The minbar

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: There was a palm trunk in the mosque against which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lean his back while speaking on Friday, or whenever some matter arose and he wanted to speak to the people. The people said: O Messenger of Allah! Shall we not make something for you that would serve in place of your standing? He said: "There is no harm upon you if you do so." So the people had a pulpit of three steps made for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat upon it, that palm trunk began to cry out the way a cow lows; it was doing so out of grief at its separation from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) embraced it and passed his hand over it until it became calm. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Imam Abu Dawud recorded part of this narration.
Imam Ahmad recorded this narration via Abu Hubab al-Kalbi. He is thiqah (trustworthy) but a mudallis, and he narrated this narration with "an" (mu'an'an).

Sayyiduna Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray facing a palm trunk, and the mosque had a roof of (palm branches). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to deliver the sermon leaning against that palm trunk. One of his Companions said: O Messenger of Allah! We will make something for you on which you can stand on Friday, so that you can see the people (the narrator is unsure whether the words were:) so that the people can see you, and so that the people can hear your sermon. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well." So they made a pulpit of three steps for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood upon it as he used to stand before, and that palm trunk began to cry for him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to it: "Be calm." Then he said to his Companions: "This trunk is crying for my sake." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to it: "Be calm. If you wish, I will have you planted in Paradise and the righteous will eat from you; and if you wish, I will restore you to how you were before, fresh and green." It chose the Hereafter over this world. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, that trunk was given to Sayyiduna Ubayy, and it remained with him continuously until termites ate it away. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say:
Imam Ibn Majah recorded this narration in abridged form. Abdullah recorded it in his additions (Ziyadat) to Musnad Ahmad. Its chain contains a narrator whose name has not been mentioned, and a narrator, Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Aqil, about whom there has been criticism, though he has also been declared trustworthy.

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand by a piece of wood, leaning on it, and deliver the sermon every Friday, until a man came to him and said: "If you wish, I will make something for you on which you can sit, and it will be as though you are standing." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well." So a pulpit (minbar) was made for him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat on it, that piece of wood began to weep the way a she-camel weeps for her young, until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from the pulpit and placed his blessed hand on it. When the next day came, I saw that it had been moved from there. We asked: "What is the matter with it?" The people said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came last night, and they moved it."
Abu Ya'la recorded it; its chain contains Mujalid bin Sa'id, whom a group declared thiqah (trustworthy) and others declared da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had a piece of wood which he would lean against while standing. A man came, and he instructed him to make a chair (kursi) for him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood on the pulpit to deliver the sermon, the piece of wood beside which he used to stand began to weep, until the people of the mosque heard its weeping. The narrator says: I asked al-Awfi: "Did you hear this narration from him yourself?" He replied: "By my life, I heard this narration from him." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and embraced it, until it became calm.
Al-Bazzar recorded it through Muhammad bin Abi Layla from Atiyyah, and there is disagreement about using either of them as evidence.

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to stand by a piece of wood, leaning on it, and deliver the sermon every Friday. A man from the Romans (Byzantines) came to him and said: "If you wish, I will prepare something for you on which you can sit, and it will be as though you are standing." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Very well." So a pulpit was made for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When he sat on it, that piece of wood began to weep the way a she-camel weeps for her young, until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from the pulpit and placed his blessed hand on it. The narrator says: When the next day came, I saw that it had been moved from there. We asked: "Where has it gone?" The people said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came, and they moved it." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: A hadith from Sayyiduna Jabir is also recorded in the Sahih, but not with this wording.
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy. Other hadiths from Sayyiduna Jabir about the pulpit will come later.

Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If I use a pulpit, my forefather Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) also used one; and if I use a staff, my forefather Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him) also used one."
Al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir recorded it; its chain contains Musa bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin al-Harith al-Taymi, who is extremely da'if (weak).

Sa'd bin Ibrahim reports that his father said: The first to deliver a sermon on a pulpit was Sayyiduna Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
Al-Bazzar recorded it, and its chain is munqati' (broken).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to deliver the sermon leaning against the trunk of a date-palm. It was said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! Islam has spread far and wide, the number of people has grown, and delegations come to you from distant lands. If you were to order something to be made on which you could be seated (that would be fitting)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked a man: "Will you make a pulpit?" He said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is your name?" He replied: "So-and-so." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You will not make it." Then he called another man and asked: "Will you make a pulpit?" He said: "Yes." The same exchange took place with him as with the first man, and he said: "Yes, in sha' Allah (if Allah wills)." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked: "What is your name?" He replied: "Ibrahim." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Make it." When he had made it, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ascended it, and that wooden trunk began to weep the way a she-camel weeps, until the people of the mosque heard its sound (the narrator is unsure whether the words were:) the people of Madinah heard its sound. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down from the pulpit and held it to himself, and it became calm. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "By the One in whose Hand is my soul, if I had left it as it was, it would have kept weeping until the Day of Resurrection." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: The author of al-Atraf attributed (part of) this narration to Ibn Majah, but I did not find it in what I heard; and Allah knows best.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat and said: No one narrated it from al-Jurayri except Shaybah. I say: I have not found anyone who mentions him or the one who narrates from him.

Sayyiduna Jabir narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to deliver the sermon in the mosque leaning against a pillar; he would rest against it. On the instruction of Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), this pulpit was made for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the pulpit and left his place by the pillar, the pillar began to weep aloud; it did so out of longing for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) walked over to it and held it to himself, and when he held it to himself, the sound that we had been hearing stopped. The narrator says: I asked: "Did you hear that sound yourself?" He replied: "I heard it, and the people of the mosque heard it too. It was one of the pillars next to the chamber."
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Muhammad bin Atiyyah al-Awfi, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyidah Aishah al-Siddiqah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to deliver the sermon leaning against the trunk of a date-palm. A Roman (Byzantine) man passed by and said: "If Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) calls me, I will make something for him that will suit him better than this." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: That man was called and brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he made a pulpit of four steps for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) climbed the pulpit and began delivering the sermon, and that trunk began to weep the way a she-camel weeps. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came down to it and said: "What is the matter with you? If you wish, I will pray to Allah Almighty and He will return you to your place; and if you wish, I will pray to Allah Almighty and He will admit you into Paradise, where you will bear fruit, and the Messengers, the Prophets of Allah, and His God-fearing servants will eat of your fruit." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: Then I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Very well." And that trunk sank into the ground and disappeared.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; its chain contains Salih bin Hayyan, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd narrates: I was sitting with a maternal relative of mine from the Ansar. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: "Go out to the forest and bring me wood from there, and make a pulpit for me so that I may sit on it and speak to the people." So he made him a pulpit with two steps, and he would sit on it. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: A hadith from him about the making of the pulpit is also recorded in the Sahih, but it is different from this narration.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir; its chain contains Ubayd bin Waqid, who is da'if (weak).

Sayyidah Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to deliver the sermon in the mosque leaning against the trunk of a date-palm. When he had the pulpit made, that trunk began to weep. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) embraced it, and it became calm.
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy.