Book: Dalail an-Nubuwwah by Bayhaqi

Chapter on the Mention of the Pulpit Built for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)

It was narrated that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting on the pulpit, it was a sign of his prophethood. This occurred when the mosque was being built.

Hadith Chain:

1. Abu Abd Allah Al-Hafiz told us
2. Abu Abd Allah ibn Ya'qub told us
3. Isma'il ibn Qutaybah told us
4. Yahya ibn Yahya told us
5. Abdul Aziz ibn Abi Hazim and Abu Salih ibn Abi Tahir Al-Anbari told us

Hadith:

My grandfather told me that Abu Hazim ibn Dinar said: "Men came to Sahl ibn Sa'd and asked him about the wood of the pulpit which the Prophet sat on. He replied, 'I know where it came from. I saw it on the first day it was placed, and the first day the Messenger of Allah sat on it.'

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a message to a woman named Fulanah (named by Sahl) to order her carpenter-slave to make wooden pegs for him to sit on when addressing the people. She had them made from the side of the forest and brought them to him. The Prophet sat on them, then prostrated at the foot of the pulpit, returned and faced the people saying: 'I did this so that you follow me and learn my prayer.'

Hadith Narration

This is a saying of Ya'qub and in the narration of Abdul-Aziz, "So he performed these three steps." Reported by Muslim and Al-Bukhari in Sahih from Qutaibah ibn Sa'id.

Chain of Narration

Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Al-Hasan Al-Qadi informed us in others, he said: Abu Al-Abbas Muhammad ibn Ya'qub informed us, he said: Ar-Rabi’ ibn Suleiman informed us, he said: Ash-Shafi'i informed us, he said: Sufyan narrated from Abu Hazim, who said: They asked Sahl ibn Sa’d about something from the pulpit of the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said: "There is no one left among the people who knows about this more than me. From the tall trees, a man made it for him, so and so, and I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) when he ascended it, faced the qibla, then he raised his voice in reverence. Then he recited, then he bowed, then he descended to Al-Qahqah. Then he prostrated. Then he ascended, recited, bowed, and descended to Al-Qahqah, then prostrated." Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated it in Sahih.

Addition to the Narration

Abu Al-Qasim Abdul-Khaliq ibn Ali ibn Abdul-Khaliq Al-Mu'adhdhin informed us, he said: Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Khanbin Al-Bukhari informed us, he said: Abu Isma'il narrated it. Al-Bukhari reported it in: Book of Friday, Chapter of the Sermon on the Pulpit, Hadith 917, Fath Al-Bari 2:397. Muslim reported it in: Book of Mosques, Chapter of the Permission for a Step or Two During Prayer, Hadith 44 and 45, page 1:386.

Hadith about the Prophet's Pulpit

In a narration from Jabir through Abu Ishaq from Kurayb from Jabir, it is mentioned that Jabir reported the following hadith almost, but he stated: "If we were to make for you a seat like the pulpit, you would rise to it," and he mentioned it and said: "As the she-camel yearns for the watering hole."

Abu 'Abd Allah Al-Hafiz informed us, narrating from Abu Al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Ya'qub, who narrated from 'Abbas ibn Muhammad Al-Duri, who narrated from Sa'id ibn Sulayman, who narrated from Sulayman ibn Kathir, who stated: I heard Ibn Shihab reporting from Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab from Jabir that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to stand by the trunk of a date-palm tree and deliver a sermon before the pulpit was built. When the pulpit was placed, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, climbed onto it, and the trunk groaned as if it were a young she-camel. The Prophet then descended and placed his hand on it, and it became calm.

Sulayman ibn Kathir also narrated to us and Yahya ibn Sa'id from Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab from Jabir with a similar chain of narration, except that he said: "The trunk groaned intensely."

Abu Al-Hasan Muhammad ibn Al-Husayn Al-'Alawi informed us, narrating from Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sa'd Al-Nasawi, who narrated from Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Fahd, who narrated from 'Abd Allah ibn Rajaa, who narrated from Abu Hafs ibn Al-'Ala, from Nafi‘.

Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah Al-Bisṭami informed us, stating that Abu Bakr Al-Isma'ili reported to him, who narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Al-Karim Al-Wazzan, who narrated from Bundar ibn Bashshar, who narrated from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, who narrated from Abu Hafs ibn Al-'Ala, who said: I heard Nafi‘ narrating from Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to deliver sermons by a tree trunk until the pulpit was made.

Hadith Narration

In this narration, it was reported by Yahya bin Kathir that when the pulpit was placed, the trunk leaned and the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) wiped over it, and it became still. This hadith is recorded by Imam Bukhari in his Sahih through the chain of narration from Abu Musa to Yahya bin Abi Kathir.

Another Narration

It is also narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) used to deliver his sermon leaning on the trunk of a date palm tree, and when the pulpit was set up, the trunk leaned but then became still when he held onto it. This account was transmitted through different chains of narration as well.

