Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) said: Before the pulpit was constructed, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand by the trunk of a date-palm tree and deliver the sermon. Then, when the pulpit was made (and he moved towards it), that trunk began to cry with a thin sound until we heard its voice. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) placed his hand on it, and its sound stopped.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that before the pulpit was built, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to deliver the sermon while leaning against a date-palm trunk. When the pulpit was made and he moved towards it, that trunk began to weep. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) embraced it to his chest, and it became quiet. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If I had not embraced it (i.e., held it to my chest), it would have continued to weep until the Day of Resurrection.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated from the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) a narration similar to this.

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the population in Madinah increased, people would come but could not hear the sermon of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and would return in the same way. So the noble Companions submitted to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): O Prophet of Allah! The people have increased; the one who comes cannot hear your speech. He said: Then do as you wish. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called a boy from among the Ansar, who was a carpenter from the Najjar tribe, and told him to make a pulpit from the wood of the jungle tamarisk. So he made two or three steps. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sat on it and began to deliver the sermon. When he did so, the piece of wood by which he used to stand and deliver the sermon began to cry with a thin sound. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went to it and placed his blessed hand upon it, and it became quiet.