بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum.
Once upon a time, a man had a dream about a tree doing dua (supplication) in its prostration. He then told another man about that dream. The second man would then say that supplication in the prostration of recitation (Sajdah At-Tilawah).
Wait, what? The second man used a supplication by a tree in someone’s dream? Are we allowed to do that?
No, we are not. The second man could do that because he was the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) himself, and his actions simply confirmed the dream of the man. So we are following the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) and not the tree (however smart it may have been).
Here’s the story:
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي يَزِيدَ، قَالَ قَالَ لِي ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ يَا حَسَنُ أَخْبَرَنِي عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَبِي يَزِيدَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُنِي اللَّيْلَةَ وَأَنَا نَائِمٌ كَأَنِّي أُصَلِّي خَلْفَ شَجَرَةٍ فَسَجَدْتُ فَسَجَدَتِ الشَّجَرَةُ لِسُجُودِي فَسَمِعْتُهَا وَهِيَ تَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ اكْتُبْ لِي بِهَا عِنْدَكَ أَجْرًا وَضَعْ عَنِّي بِهَا وِزْرًا وَاجْعَلْهَا لِي عِنْدَكَ ذُخْرًا وَتَقَبَّلْهَا مِنِّي كَمَا تَقَبَّلْتَهَا مِنْ عَبْدِكَ دَاوُدَ . قَالَ الْحَسَنُ قَالَ لِي ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ قَالَ لِي جَدُّكَ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ فَقَرَأَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم سَجْدَةً ثُمَّ سَجَدَ .
Al-Hasan bin Muhammad bin Ubaidullah bin Abi Yazid said: Ibn Juraij said to me: O Hasan! Ubaidullah bin Abi Yazid informed me that Ibn Abbas (radiallahu anhuma) said: “A man came to the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! I had a dream at night while I was sleeping in which I was praying behind a tree, when I prostrated the tree prostrated along with me. Then I heard it saying: (Allahummaktub li biha indaka ajran, wada anni biha wizran, waj’alha li biha indaka dhukhran, wa taqabbalha minni kama taqabbaltaha min abdiki Dawud.)” (O Allah! Record for me, a reward with You for it, remove a sin for me by it, and store it away for me with You, and accept it from me as You accepted it from Your worshipper Dawud). Al-Hasan said: “Ibn Juraij said to me: ‘Your grandfather said to me: Ibn Abbas (radiallahu anhuma) said: ‘So the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) recited (an Ayah of) prostration then prostrated.'” (He said) “So Ibn Abbas said: ‘I listened to him, and he was saying the same as the man informed that the tree had said.'” [Jaami At-Tirmidhi, Hadeeth No. 579. Graded “hasan” (good) by Shaikh Al-Albani (rahimahullah).]
That’s a rather amazing dua, isn’t it? What’s even more amazing that it was just one prostration but this dua made this seemingly small deed even greater. We can do the same by learning this dua and reciting it.
This dua is one of those that can be recited during Sajdah At-Tilawah (the prostration of recitation), which can occur during the prayer or outside of it. For more information on how to do this prostration properly, you may refer to this fatwa of Shaikh Ibn Baz. There are fifteen verses of prostration in total, all of which are listed here.
Apart from doing nice duas, trees also dole out some good advice.
So much to learn from trees, isn’t there?