References

Reported in Sahih al-Bukhari in the Book of Virtues, hadith no. 5, and in Tirmidhi in the Chapter of Friday Prayer, hadith no. 10.

Rasulullah's Preaching on Fridays

The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, used to preach to a tree trunk on Fridays. When the pulpit was built, he turned towards it, and the trunk started to cry. The Prophet went to it and embraced it. He then said, "If I had not embraced it, it would have kept crying until the Day of Judgment."

Narrators of the Hadith

• Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Abdan narrated from Ahmad ibn Ubayd al-Saffar, who narrated from Ismail ibn Ishaq, who narrated from Haggag ibn al-Minhal, who narrated from Hammad ibn Salama, who narrated from Ammar ibn Abi Ammar, who narrated from Ibn Abbas.
• Abu Tahir Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Mahmash al-Ziyadi, the jurist, narrated from Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hussein al-Qattan, who narrated from Abu Salih Ahmad ibn Mansur al-Marwazi, who narrated from Umar ibn Yunus ibn al-Qasim al-Yamami, who narrated from Ikrimah ibn Ammar, who narrated from Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Abu Talha, who narrated from Anas ibn Malik.

An Encounter with a Roman

On a Friday, while the Prophet was giving a sermon, a Roman man came to him and offered to build a pulpit for him. The Prophet accepted, and when he sat on the pulpit, the trunk cried like a baby camel until the mosque shook with its weeping. The Prophet came down, embraced the trunk, and comforted it. He then said that if he hadn't done so, it would have continued to cry until the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet then commanded that the trunk be buried.

Hadith of the Prophet's Pulpit Yearning for Him

Abu Tahir Al-Faqih reported to us, saying: Haaajib ibn Ahmad ibn Sufyan At-Tusi informed us, saying: Abu Abdul Rahman Al-Marwazi reported to us, saying: Ibn Al-Mubarak informed us, saying: Mubarak ibn Fadalah narrated to me, saying: Al-Hasan reported to me from Anas ibn Malik that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to deliver the sermon on Fridays and lean his back against a palm trunk. When the number of people increased, he said: "Build for me a pulpit.” So, a pulpit was built for him made of two steps. He turned from the trunk to the pulpit. Anas said: "While I was in the mosque listening, the palm trunk cried so intensely that it sounded like a moaning she-camel. The Prophet descended from the pulpit and walked over to it, hugging it until it calmed down. Al-Hasan wept and said: "O Muslim community! The palm trunk is yearning for the Messenger of Allah with such longing. Shouldn't those men who hope to meet him be even more eager to be with him?”

Another Narration of the Prophet's Pulpit

Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz informed us, saying: Abu Ali Al-Husayn ibn Ali Al-Hafiz reported to us, saying: Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Abdul Rahman narrated to us, saying: Tamim ibn Al-Muntasir reported to us. Mansur ibn Abdul Wahhab ibn Ahmad As-Sufi informed us, saying: Abu Amru Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamdan Al-Bukhari narrated to us, saying: Abu Ismail Muhammad ibn Ismail At-Tirmidhi informed us, saying: Ayyub ibn Sulaiman ibn Bilal narrated to me that Abu Bakr ibn Abi Uwais told him, saying: Sulaiman ibn Bilal reported from Sa’d ibn Sa’id ibn Qays from Abbas ibn Sahl ibn Sa’d from his father that the Prophet used to stand on Friday to deliver the sermon leaning against a pulpit consisting of two steps. He added, "I saw it in his place of prayer. His companions suggested to him to have something to stand upon during the sermon because of the increasing number of people. The Prophet replied, 'Do as you like.' Sa’d said, 'There was only one carpenter in Medina at that time.' So, I and that carpenter went to the forest and cut this pulpit from the trunks. When the Prophet stood on it, the pulpit started trembling, and the Prophet said: 'Be calm.'

Story of the Prophet's Pulpit

People admired a wooden platform until they wept due to their longing for it. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) placed his hand on it, and the crying subsided. He ordered for it to be used and eventually buried beneath his pulpit or placed in the ceiling.

Narrator and Source

Narrated by Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim at-Tusi. He conveyed the story through a chain of narrators, including Muad Ibn Najdah Ibn Urfan, Khalad, Abdul Wahid Ibn Ayman, and his father, from Jabir Ibn Abdullah.

Prophet's Connection with a Tree

A woman from the Ansar asked the Prophet to have a pulpit to sit on during Friday sermons as her son was a carpenter. The Prophet accepted, and on Friday, the tree trunk he had preached by cried until he embraced it, calming it as a child would be soothed. It wept for missing the remembrance of Allah near it. This event is cited in Sahih al-Bukhari.

Anecdote about the Pulpit

Jabir Ibn Abdullah narrated that whenever the Prophet delivered sermons, he would lean on a wooden platform. Later, when a pulpit replaced it, the wooden platform groaned like a camel due to its separation. This incident is detailed in the Sahih al-Bukhari.

