It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) that there was a date-palm trunk in the Prophet’s Mosque. On Fridays or on some special occasion, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to address the people, he would stand with his back against it. The people said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Should we not make something elevated for you to stand on? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: That is fine, there is no harm in it. So they prepared a pulpit with three steps. Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood on it to deliver the sermon, the trunk, saddened by the separation from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), began to cry out loudly, like a cow cries out. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to it, embraced it, and placed his hand over it, and it became quiet.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was asked:“What was the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) made of?”He replied:“By Allah! I know very well what kind of wood it was made from, who made it, when it was made, and on which day it was placed. And I saw the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) sitting on it on the very first day. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) had sent a message to a woman whose slave was a carpenter. He (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to her: ‘Tell your carpenter slave to make something of wood for me to sit on at an elevated place when I address the people.’ That woman gave the order to her slave, so he went to the forest, cut wood from the tamarisk tree, and made a pulpit consisting of three steps. The woman then sent that pulpit to the service of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and it was placed exactly where you now see it. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) sat on that pulpit on the first day, said ‘Allahu Akbar’ on it, and performed ruku’ (bowing), then stepped down backwards and performed sajdah (prostration) on the ground, and the people also performed sajdah with him. After that, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went back up onto the pulpit until he completed the prayer. When the prayer was finished, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: ‘O people! I have done this deliberately so that you may follow me and learn the way I perform prayer.’ Sayyiduna Sahl (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: ‘Did any incident happen with that trunk which people narrate?’ He replied: ‘Yes, it did happen.’

(Second chain) Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Prophet’s pulpit was made of tamarisk wood.