Accordingly, when the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—migrated to Madinah he remained there only a few days before erecting his blessed mosque. Anas ibn Mālik—may Allah be pleased with him—recounted:

“The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—arrived in Madinah and settled in the upper quarter of the town, in a district belonging to Banū ʿAmr ibn ʿAwf. He stayed with them for 14 nights, after which he ordered that a mosque be built. He sent for a group from Banū al-Najjār and said, ‘O Banū al-Najjār, name a price for this plot of yours.’ They replied, ‘By Allah, we will seek no payment for it except from Allah alone.’ The site contained graves of idolaters, some ruins, and date-palms. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—thereupon commanded that the idolaters’ graves be exhumed, the ruins leveled, and the palms cut down. The palm trunks were then arranged to form the qiblah wall of the mosque, its door-posts were made of stone, and they began to carry the rocks while chanting verses. The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—was with them, saying as he carried the bricks:

‘This is burden-bearing, not the burden of Khaybar; (1)
before our Lord it is more pious and purer.’

And he would also say:

‘O Allah, no good is there save the good of the Hereafter;
so forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants.’

In another wording:

‘O Allah, the reward is the reward of the Hereafter;
so have mercy on the Ansar and the Emigrants.’

We have cited the report in abridged form. After his words ‘14 nights’ it continues:

‘Then he sent for Banū al-Najjār, and they came with their swords girded. It is as though I can still see the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—upon his mount, with Abū Bakr riding behind him and the men of Banū al-Najjār surrounding him, until he reached the courtyard of Abū Ayyūb. He loved to pray wherever the prayer time found him and would pray even in sheepfolds. He then ordered… etc.’