Sahl b. Sa‘d as-Sa‘idi said he was asked what the pulpit was made of and replied, “It was from the tamarisks of al-Ghaba, made by so and so, client of such and such a woman, for God’s Messenger. When it was made and placed in position God’s Messenger mounted it, faced the qibla, and said ‘God is most great’, the people standing behind him. He recited some verses and bowed, and the people bowed behind him. He then raised his head, moved backwards and prostrated himself to the ground, then returned to the pulpit, then recited some verses, then bowed, then raised his head, then moved backwards and prostrated himself to the ground.” This is Bukhari’s wording. In a version given both by him and by Muslim there is something similar, at the end of which it is said: