Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand leaning against a wooden pillar, trunk, or date-palm tree (and deliver the sermon). The blessed narrator is in doubt as to which word was mentioned. Then, when the number of people increased, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Make a pulpit for me." So the Companions made a pulpit for him. Therefore, when he sat on the pulpit, the wood began to cry like a mother crying over the loss of her child. It continued to cry in this way until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from the pulpit, then he went and embraced it, and it became silent. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that "al-walah" refers to a woman whose child has died (and she cries in separation from him).