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After transmitting numerous ḥadīths on this incident, via the ṣaḥābah Sahl ibn Sa‘d, Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, Anas ibn Mālik and Umm Salamah (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhum), Imām al-Bayhaqī (384 – 458 H) said: “These ḥadīths which we cited on the subject of [the tree trunk] crying, all of them are ṣaḥīḥ. The reality of [the tree trunk] crying out is from the manifest matters and bright signs which the later generations (khalaf) received from the earlier ones (salaf), and [thus] to narrate ḥadīths on it is like an added burden [i.e. unnecessary].” (Dālā’il al-Nubuwwa, 2:563) In other words, the incident is so well-known and well-attested that to cite specific narrations on the subject is unnecessary.



Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ (476 – 544 H) said: “The ḥadīth of the tree trunk crying out…is on its own well-known and widely [transmitted]. The ḥadīth on it is mutawātir. The collectors of the Ṣaḥīḥs transmitted it, and more than ten ṣaḥābah narrated it, including Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh, Anas ibn Mālik, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, Sahl ibn Sa‘d, Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, Buraydah, Umm Salamah and al-Muṭṭalib ibn Abī Wadā‘ah. All of them narrate the meaning of this ḥadīth.” (Al-Shifā’, Jā’izat al-Dubayy al-Dawliyyah, p. 369) He then cites several of these narrations.



Ibn Kathīr (701 – 774 H) said of the ḥadīth: “It has been reported via the transmission of a multitude of the ṣaḥābah, via numerous routes that confer absolute certainty [that it took place] according to the experts of this field.” (al-Bidāyah wa l-Nihāyah, Dār Ibn Kathīr, 6:186) He then quotes Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ’s statement above, and provides a detailed citation of the ḥadīths on the subject. In his sourcing (takhrīj) of the ḥadīths of Mukhtaṣar Ibn al-Ḥājib, Ibn Kathīr says more emphatically about the ḥadīth: “It is a mutawātir ḥadīth undoubtedly conferring absolute certainty.” (Tuḥfat a-Ṭālib, Dār Ibn Ḥazm, p. 156)



Some of these ḥadīths are as follows:



1. Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh



Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī narrates with two chains, one from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Yaḥyā ibn Janād from Muḥammad ibn Maḥbūb al-Bunānī, and a second from Yazīd ibn Sinān from Abū Kāmil al-Jaḥdarī, that they both (al-Bunānī and al-Jaḥdarī) said:



Abū ‘Awānah [al-Waḍḍāḥ ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Yashkurī] narrated to us from al-A‘mash from Abū Ṣāliḥ from Jābir (Allāh be pleased with him), he said: “There was a tree trunk in the masjid, and the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) would deliver sermons [leaning] against it. It was said to him: ‘If we were to make something like a mimbar for you and you stood on top of it, [it would be better].’ [Once the mimbar was made], the tree-trunk cried out like a she-camel cries out. The Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) came to it, embraced it and put his hand over it, and then it became quiet.” (Sharḥ Mushkil al-Ᾱthār, 10:385) An individual (who claims to be Muslim) has recently questioned the authenticity of one of the most well-attested miracles of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam), namely, the miracle of the tree trunk weeping out of longing for the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam).After transmitting numerous ḥadīths on this incident, via the ṣaḥābah Sahl ibn Sa‘d, Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, Anas ibn Mālik and Umm Salamah (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhum), Imām al-Bayhaqī (384 – 458 H) said: “These ḥadīths which we cited on the subject of [the tree trunk] crying,. The reality of [the tree trunk] crying out is from the manifest matters and bright signs which the later generations () received from the earlier ones (), and [thus] to narrate ḥadīths on it is like an added burden [i.e. unnecessary].” (, 2:563) In other words, the incident is so well-known and well-attested that to cite specific narrations on the subject is unnecessary.Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ (476 – 544 H) said: “The ḥadīth of the tree trunk crying out…is on its own well-known and widely [transmitted].. The collectors of thes transmitted it, and more than ten ṣaḥābah narrated it, including Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh, Anas ibn Mālik, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, Sahl ibn Sa‘d, Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī, Buraydah, Umm Salamah and al-Muṭṭalib ibn Abī Wadā‘ah. All of them narrate the meaning of this ḥadīth.” (, Jā’izat al-Dubayy al-Dawliyyah, p. 369) He then cites several of these narrations.Ibn Kathīr (701 – 774 H) said of the ḥadīth: “It has been reported via the transmission of a multitude of the ṣaḥābah, via numerous routesaccording to the experts of this field.” (, Dār Ibn Kathīr, 6:186) He then quotes Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ’s statement above, and provides a detailed citation of the ḥadīths on the subject. In his sourcing () of the ḥadīths of, Ibn Kathīr says more emphatically about the ḥadīth: “.” (, Dār Ibn Ḥazm, p. 156)Some of these ḥadīths are as follows:Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī narrates with two chains, one from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Yaḥyā ibn Janād from Muḥammad ibn Maḥbūb al-Bunānī, and a second from Yazīd ibn Sinān from Abū Kāmil al-Jaḥdarī, that they both (al-Bunānī and al-Jaḥdarī) said:

