the head and saying "the heart should be upright" is also disbelief as it involves denial of the apparent rulings of Sharia.^[11] Insulting religious scholars without reason is also disbelief, such as seating a scholar on a pulpit and mocking or striking with a pillow.^[12] Imitating or mocking scholars with the intention of disrespecting the inheritors of prophets constitutes disbelief, and if a person contemptuously calls a scholar “Awalim” or “Alavi,” they become a disbeliever.^[13][14][15]