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As for “al-Aqsā Mosque,” the prophets prayed there from the time of Abraham, Allah’s close friend. As reported in the two Sahīh collections, Abū Dharr said:

“I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, which mosque was established first?’ He replied, ‘The Sacred Mosque.’ I asked, ‘Then which?’ He replied, ‘Al-Aqsā Mosque.’ I asked, ‘How much time was there between them?’ He replied, ‘Forty years. Thereafter, wherever you are when prayer falls due, pray, for it is a place of prayer.’ So many of Allah’s friends have prayed there that only Allah can count them. Solomon built this structure and asked his Lord for three things: a kingdom such as no one after him would have; judgment that accorded with His judgment; and that He forgive anyone who came to this mosque intending nothing other than to pray there.”

For this reason, Ibn ʿUmar would come from the Hijāz, enter the mosque and pray there, then leave without drinking any water there, so that Solomon’s supplication would apply to him. The Companions, and then the Successors, would come without seeking out any of the surrounding sites, nor would they travel to the town of Hebron or elsewhere.

Likewise, “our Prophet’s Mosque” was built by the best of the prophets, accompanied by the Emigrants