Is a person rewarded if he wants to imitate the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Sunnahs of custom, such as wearing a silver ring in imitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

The questioner: That is, a Sunnah of custom. That is, if our friend Abu Faris were to say: “I wore a silver ring in imitation of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him),” and he believes that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not draw near to Allah through this, is he rewarded for his imitation?

The Shaykh: No.

The questioner: He is not rewarded for his imitation.

The Shaykh: After that, we need to tell him to grow his hair long and make braids from it.

The questioner: Now, we sin as Muslims by imitating the disbelievers because of the text, of course. Are we rewarded if we imitate the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), even in customs, with this intention—not to draw near to Allah?

The Shaykh: They are not the same.

The questioner: They are not the same.

The Shaykh: What do you say if a person prays a prayer that the Messenger prayed with one intention, and you prayed it with another intention? Do you agree with him or do you differ from him?

The questioner: You differ from him.

The Shaykh: So, if he disliked eating the date palm fruit (dhabb) and you like it, and you disliked it, does that mean you followed the Messenger (peace be upon him)?

The questioner: No.

The Shaykh: Of course, he disliked it, of course. But you disliked it by nature, so you differed from him.

The questioner: Allah is the Greatest, and by Allah, O Shaykh.