Some men came to Sahl bin Saad al-Saidi, having disagreed about what wood the pulpit was made from, and they asked him about it.He replied, "By Allah, I know exactly what it is made of, and I saw the very day it was set in place and the very first day the Messenger of Allah ﷺ sat upon it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent word to a certain woman" — and Sahl named her — "saying, 'Tell your servant the carpenter to make me some wooden boards on which I may sit when I address the people.' So she instructed him, and he made it from the tamarisk of al-Ghabah and brought it to her. She then sent it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who gave orders for it, and it was placed right here."Then I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ climb up and pray upon it. He said the takbeer while upon it, then bowed while upon it, then stepped backwards down and prostrated at the base of the pulpit, then returned to it. When he finished, he turned to the people and said, 'People, I have only done this so that you may follow me and learn how I pray.'"
أخبرنا قتيبة قال حدثنا يعقوب بن عبد الرحمن قال
أن رجالا أتوا سهل بن سعد الساعدي وقد امتروا في المنبر مم عوده فسألوه عن ذلك فقال والله إني لأعرف مم هو ولقد رأيته أول يوم وضع وأول يوم جلس عليه رسول الله ﷺ أرسل رسول الله ﷺ إلى فلانة امرأة قد سماها سهل أن مري غلامك النجار أن يعمل لي أعوادا أجلس عليهن إذا كلمت الناس فأمرته فعملها من طرفاء الغابة ثم جاء بها فأرسلت إلى رسول الله ﷺ فأمر بها فوضعت ها هنا ثم رأيت رسول الله ﷺ رقي فصلى عليها وكبر وهو عليها ثم ركع وهو عليها ثم نزل القهقرى فسجد في أصل المنبر ثم عاد فلما فرغ أقبل على الناس فقال يا أيها الناس إنما صنعت هذا لتأتموا بي ولتعلموا صلاتي
Bukhari included it in the Book of Jumuah, Chapter on delivering the sermon on the pulpit, hadith no. 917, and Muslim in the Book of Mosques, and so on, hadith no. 45/544, from Qutayba, through the same chain. It is also in Kubra, Chapter on the permissibility of taking one or two steps during prayer, hadith no. 818.