Following the ways of the predecessors

📖Sahih al-Bukhari 3456
Narrated Abu Sa`id: The Prophet ﷺ said: “You will follow the wrong ways of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there.” We said, “O Allah’s Messenger! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?” He replied, “Whom else?”

Description:

This hadith is a warning, not a command. The Prophet ﷺ was informing the Ummah that many Muslims in the future would blindly imitate the ways and lifestyles of previous nations, specifically the Jews and Christians, even when their actions were misguided or harmful. The phrase “hole of a mastigure” is metaphorical — it means Muslims will imitate them even in the most irrational or humiliating things, This imitation is not forced. It will happen because many believers will lose confidence in their own Islamic values and start viewing other cultures as superior. As a result, they will follow trends, customs, and ideologies that are alien to Islam without questioning.

1. Fashion trends – Muslims adopting immodest clothing because it’s popular in Western media.
2. Food culture – Following dietary trends without concern for halal or health.
3. Festivals – Celebrating non-Islamic holidays like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, or Christmas.
4. Lifestyles – Pursuing materialism and individualism as promoted in Western societies.
5. Relationships – Accepting dating culture, cohabitation, or views on marriage that conflict with Islam.
6. Entertainment – Consuming media that promotes values against Islamic teachings.
7. Ideologies – Following modern “woke” or liberal movements that contradict Islamic morals and beliefs.

Reminder:

The hadith serves as a reminder to believers: just because the majority are doing something, it doesn’t mean it’s right. Muslims are supposed to observe, reflect, and choose the path of truth, not blindly follow others.

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Quranic Context:

📖Quran 2:120
And never will the Jews or the Christians be pleased with you until you follow their religion. Say, “Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance.”

This verse emphasizes that trying to gain acceptance by imitating others won’t earn Allah’s pleasure, nor theirs.

📖Quran 5:51
O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you—then indeed, he is [one] of them.

This verse is not about coexistence, but about loyalty and identity. When Muslims imitate others in lifestyle, belief, and values, they slowly lose their own identity.

📖Quran 6:116
And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah.

Blindly following popular culture or mass opinion can easily take one away from Allah’s path.