Al-Bazzār narrates it with a different chain to Abū ‘Awānah, after which the chain and ḥadīth is the same. (al-Bidāyah wa l-Nihāyah, 6:190) Ibn Kathīr described this route as “excellent” (ibid.)



‘Abd al-Razzāq al-Ṣan‘ānī narrates in his Muṣannaf from his famous teacher, Ibn Jurayj:



Abu l-Zubayr informed me that he heard Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh say: The Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) would, when delivering a sermon, lean against a tree trunk from the pillars of the masjid. When a mimbar was made for him and he climbed it, the pillar began to shiver [and cry out] like a she-camel crying out, until those in the masjid heard it. Eventually, the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) came down to it and embraced it until it became quiet. (Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq, Dār al-Ta’ṣīl, 3:129)

Imām Aḥmad narrated this in his Musnad from ‘Abd al-Razzāq. (Musnad Aḥmad, Mu’assasat al-Risālah, 22:47) He also narrated it from his teacher, Muḥammad ibn Bakr al-Bursānī, from Ibn Jurayj (i.e. bypassing ‘Abd al-Razzāq), after which the chain and ḥadīth is the same. (ibid. 22:358) Imām al-Shāfi‘ī also narrated it via this chain. (Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah, 2:561) Al-Nasa’ī also narrated it via this chain from ‘Amr ibn Sawwād from ‘Abdullāh ibn Wahb from Ibn Jurayj. (al-Sunan al-Kubrā, Mu’assasat al-Risālah, 2:278) Ibn Kathīr says: “This is an isnād [that is ṣaḥīḥ] according to the criteria of Muslim.” (ibid. 6:192).



Imām al-Bukhārī recorded the same ḥadīth from Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhumā) via two different chains, one from Ayman al-Ḥabashī and another from Ḥafṣ ibn ‘Ubaydillāh, both narrating from Jābir. (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Dār al-Ta’ṣīl, 4:514-515) [Note: Al-Bukhārī also narrates the same ḥadīth from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar. (ibid.)] These two chains are of course authentic according to Imām al-Bukhārī’s criteria.



There are other chains to Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh. Hence, there are several authentic chains to Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhumā) alone.



2. Sahl ibn Sa‘d



Ibn Abī Shaybah narrates:



Ibn ‘Uyaynah narrated to us from Abū Ḥāzim [Salamah ibn Dīnār], he said: [Some people] came to Sahl ibn Sa‘d and said: “From what material was the mimbar of the Messenger of Allāh [made]?” He said: “No one more knowledgeable about this than me remains. It is from the athl [tree] of Ghābah. So-and-so, the freed slave of so-and-so, made it for the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace). The Messenger of Allāh would lean against a tree trunk in the masjid and pray towards it while delivering sermons. When the mimbar was made and he sat on it, the tree trunk cried out. The Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) came to it and embraced it until it became quiet.” (Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, Shirkah Dār al-Qiblah, 16:476)

Ibn Kathīr said: “Its isnād is [ṣaḥīḥ] according to the criteria of the two of them [i.e. al-Bukhārī and Muslim].” (al-Bidāya wa l-Nihāyah, 6:192) There is no break in this short chain, and the transmitters, Ibn ‘Uyaynah and Abū Ḥāzim, are undisputed imāms, with no question over their integrity and precision.



3. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās



Ibn Abī Shaybah narrated:



Yūnus ibn Muḥammad and ‘Affān [ibn Muslim] narrated to us saying: Ḥammād ibn Salamah narrated to us from ‘Ammār ibn Abī ‘Ammār from Ibn ‘Abbās that the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) would deliver sermons [leaning] against a tree trunk, and then when a mimbar was made, he moved to it. The tree trunk then cried out until he took hold of it and embraced it, upon which it became quiet. He said: “Had I not embraced it, it would have cried till the Day of Judgement.” (Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, 16:475-6)

Ibn Kathīr said: “This isnād is [ṣahīḥ] according to the criteria of Muslim.” (al-Bidāyah wa l-Nihāyah, 6:193) Al-Ṭaḥāwī also narrated it with two chains to: Asad ibn Mūsā and Ḥajjāj ibn Minhāl, both from Ḥammād ibn Salamah, after which the chain and ḥadīth is the same. (Sharḥ Mushkil al-Ᾱthār, 10:377)



4. Umm Salamah



Al-Ṭabarānī narrates:



Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad al-Wāsiṭī narrated to us: Tamīm ibn al-Muntaṣir narrated to us: Isḥāq [ibn Yūsuf al-Azraq] narrated to us from Sharīk [ibn ‘Abdillāh al-Qāḍī] from ‘Ammār al-Duhnī from Abū Salamah [ibn ‘Abd al-Raḥmān] from Umm Salamah that the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) would deliver sermons [leaning] against a tree trunk in the masjid, and when a mimbar was made for him, the tree trunk began to cry out, so the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) embraced it and it became calm.



‘Alī ibn Sa‘īd al-Rāzī narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Muslim ibn Wārah narrated to us: Muḥammad ibn Sa‘īd ibn Sābiq narrated to us: ‘Amr ibn Abī Qays narrated to us from ‘Ammār al-Duhnī from Abū Salamah from Umm Salamah from the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) the equivalent of that. (al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr, 22:255)

These are two independent chains leading to ‘Ammār al-Duhnī after which the chains and ḥadīths are the same. The chain from ‘Ammār al-Duhnī is strong, and although there is some weakness in Sharīk al-Qāḍī, collectively, the two supporting chains leading up to ‘Ammār are also strong. Ibn Kathīr thus states, “This is an excellent chain.” (al-Bidāyah wa l-Nihāyah, 6:196)



5. Anas ibn Mālik



Imām al-Tirmidhī narrates:



Maḥmūd ibn Ghaylān narrated to us saying: ‘Umar ibn Yūnus narrated to us from ‘Ikrimah ibn ‘Ammār from Isḥāq ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn Abī Ṭalḥah from Anas ibn Mālik that the Messenger of Allāh would deliver sermons next to a tree trunk, and they made a mimbar for him, so he began delivering sermons on top of it, upon which the tree trunk cried out like the crying of a she-camel, and then the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) came down and touched it until it became quiet. (Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 6:19)

Imām al-Tirmidhī comments: “The ḥadīth of Anas is a ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth.” (ibid. 6:20)



Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated it from his trustworthy teacher, Bakkār ibn Qutaybah, from ‘Umar ibn Yūnus, after which the chain is the same as al-Tirmidhī’s. Al-Ṭaḥāwī, however, adds that Anas said: “Then he said: ‘By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muḥammad, had I not embraced it, it would have remained like this until the Day of Judgement.” (Sharḥ Mushkil al-Athār, 10:379) Ibn Khuzaymah also narrated it from his reliable teacher, Muḥammad ibn Bashshār, from ‘Umar ibn Yūnus, after which the chain and ḥadīth is the same. (Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, Dār al-Ta’ṣīl, 2:421) His narration also has the addition found in al-Ṭaḥāwī’s.



Ibn Ḥibbān narrates in his Ṣaḥīḥ:



Abū Ya‘lā informed us saying: Shaybān ibn Farrūkh narrated to us saying: Mubārak ibn Faḍālah narrated to us saying: al-Ḥasan [al-Baṣrī] narrated to us from Anas ibn Mālik that he said: “The Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) would deliver sermons on Friday next to a tree trunk against which he would lean his back. When the people increased, he said ‘build a mimbar for me’, so they built for him a mimbar with two steps. When he stood on the mimbar to deliver a sermon, the tree trunk cried out to the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace). I was in the masjid, and I heard the trunk crying out like the cry of a child. It did not stop crying until the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) came down to it and embraced it.” (Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Ḥibban, Dār Ibn Ḥazm, 7:552)

Ibn Khuzaymah also narrates it with this chain in his Ṣaḥīḥ. (Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah, Dār al-Ta’ṣīl, 2:421)



There is no break in the chain, and all the narrators are regarded as reliable. Although some have questioned the strength of Mubārak ibn Faḍālah, since he was a long-time companion of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Imām Aḥmad said his narrations from al-Ḥasan are accepted (Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, 27:185). The great imām of ḥadīth, Abū Zur‘ah al-Rāzī, said about Mubārak ibn Faḍālah, “He would practise tadlīs frequently, but when he says: ‘[so-and-so] narrated to us’, he is trustworthy (thiqah).” (al-Jarḥ wa l-Ta‘dīl, 8:339) In this chain, Mubārak clearly states “al-Ḥasan narrated to us”, so his tadlīs will not affect the authenticity of the chain.



