The Palm Trunk That Cried

This is a true story. It happened long ago, in the city of Madinah, in the masjid of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

The masjid was very simple. Its walls were made of mud bricks. Its roof was made of palm leaves. And holding the roof up were the tall trunks of date-palm trees, standing straight and still.

Every Friday, the people gathered in the masjid, and the Prophet ﷺ gave the khutbah, the special Friday sermon. While he spoke, he stood beside one of those palm trunks. Week after week, the old trunk was right there beside him.

One day, someone from the Ansar, the helpers of Madinah, came to the Prophet ﷺ with a question.

"O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, shall we make a minbar for you?"

A minbar is a little wooden platform with steps, for the person giving the khutbah.

The Prophet ﷺ answered, "If you wish."

So a carpenter got to work. He made the minbar out of wood from tamarisk trees in a forest near Madinah, with three steps.

When Friday came, the Prophet ﷺ went to the new minbar.

And then the people in the masjid heard a sound.

It was coming from the old palm trunk. The trunk was crying! It cried like a little child. It cried so hard that it nearly split apart.

Jabir, one of the Companions, was there that day and heard it himself. Later he said it sounded like a mother camel who is about to have her baby.

What would the Prophet ﷺ do?

He came down from the minbar and went to the old trunk. He put his arms around it and held it close. He gently stroked it with his hand.

Little by little, the crying grew softer, like the sobs of a child who is being hushed and comforted. Softer… and softer… until at last, the trunk was quiet.

Then the Prophet ﷺ explained why the trunk had cried. He said it was crying for the dhikr it used to hear beside it: the remembrance of Allah.

Every Friday, that trunk had stood close to the Prophet ﷺ, hearing him speak about Allah. Now he had moved away, and it could no longer hear those beautiful words right beside him.

What happened that day was one of the wonderful signs that Allah gave His Messenger ﷺ.

A trunk of old wood missed being near the Prophet ﷺ so much that it cried. And he was so gentle and so kind that he came down to hold it and comfort it.

If even a tree loved him that much, then you and I can love him even more.

We cannot stand next to him, the way that palm trunk did. But we can listen to true stories about him, just like this one, and learn his gentle ways. And the more you learn about him, the more your heart will love him.

So snuggle down now, all warm and quiet, like the old palm trunk when its crying stopped. Before you sleep, you can send salawat on the Prophet ﷺ, asking Allah to bless him.

Then close your eyes, my love, and rest, safe and sound.