Respected listeners, Allah has taught us a certain dua (prayer/supplication) in sura al-Fatihah (the first chapter of the Koran) which we read not once but so many times each day.

Sura al-Fatihah is known as the key to the Koran, the opening book of the Koran, the opening chapter of the Koran, the essence of the Koran, the mother of the Koran, the core of the Koran, the seven great, oft-repeated verses of the Koran. It is undoubtedly the most famous sura (chapter) of the Koran. And we recite it not once but so many times each day, both in salah (daily prayers) as well as out of salah.

Towards the end (of sura al-Fatihah), Allah tells us to make a dua of him, to ask him for something, and that dua is: "Oh Allah, guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favoured, not the path of those upon whom your wrath descended, your anger descended, and nor the path of those who went astray."

Now we make this dua every single day. We are constantly praying to Allah to show us the way of those whom he favoured. And who are those? The people whom Allah favoured are the prophets, the extremely honest, upright and trustworthy people, the martyrs and the pious. So when we pray to Allah we are asking that Allah shows us the way of these people and enables us to follow in their footsteps.

We should be making the dua and we do. But how profoundly, how deeply, how much from within, with how much attention and devotion do we actually make this dua to Allah: oh Allah, guide us to the straight path...and not the path of two groups of people Allah describes at the end of sura al-Fatihah: "DO NOT GUIDE US TO THE PATH OF THOSE UPON WHOM YOUR ANGER AND WRATH DESCENDED, NAMELY THE JEWS, AND NOR THE PATH OF THOSE WHO WENT ASTRAY, MEANING, NAMELY, THE CHRISTIANS."

And we pray to Allah: "Do not allow us to follow in the footsteps of these Yahoud (Jews) and Nasara (Christians), of anyone upon whom your anger descended or anyone who went astray from your path." And we make this dua but with how much attention, with how much sincerity and devotion?Well, we should only look at ourselves because strangely, ironically, our own choices, our own actions, our own behaviour, belie our dua.

We make a dua to Allah in each salah: "Oh Allah, do not allow us to follow in the footsteps of these Yahoud and the Nasara and the kuffar (unbelievers)" and straight after dua, straight after salah, we return to our everyday lives..., we make this dua and we go home and celebrate Christmas. We make this dua in salah and we go back to our workplace and live like the Yahoud, the Nasara and the kuffar. We make this dua in salah and we go home and indulge and engage in all the activities of the Yahoud and the Nasara, many of which are haraam (forbidden).

We go, and OF OUR OWN CONSCIOUS CHOICE WE DECIDE TO, WE CHOOSE TO LIVE, ACT, WORK, BEHAVE, ENJOY AND PLAY JUST LIKE THE KUFFAR. Not only that, EAT, DRINK, DRESS JUST LIKE THE KUFFAR. In fact, whilst we are making this dua we are living like the kuffar; whilst we are making this dua we are dressed like the kuffar.Now, I will be speaking of the dangers of imitating the kuffar, in general. ALLAH HAS INSTRUCTED US IN THE KORAN IN MANY VERSES NOT TO BE IN ALLIANCE WITH THE KUFFAR. That general warning is enough. Allah forbids that I should even come close to committing that sin. We have to show a willingness to distance ourselves from the path of the kuffar and adopt the path of the pious and the believers. It's a mockery of Allah's religion.

So, how do we follow the kuffar, how do we imitate the disbelievers? In so many different ways, and all the way from the individual to the leaders, from small communities to whole Muslim countries, from one family to Muslim governments. We all imitate the kuffar in so many different and so many haraam ways.

ALLAH HAS WARNED US IN THE KORAN, DO NOT BEFRIEND THE KUFFAR, DO NOT ALIGN YOURSELVES WITH THE KUFFAR.

The verses are so many and so numerous I can't recite every one of them. In one verse Allah says: "Oh believers, do not take the Yahoud and the Nasara, the Jews and the Christians, as awliya."

Now the word awliya is the plural of wali. The word wali means many different things. It means friend, it means guardian, it means protector, it means master, it means ally and many other things.