The Sahabah used to follow the teachings and practice of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in all situations. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar was one of the keenest of them to follow him in all circumstances, to the extent that he would try hard to seek out the places where the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had prayed on his journeys, and pray in those places, seeking blessing (barakah) and out of love for him. In this hadith, Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to halt in Dhu Tuwa – which is the name of a well or a place near Makkah – until morning came, then he would pray Fajr when he came to Makkah from Madinah. The place where he prayed was on a broad area of high ground, which was a spacious area that was higher than the land surrounding it, or a rocky hill. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not pray in the mosque that was built there subsequently; rather he prayed further than that mosque, according to what Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said. Al-Bukhari narrated nine hadiths from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar identifying the places in which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed during his journeys on the way between Madinah and Makkah, including this hadith. It was said that these mosques are not known today, except for the mosque in Dhul Hulayfah and the mosques in ar-Rawha’. It was narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to forbid the people to seek blessing (barakah) from the places in which the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had prayed, fearing that they would ascribe to those places some inherent virtue. This prohibition on his part was by way of blocking a means that may lead to shirk. As for the places concerning which there is a religious text that speaks of the virtue of praying there – such as the Haramayn, al-Aqsa, Quba’ and so on, and also going to any mosques to pray, and even what was narrated about mosques in which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prayed, that is not included in this prohibition..