On Taking Minbars — Sunan Abi Dawud 1080

People came to Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi when they were disputing regarding the pulpit and what kind of wood it was made of. They asked him about that, and he said: By Allah, indeed I know what it is made of, and I certainly saw it the first day it was placed and the first day the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sat upon it. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, sent a message to a certain woman—Sahl named her—saying: "Order your young slave, the carpenter, to make for me some steps of wood so that I may sit upon them when I speak to the people." So she ordered him, and he made them from the tamarisk of al-Ghabah. Then he brought them, and she sent them to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who commanded that they be placed here. I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, pray upon it and pronounce the takbir upon it, then bow while upon it, then step backward in reverse down to the ground, prostrate at the base of the pulpit, and then return. When he finished, he turned to the people and said: "O people, I only did this so that you would follow me and learn my prayer."