The Testimony of Trees to the Truthfulness of the Message of the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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Trees testified to the truthfulness of the Message and moved splitting the earth vigorously. A cluster of dates came down at the command of the prophet (peace be upon him). The Companions heard the moaning of the trunk of the date palm when he abandoned it, till he returned to quieten it as one quietens a child. Such unusual phenomena cannot take place except at the hands of a Messenger supported by Allah, the Glorified.

1.     The descent of the date cluster

Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that a Bedouin came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: “How can I know for sure that you are a prophet?” He said: “If I should call that cluster of dates to come down from this date palm, would you testify that I am Allah’s Messenger?” The cluster started coming down from the date palm till it fell onto the Prophet (peace be upon him) and then he ordered it to go back and it did, whereupon the Bedouin embraced Islam. [129]

2.     The Salamah (a kind of tree) that walked:

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “We were with Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) on a journey when a Bedouin came and when he approached him, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said to him: “Where are you going?” He said: “To my family.” He said: “Would you like to benefit by something good?” He asked: “What is it?” He replied: “To testify that there is no god but Allah alone without any partners with Him and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.” The Bedouin said: “Who is your witness to what you say?” He said: “This Salamah.” Then Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) called it—and it was on the bank of the valley—and it came splitting the earth vigorously till it stood in front of him. Then he asked it to witness thrice and it witnessed thrice that he was as he had asserted. Then the tree returned to its original position and the Bedouin, returned to his people. He said: ‘If they follow me I will bring them to you; otherwise, I will return and stay with you.’”[130]

         3. The obedience of two trees to the Prophet (peace be upon him)

‘Ubadah Ibn al-Walid Ibn ‘Ubadah Ibn Al-Samit said: “I and my father set out in search of knowledge to a tribe of the Ansar….” Then he reported a hadith on the authority of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) up to his saying: ‘We set out on an expedition along with Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) until we got down at a spacious valley and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) went to relieve himself. I followed him with a bucket full of water and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) looked about and he found no privacy but two trees at the end of the valley and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) went to one of them and took hold of one of its twigs and said: ‘Be you under my control by the permission of Allah,’ and so it came under his control like a camel that has its nose string in the hand of its rider, and then he came to the second tree and took hold of one of its twigs and said: ‘Be you under my control with the permission of Allah,’ and it came under his control too. When he came between the two trees he joined together the two twigs and said: ‘Join with the permission of Allah,’ and they joined.” Jabir said: “I went away quickly lest Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) should be aware of my nearness and go still farther. I began to talk to myself. I looked around by chance to see Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) coming forward and the two trees separated and each of them was standing at its original place.”[131]

        4.The moaning of the truck in yearning for the Prophet (peace be upon him):

Jabir Ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated that The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to stand by a tree or a date palm on Friday. Then an Ansari woman or man said: “O Allah's Messenger! Shall we make a pulpit for you?” He replied: “If you wish.” So, they made a pulpit for him and when it was Friday, he proceeded towards the pulpit (for delivering the sermon). The date palm cried like a child! The Prophet (peace be upon him) descended and embraced it while it continued moaning like a child being quietened. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “It was crying for (missing) what it used to hear of the religious knowledge given near to it."[132]

Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir said: “This hadith has been narrated by a group of Companions through several ways, which confirms the unquestionable authenticity in this respect.”[133]

 


[129] Al-Tirmidhi, Book/ al-Manaqib, Section nine. Al-Albani authenticated it in Sahih Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 3/193; al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, 2/676 and he says it is authentic according to the criterion of  Muslim, and they (shaikhan) did not narrate it. Ibn Kathir in al-Bidayah wa al-Nihaya , 6/131 says: “This is a good isnad”; al-Maqdisi in al-Mukhtarah, 9/539; al-Baihaqi in al-I’tiqad, p. 48. He related the story with a different wording, and in it the Bedouin is identified as belonging to Banu ‘Amir; Ahmad in al-Musnad, 1/223; al-Lalika’i in “Sharh Usul I’tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah, 4/807; al-Asbahani in Dala’il al-Nubuwah, 1/51; al-Maqdisi in al-Mukhtarah, 9/555 and he mentions it in Majma’ al-Zawa’id , 9/10 and said: “It is narrated by Abu Ya’la, and its narrators are those of authentic hadiths with the exception of Ibrahim Ibn al-Hajjaj al-Shami, who is trustworthy. It is also narrated by al-Tabari in his Tarikh, 1/530. 

[130] Al-Darimi, 1/22; Abu Ya’la in his Musnad, 10/34; Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, 14/434; al-Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabir, 12/431; al-Fakihi in Akhbar Makka, 4/29. It is said in Majma’ al-Zawa’id, 8/292: “It is narrated by al-Tabarani and its narrators are those of the authentic hadiths; Abu Ya’la; al-Bazzar; Ibn Kathir in al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, 6/130 from the narration of al-Hakim, and he says it is a good isnad. Al-Dhahabi says: “Its isnad is good”, p. 344 from al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah. 

[131] Muslim at the end of his sahih, Book/ al-Zuhd wa al-Raqa’iq, Section/ the long hadith of Jabir; Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, 14/455-456; al-Asbahani in Dala’il al-Nubuwah, 1/53-55; al-Baihaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra, 1/94. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr narrated it in al-Tamhid, 1/222. From the hadith of Ya’la Ibn Siyabah, Ahmad narrated it in his Musnad, 4/172; Ibn Qani’ in Mu’jam al-Sahabah, 3/221 and others. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said in al-Tamhid, 1/222: “It is narrated on the authority of Abu Ya’la through various routes. In Majma’ al-Zawa’id , 9/706 it is attributed to Ahamd and al-Tabarani and its isnad is described as good. See: al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, Ibn Kathir, 6/ 145-148.

[132] Al-Bukhari, Book/ al-Manaqib, Section/ the Signs of Prophethood in Islam; Ibn Majah, Book/ Iqamat al-Salat, Section/ the affair of the pulpit; al-Tirmidhi, Book/ al-Manaqib, Section/ the signs of proving the Prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Ahmad in his Musnad, 3/300; al-Baihaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra, 3/195; Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, 14/535-438; al-Maqdisi in al-Mukhtarah, 4/356 ; al-Darimi in al-Sunan, 1/29 al-Lalika’i in “Sharh Usul I’tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah”, 4/797-802 and he mentioned for it many routes going back to a group of Companions; al-Asbahani in Dala’il al-Nubuwah, 1/46; Abu Ya’la in his Musnad, 5/142; Ibn al-Ja’d in his Musnad, p. 466; Ibn al-Mubarak in al-Zuhd, p. 362. Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir mentions it in al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, 6/131-138 from the narration of al-Shafi’i; al-Bazzar in his Musnad; Abu Bakr Ibn Abu Shaibah; ‘Abd Ibn Hamid al-Laithi also. Al-Lalika’i in his above-mentioned book attributes it to Ibn Khuzaimah.

[133] Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah, 6/131. He mentions the hadith from the narration of ‘Ubai, Anas, Jabir, Sahl Ibn Sa’ad, Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn ‘Umar, Abu Sa’id. ‘Aishah and Umm Salamh (may Allah be pleased with them all).