Fath al-Rabbani

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.’