It is firmly established from the Companions that they used to seek blessings through certain things from his body which had separated from his body, such as his hair, or the water from the wudhoo’ or blood etc. These hadeeths have come in the two Saheehs and are authentic.

The Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) has been given the greatest rank of barakah, more than all the other Messengers and from his various parts (such as hair etc.) barakah is brought about and it is permissible to seek barakah through them. A group from the Companions used to do this.

As for seeking barakah from the places where the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) went, such as a place in which he stopped and rested (on a journey) or a place in which he prayed or where he placed his foot or placed his hand etc., then there is no text or evidence that has been reported which shows that the barakah of the physical essence rubbed off onto these places such that they possessed barakah of the physical essence and that tabarruk should be made through them. And for this reason, none of the Sahaabah used to do this, neither during his life nor after his life.

Therefore, wherever the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) went or stopped then it is not correct to seek tabarruk through these things, this in this there is a glorification of such things and places for which it is not permissible for us to glorify and also this is one of the avenues which leads to shirk. Never did a people follow up the tracks of their Prophets except that they went astray.

Umar forbade this practice. Ma’roor bin Suwaid al-Asadi said, "I went along with Umar (from Makkah to Madinah). When we arose in the morning, Umar saw people going in a certain direction. He said, ‘Where are they going?’ and they said, ‘They are going to a mosque in which the Prophet prayed’. Umar said, "Verily the Prophet before you were destroyed because of their veneration of the places where the Prophets prayed. They used to follow the tracks of their Prophets and made them into places of worship. So whoever manages to pray in these (other) mosques when the time for prayer comes, then let him prayer and whoever misses the prayer at its time, then let him continue (and not to deliberately pray in these places). [Ibn Waddah al-Qurtubi in al-Bida, Ibn Abi Shaibah in his Musannaf with a sahih isnad].

This Umar is the same one about whom the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said, "Verily Allaah Ajjawajall has placed the truth upon the heart and tongue of Umar" [Ahmad from Ibn Umar with sahih isnad, also in Abu Dawud, Ahmad with other chains of narration].

And there is not doubt that this statement about following the tracks of the Prophets and seeking what they touched as a means of barakah from Umar is from the truth that Allaah placed upon the tongue of Umar (ra).

Ibn Waddah al-Qurtubi (d. 270ish H) also states (p.34 al-Bida): "Malik bin Anas and others from the Scholars of Madinah would detest that people should go to those Masjids, and the following of the tracks of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) , unless it was Uhud or Quba".

He also said, "Therefore you must adhere to the Imaams of guidance, those who are well known. And one of those who has passed before us has said, "How many matters are there which are well known considered to be good today, but which were considered evil by those who have passed before us." [Refer also to the statement of Abdullah ibn al-Mubaarak d.181H].

Hence, the point here is that the Salaf used to dislike seeking tabarruk from places, and they used to dislike being attached to these places and hoping for their blessings.