Story of the Prophet's Pulpit

Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah reported: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to lean on the trunk of a palm tree when delivering his sermons. When a pulpit was constructed for him, he stood on it, and the palm tree began to cry like a child being weaned. The Prophet came down from the pulpit and embraced the tree, after which it calmed down.

Chain of Narration

• Reported by Bukhari in Sahih from Ibn Abi Maryam
• Also narrated by Sulaiman ibn Bilal from Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah
• Both narrations included in the book of Friday sermons from the book of Sunan
• This hadith has multiple chains of narration through Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah

Another Chain of Narration

• Reported by Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qadi and Abu Zakariyya ibn Abi Ishaq al-Muzakki, who mentioned:
• Abu al-'Abbas Muhammad ibn Ya'qub told them
• Reported by al-Rabi' ibn Sulaiman from Imam al-Shafi'i, who narrated from 'Abd al-Majid ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz, from Ibn Juraij, from Abu al-Zubayr, who heard it from Jaabir ibn 'Abdullah

Rasul Allah's Gentle Nature

In Baghdad, in one of his authentic hadith collections, Al-Dakkaq narrated that Ibrahim Al-Baladi told of a chain leading back to Abu Is'haq Al-Hamdani who relayed from Sa'id ibn Abi Karb who heard from Jabir ibn Abdullah:

"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would lean his back against a palm trunk when addressing the people. Once, when the pulpit was being constructed, the palm trunk longed for its absence. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, noticed and gently touched it, causing the trunk to ease."

The Prophet's Kindness

In another narration, Abu Bakr narrated from Mohammed ibn Yazdad who narrated from Mohammed ibn Abdullah ibn Suleiman that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, hugged the trunk like a mother hugging her baby donkey, calming it down instantly.

The Prophet's Compassion

Yet another account tells of a piece of wood in the mosque that the Prophet used as a lectern. The people proposed to replace it with something better like a special throne, but upon sensing the wood's discomfort, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, hugged it, placing his hand on it, making it tranquil.

Translation of Classical Arabic Text

First Hadith

Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali Al-Muqri informed us saying: Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq told us that Yusuf ibn Ya'qub narrated to us, who said that Muhammad ibn Al-Muthanna, also known as Abu Musa, narrated to us, who said that Abu Al-Musawir told us, who said that Abu Awana narrated to us from Al-A'mash, from Abu Salih, from Jabir who said: Imran ibn Musa informed us that Tamim ibn Al-Muntasir narrated to us, who said that Ishaq Al-Azraq narrated to us, from Sharik ibn Abdullah, from Ammar Al-Duhni, from Abu Salamah Abdul Rahman, from Umm Salamah, who said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, had a wooden pulpit on which he leaned when giving a sermon. A chair or pulpit was made for him, and when he lost it, sheathe-like sounds (indicating distress) could be heard until the people in the mosque could hear it. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, approached it, embraced it, and it became calm."

Second Hadith

Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz informed us, saying: Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ya'qub reported to us that Hadiths of Hunayn Al-Juz'i were narrated by Anas, Jabir, and Sahl ibn Sa'd in Sahih al-Bukhari, and the Hadith of Abu Ibn Ka'b was reported by Ibn Majah and Abd Allah ibn Ahmad in his additions to Al-Musnad. Also, Hadiths of Ibn Abbas and Umm Salamah were cited by Al-Tabarani in Al-Kabir, and the Hadiths of Hunayn Al-Juz'i were transmitted by the compiler of the Major Sunan as well. Furthermore, Abu Nu'aim reported in Ad-Dala'il with their chains from Jabir, Abu Ibn Ka'b, Sahl ibn Sa'd, Abu Said Al-Khudri, and Aisha.

In this chapter, there are numerous hadiths, and many scholars have authenticated through the Sunnah that the Hadith of Hunayn Al-Juz'i is mutawatir (consecutive in its transmission) due to its mentions by a group of the companions, transmitted through various chains, providing definitive evidence of its occurrence. The Hafiz Ibn Hajar stated: "Hunayn Al-Juz'i and the splitting of the moon have each been reported extensively, which provides conclusive evidence to those who are well-versed in the chains of transmission, rather than those who have no expertise in this matter."

Hadith on the Virtue of the Area between the House and the Pulpit

It was narrated that Abu Huraira reported the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: "Between my house and my pulpit lies a garden of the gardens of Paradise, and my pulpit is upon my fountain." This hadith is reported in Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Hadith Details

This hadith was narrated by various scholars including Musaddad, Abu Khaythamah Zuhayr ibn Harb, and others through a chain of narrators ending with Um Salamah.

According to Imam Al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim, the area between the Prophet's house and pulpit is considered a garden of Paradise, emphasizing the significance of this special place.