The more vibrant the heart and the deeper its acquaintance with Islam—meaning Islam in its true sense, not a mere outward label nor a bare inward acceptance in general terms—the keener its feeling of separation from Jews and Christians both inwardly and outwardly, and the stronger its aversion to the traits of theirs that have found their way into some Muslims.

Among the attendant harms is that sharing their outward practices inevitably produces outward mingling, until the visible distinction between the rightly guided, who enjoy divine approval, and those who have incurred wrath and gone astray is blurred, along with other legal considerations to be mentioned.

This, moreover, is when the outward practice in question is, in itself, purely permissible were it stripped of the resemblance to them. If, however, it is one of the very causes of their disbelief, then it is a branch of disbelief; conforming to them in it is therefore participation in one of the kinds of their disobedience.

This is a foundational principle that must be carefully noted.