A word on people's deviation from the practical Sunnah, including the minbars and pillars.

The Shaykh : Keep your question. We were speaking about matters related to the mosque.
The questioner: The minbar.

The Shaykh : The Islamic world has continued to live in a vast maze, far removed from the Prophetic Sunnah in its various divisions that we mentioned earlier, including the practical Sunnah. As is well known in Sahih al-Bukhari and other sources, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to lean on a palm trunk when delivering sermons to the Companions. Then there was a slave belonging to a carpenter’s wife, and it was suggested to him, “Why don’t we make you a pulpit to sit on?” So they made him a pulpit with three steps. When he first sat on this pulpit and left that lifeless trunk, which has no spirit in it, they heard a moaning sound from it, like the moaning of a young camel for its mother, until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) descended from the pulpit and embraced it until it became quiet. Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him), who was a great imam and a tremendous preacher, said, reminding people of the hardness of their hearts: “This is a dry tree that moans for the Messenger of Allah, so why do you not moan for the Messenger of Allah and his Sunnah?” The Muslims lived for a long period of time adorning and decorating their mosques and installing pulpits in them, the best of which cut through one row, while others cut through two rows or more. All of this is in accordance with his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The Salafi Sunni callers, more than all other parties and groups, have been calling people to follow the Sunnah in everything, including in their mosques, and specifically regarding the pulpits in these mosques, which are such that the one who ordered them or made them is described by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): The callers to the Sunnah have been calling the Ummah to revive these Sunnahs, including returning to the pulpit of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with its three steps. Many people have become aware of what they pointed out, but most of them are still far from standing firm for the unambiguous truth. Instead, they adhere to what is called middle-of-the-road solutions, so they have innovated for us a high pulpit that does not cut through the row, but one ascends to it by winding and turning. Why this excessive effort? He said (peace and blessings be upon him): If the Muslims were to return to the Prophetic pulpit with its three steps, many people have become aware of what they pointed out, but most of them are still far from standing firm for the unambiguous truth. Instead, they adhere to what is called middle-of-the-road solutions, so they have innovated for us, and here is the point, a high pulpit that does not cut through the row, but one ascends to it by winding and turning. Why this excessive effort? He said (peace and blessings be upon him): If the Muslims were to return to the Prophetic pulpit with its three steps, there would be no need to adopt these wide mihrabs and install stairs to ascend to them, and so on, all this excessive effort. I am pleased with this mosque of yours, and I ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to fill it with worshippers and that the saying “They build them, then they do not fill them except a little” not be true of it. I would have liked it to be free of these pillars and columns, which often, first, cause the row to be cut off like the pulpit, and second, cause disturbance and confusion between the worshippers who enjoin good and forbid evil and others whose state, and sometimes whose words, is “This is how we found our fathers upon a religion,” which leads to commotion and “Do not move forward, do not move back,” and so on. Let no one think that it is impossible today, given the advancement of architectural engineering, to build a mosque like this without any column. We have seen, in reality, very large open areas without any columns in the lands of disbelief for organizing entry and exit, and we are more deserving of such things in the houses of Allah and the mosques of Allah. Instead of these pillars, they can be arranged horizontally according to an engineering plan, which is not my specialty. And it was said: “And it was what I feared would happen; indeed, to Allah we return.” So be careful that a row does not fall between the columns. For example, here, three or four rows can be established, so you make a parallel space between these rows such that the last row is here and the column is behind the worshippers, not that the row falls between these columns. I wanted to mention this observation as well, in addition to the pulpit, which you should adopt according to the Sunnah with three steps, without the double and this winding turn, which, if Allah wills, is a reminder, and a reminder benefits the believers.