the wisdom that arises from the very act in which we resemble them or differ from them, and from the fact of sharing in it with them. This, in most cases, is what lies behind the imitation that has been enjoined or the divergence that has been forbidden. One must therefore be alert to this point, for it is through it that we grasp Allah’s prohibition against following them or resembling them, whether in absolute terms or in limited particulars.

I say: This link between the outward and the inward was affirmed by the Prophet ﷺ in the statement related by al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to straighten our rows until it was as though he were setting arrow-shafts1 in place. When he saw that we had understood, he came out one day and said, ‘Servants of Allah, you must certainly straighten your rows, or Allah will cause your faces to differ’—and in another wording, ‘your hearts.’2”

He thereby indicated that outward disparity—even in nothing more than aligning the rows—leads to disparity of hearts, showing that what is outward affects what is inward. For that reason we find him ﷺ forbidding people to scatter even when they sit together, and two hadiths now come to mind on this point:

1- From Jābir ibn Samurah who said: