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Does hanging a small jar of olive oil from a chain around the neck, for moisturizing and adornment, constitute imitation of non-Muslims?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is forbidden to wear a necklace if it is a custom specific to disbelievers or polytheists, even if it is for adornment or has a benefit; this is based on the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them." However, if it is not a characteristic specific to disbelievers, then there is no objection to it. The criterion for forbidden imitation is that the action must be exclusive to a particular group and not performed by others.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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