Verily, you will follow those before you, span by span and cubit by cubit

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs what some people from his Ummah will be like, after his time, as they would strictly follow the way of the Jews and Christians in their beliefs, deeds, habits, and traditions, span by span and cubit by cubit, even if they entered the hole of a lizard, they would enter behind them.

Lessons

• This is one of the signs of his prophethood, as he foretold it before it occurred, and it happened just as he said.
• It is forbidden for Muslims to imitate the disbelievers, whether in their beliefs, acts of worship, festivals, or costumes.
• Clarification of abstract meanings through tangible examples is one of the educational methods in Islam.
• Dabb: an animal whose whole is extremely dark and has a nasty smell. It is from the reptiles that are frequently found in deserts. The hole of the Dabb is particularly mentioned because it is so narrow and bad, and despite this, if they entered such a bad and narrow place, they would follow them—out of following their traces and adopting their methods—and Allah is the One to be sought for help.