and it has persisted as an established custom. All this confirms the Prophet’s words, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“You will surely follow the ways of those who came before you.”

If following them even in small matters is a means of leading to some of these abominations, it is forbidden. What, then, if it leads to disbelief in Allah, such as seeking blessings through the cross, undergoing baptism, or saying, “The One worshipped is the same, even if the paths differ,” and similar statements and actions? These imply either that the Christian or Jewish religious law—both altered and abrogated—leads to Allah; approval of some of their teachings that contradict Allah’s religion; adopting such teachings as religious practice; or other things that constitute disbelief in Allah, His Messenger, the Quran, and Islam, without any disagreement within the Muslim community. The root of all this is resembling them and participating in their practices.

This makes clear to you the excellence of the upright monotheistic law, and some of the wisdom behind Allah’s prescribing for His Messenger that Muslims remain distinct from the disbelievers and differ from them in matters generally. Such distinctness more decisively cuts off evil at its source and keeps people further from falling into what others have fallen into.

Thus, if a Muslim’s family and children ask him for any of these things, he should direct them instead to what Allah and His Messenger have provided, and give them their due on Allah’s festival in a way that ends their longing for any other. If they are not satisfied, then there is no power and no strength except