are sought out for remembrance of Allah, supplication, and proclaiming His greatness, not for prayer, unlike mosques, which are sought out for prayer. No particular place is to be singled out for worship except mosques and the designated ritual sites, where prayer and ritual worship are performed. Allah Most High says:

“Say: Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. He has no partner. This is what I have been commanded.”

As for other places, it is not recommended to seek out any particular spot for prayer, supplication, or remembrance of Allah, since neither Allah nor His Messenger has prescribed seeking it out for these purposes—even if it was a prophet’s dwelling, a place where he stayed, or somewhere he passed through.

The foundation of religion is to follow the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and conform to his guidance by doing what he commanded and prescribed for us and established as our practice. We emulate him in those actions in which he prescribed that we follow his example, unlike those matters that were exclusive to him. As for an action that he neither prescribed nor commanded for us, nor performed in a manner that established it as an example for us to follow, it is not an act of worship or a means of drawing nearer to Allah. Treating it as such therefore goes against his guidance, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Whatever permissible acts he performed without intending worship, we too may perform as permissible acts, just as he did. But is it prescribed for us to make them acts of worship and means of drawing nearer to Allah? There are two views on this, as explained earlier. Most of the early generations and scholars held that we should not make them acts of worship or means of drawing nearer to Allah. Rather, we should follow his example in the manner in which he performed them: if he did something merely as a permissible act, we do it as a permissible act; and if he did it to draw nearer to Allah, we do it to draw nearer to Allah.

Those who treated such an act as worship considered this a fuller way of following his example and resembling him. They also believed that it contained blessing because of its particular association with him.