1069 – Abū al-Qāsim Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Baghawī also narrated to us, saying: Shaybān ibn Abī Shayba narrated to us, saying: Mubārak ibn Fadāla narrated to us, saying: Al-Hasan narrated to us, from Anas ibn Mālik, who said: “The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—would deliver the Friday sermon beside a piece of wood, leaning his back against it. When the people grew numerous, he said, ‘Build me a pulpit.’ They built him one with two steps. When he stood upon the pulpit to deliver the sermon, the wood cried out in yearning for the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Anas said: I was in the mosque, and I heard the wood crying like a bereaved mother. It continued crying until he descended to it and embraced it, whereupon it fell silent. ⦗1585⦘” He said: Whenever al-Hasan narrated this, he would weep and then say, “O servants of Allah, this wood cried out in yearning for the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—longing for him because of his standing with Allah—Mighty and Majestic is He. You have a greater right to long to meet him.”