Likewise, he ate whatever food was available and wore the clothing available in his city, Taybah, whether produced there or brought there from Yemen and elsewhere, because that was what Allah had made readily available to him. His food was dates, his bread was barley bread, and his fruits were fresh dates, watermelons, and cucumbers. He wore Yemeni garments because these foods and clothes were the most readily available in his land, not because of anything particular to them. Thus, someone living in another land, whose people subsist on wheat and dhura (a cereal grain), whose fruits are grapes, pomegranates, and the like, and whose clothing is silk woven outside Yemen, would not be following the Messenger—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—by deliberately going to great lengths to obtain food, fruit, and clothing unavailable in his own land and difficult for its people to procure, even if what he sought was dried dates, fresh dates, or barley bread.

It is therefore clear that following the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—necessarily requires consideration of purpose and intention:

“Actions are judged only by intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended.”

It is thus clear that the position held by the majority of the Companions and their leading figures is the correct one. Even so, Ibn Umar—may Allah be pleased with him and his father—only deliberately sought to pray in places where the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had prayed. He did not seek out the places where the Prophet had stopped or stayed in order to pray there. Nor did any of the Companions go to the cave mentioned in the Quran to visit it and pray there—even though the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his companion had stayed there for three days, offering the five daily prayers there. Nor did they go to Hirā’, the place where he used to worship before prophethood