The Tree Stump That Cried
Authentic narrations describe the palm trunk that cried when the Prophet ﷺ began using a pulpit.
By Kazi Nasrat Ali 7 min read November 7, 20161. The palm trunk beside the khutbah
The Prophet ﷺ used to deliver the Friday khutbah while standing beside or leaning upon the trunk of a date palm. After the companions made a pulpit for him, he moved away from the trunk. Multiple authentic narrations describe what happened next.
2. The narration of Ibn Umar
When the Prophet ﷺ began using the pulpit instead of the date-palm trunk, the trunk started crying. The Prophet ﷺ went to it and rubbed his hand over it.
كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَخْطُبُ إِلَى جِذْعٍ فَلَمَّا اتَّخَذَ الْمِنْبَرَ تَحَوَّلَ إِلَيْهِ، فَحَنَّ الْجِذْعُ فَأَتَاهُ فَمَسَحَ يَدَهُ عَلَيْهِ.
Sahih al-Bukhari 35833. The narrations of Jabir
Jabir ibn Abdullah transmitted the event through more than one chain. One narration compares the sound to a pregnant she-camel; another describes it as the cry of a child being comforted.
When the pulpit was placed for the Prophet ﷺ, the companions heard the trunk crying like a pregnant she-camel until he descended and placed his hand over it.
كَانَ جِذْعٌ يَقُومُ إِلَيْهِ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَلَمَّا وُضِعَ لَهُ الْمِنْبَرُ سَمِعْنَا لِلْجِذْعِ مِثْلَ أَصْوَاتِ الْعِشَارِ حَتَّى نَزَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَوَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَيْهِ.
Sahih al-Bukhari 918The date palm cried like a child. The Prophet ﷺ descended, embraced it while it moaned, and said that it was crying for what it used to hear of remembrance near it.
فَصَاحَتِ النَّخْلَةُ صِيَاحَ الصَّبِيِّ، ثُمَّ نَزَلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَضَمَّهُ إِلَيْهِ تَئِنُّ أَنِينَ الصَّبِيِّ الَّذِي يُسَكَّنُ، قَالَ كَانَتْ تَبْكِي عَلَى مَا كَانَتْ تَسْمَعُ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ عِنْدَهَا.
Sahih al-Bukhari 35844. A lesson in love of remembrance
The companions heard this sign together, and the narrations were preserved through authentic chains. The trunk’s longing for the remembrance of Allah invites us to consider the condition of our own hearts when the Qur’an and Sunnah are recited.
There is no might nor power except with Allah.