The people asked Sahl bin Saad what the pulpit was made of. He replied, "There is no one left among the people who knows more about it than I do. It was made from the tamarisk wood of the forest. So-and-so, the freedman of so-and-so, made it for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. When it was finished and put in place, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood upon it, faced the qiblah, and said the takbir, while the people stood behind him. He recited and bowed, and the people bowed behind him. Then he raised his head, stepped backwards, and prostrated on the ground. Then he returned to the pulpit, bowed again, raised his head, and stepped backwards until he prostrated on the ground. This is how he did it."Abu Abdullah said, Ali bin al-Madini said, "Ahmad bin Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, asked me about this hadith."He continued, "What I meant by it was that the Prophet ﷺ was positioned higher than the people, so there is no harm in the imam being higher than the people, based on this hadith."He said, "I told him, 'Sufyan bin Uyayna was often asked about this. Did you not hear it from him?'"He replied, "No."
حدثنا علي بن عبد الله قال حدثنا سفيان قال حدثنا
سألوا سهل بن سعد من أي شيء المنبر فقال ما بقي بالناس أعلم مني هو من أثل الغابة عمله فلان مولى فلانة لرسول الله ﷺ وقام عليه رسول الله ﷺ حين عمل ووضع فاستقبل القبلة كبر وقام الناس خلفه فقرأ وركع وركع الناس خلفه ثم رفع رأسه ثم رجع القهقرى فسجد على الأرض ثم عاد إلى المنبر ثم ركع ثم رفع رأسه ثم رجع القهقرى حتى سجد بالأرض فهذا شأنه قال أبو عبد الله قال علي بن المديني سألني أحمد بن حنبل رحمه الله عن هذا الحديث قال فإنما أردت أن النبي ﷺ كان أعلى من الناس فلا بأس أن يكون الإمام أعلى من الناس بهذا الحديث قال فقلت إن سفيان بن عيينة كان يسأل عن هذا كثيرا فلم تسمعه منه قال لا