Mishkat al-Masabih 10 The Rites of Pilgrimage كتاب المناسك 157

وَعَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: نُزُولُ الْأَبْطَحِ لَيْسَ بِسُنَّةٍ إِنَّمَا نَزَلَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ أسمح لِخُرُوجِهِ إِذا خرج

‘A’isha said that stopping at al-Abtah was not a sunna ; God’s messenger stopped there simply because it was easier for him to depart from when he left. Bukhari and Muslim.