After narrating this ḥadīth, Mubārak ibn Faḍalāh states: “When al-Ḥasan [al-Baṣrī] would narrate this ḥadīth, he would weep, and say: ‘O servants of Allāh, a tree trunk cries out for the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) out of yearning for him, on account of his position with Allāh. You are therefore more deserving of yearning to meet him.” (Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Ḥibban, 7:552)



After citing these and several other ḥadīths on the topic, Ibn Kathīr states: “These chains via these routes confer absolute certainty of this having occurred according to the experts of this field as well as those who think about them carefully.” (al-Bidāyah wa l-Nihāyah, 6:196) The reason for this is that it is not possible for such large numbers of reliable transmitters to have simultaneously and independently made the same error.



Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrates from his father, the great imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (195 – 277 H):



‘Amr ibn Sawwād al-Sarḥī (d. 245 H) said: “Al-Shāfi‘ī said to me: ‘Allāh has not given any prophet what He has given Muḥammad (Allāh bless him and grant him peace).’ I said: ‘He gave ‘Isā the revival of the dead.’ He said: ‘He gave Muḥammad the crying of the tree trunk – next to which he would deliver sermons until a mimbar was prepared for him, and when the mimbar was prepared for him the trunk cried out until its sound was heard. This is greater than that!’” (Ᾱdāb al-Shāfi‘ī wa Manāqibuh, p. 62)

Al-Bayhaqī narrates the same incident via Ibn Abī Ḥātim from his father. (Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah, 6:68). He also narrated it in his Manāqib al-Shāfi‘ī (1:426) with a different chain to ‘Amr ibn Sawwād. ‘Amr is a reliable narrator found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and the Sunans. ‘Īsā (‘alayhissalām)’s miracle of reviving the dead (mentioned in the Qur’ān) is not greater than this miracle of the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam). Here, an inanimate object that previously had no consciousness or sense was given consciousness. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar states: “There is evidence in this ḥadīth that Allāh may at times create sense/consciousness within inanimate objects just like animals, and in fact just like the noblest of animals.” (Fatḥ al-Bārī, Dār Ṭaybah, 8:261) Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: “There is nothing strange about Allāh putting the love of His Messenger inside an inanimate object and in something that does not have reason like the reason of human beings, just as Allāh has put His fear inside [some] stones and thus He mentions in His firm Book that some of them fall out of fear of Allāh, and like He put the love of the Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) in a tree trunk until it cried out for him like a she-camel cries out for its calf – Anas, Jābir and others narrated it.” (al-Istidhkār, Dār al-Wa‘y, 26:35)



After narrating numerous ḥadīths on the topic, Imām al-Ṭaḥāwī says: “In these ḥadīths [we find] that Allāh had produced within this tree trunk what He had produced within it, which the people comprehended from it, that was not expected from something like it until Allāh had produced it within it, and made it a sign from the signs of the prophethood of His Prophet (Allāh bless him and grant him peace), and of his excellence, in order for that to be a signal to people to know his status with Him.” (Sharḥ Mushkil al-Ᾱthār, 10:390)



According to the ‘Utbiyyah, Imām Mālik said: “[The Prophet] would deliver sermons at a tree trunk until this mimbar was made for him from the trees of Ghābah, and then when he delivered sermons on it and the tree trunk did not find his presence, it cried out, and then the Messenger of Allāh (Allāh bless him and grant him peace) came down and put his hand on it until it settled down.” (al-Bayān wa l-Taḥṣīl, 18:8) Ibn Rushd al-Jadd, in commenting on this statement of Imām Mālik, refers to the “numerous routes” through which this incident was reported, and then says: “This is an immense sign from the signs of prophethood.” (ibid. 18:9)



In brief, the ḥadīths on the weeping tree trunk have been graded authentic by al-Bukhārī, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Bayhaqī and others, while Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ and Ibn Kathīr have said the ḥadīths are so numerous and of such strength that there can be no question the incident occurred. Moreover, al-Bayhaqī mentioned that it is something known on a mass-scale, making it unnecessary to cite specific narrations on the subject, and Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ describes the narrations as being “mutawātir.” The incident is from the great proofs of prophethood and demonstrates the exalted position of the Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) before Allāh. And, as stated by al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, it is also a lesson for believers on how we ought to long and yearn to meet him (ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam).



