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The question

Does the noble Hadith, "Whoever imitates a people is one of them," include those who imitate Muslims without being Muslim, and is such a person thereby considered a Muslim?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

One who imitates Muslims is not considered a monotheistic Muslim unless he pronounces the two testimonies of faith (Shahadatain). His deeds are not accepted, nor is he rewarded for them, until he affirms the Oneness of God, as Allah Almighty says: "And whoever desires other than Islam as a religion – never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers" (Quran 3:85). The Prophet, peace be upon him, clarified that whoever among this nation, be he a Jew or a Christian, hears of him and then does not believe in him, he will be among the dwellers of the Hellfire. As for the good deeds performed by a disbeliever, they have no value because they were not done on the basis of faith, as Allah Almighty says: "And We will approach what they did of deeds and make them as scattered dust" (Quran 25:23). However, if a disbeliever embraces Islam and dies upon Islam, he will benefit from those deeds and be rewarded for them, as stated in the noble : "You embraced Islam with what good you had done previously."

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Where this answer came from
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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
143436
Imported
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Source text, unreviewed
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