deeds in turn begets new sensations and states within the heart. Allah sent Muhammad ﷺ with wisdom—that is, with his Sunnah, the divinely ordained law and straight path. Part of that wisdom was to prescribe for him words and deeds that stand apart from the way of those who have incurred wrath and of those who have gone astray. He therefore commanded us to differ from them in outward conduct, even if many people cannot see any harm in resembling them, for several reasons:

1. Sharing the same outward conduct breeds affinity and likeness between those who resemble one another, and this, in turn, leads to conformity in character and action. This is something palpable: whoever dons the garb of the scholars feels himself somehow aligned with them, whereas one who wears the attire of fighting soldiers, for example, feels himself adopting some of their manners; his very nature begins to incline that way unless something restrains him.

2. Conversely, differing from them in outward conduct creates a clear separation that cuts one off from the causes of divine anger and the paths of misguidance, while drawing one toward the people of guidance and divine pleasure. It realizes the severance of loyalty that Allah has decreed between His victorious army and His doomed enemies. The more alive a heart is, and the more truly it understands Islam—the Islam I mean here is not a mere outward label nor a vague inner assent—the more keenly it senses its inward and outward distance from Jews and Christians, and the more vehemently it recoils from the traits of theirs that are present in some Muslims.

3. Sharing their outward conduct blurs visible distinctions until the apparent line between the rightly guided who enjoy Allah’s approval and those who have incurred wrath and gone astray disappears—along with other prudent reasons as well.