It so happened that one day the Holy Prophet (S) was traveling between Mecca and Medina. In his army there were both infidels and hypocrites of Mecca and Medina. They were discussing among themselves. One of them told his companions: This man eats like us.
He also urinates and relieves himself like us and yet claims to be the messenger of Allah. One of those hypocrites said: This forest is quite open. When he sits to relieve himself, I will see whether the thing which he throws out is like what we do or something different? Another one said: He will never sit to relieve himself in your presence, because he is more modest than an unmarried young woman who might not have looked at others and whom none would have seen.
Almighty Allah informed His messenger of these mischievous desires. The Holy Prophet (S) asked Zaid bin Haritha: Go to those two trees which are at a distance of about half a mile from one another. Just stand between them and call upon them that the Messenger of Allah wants you two to come close and join with one another at this particular point, so that he may sit behind you for relieving himself.
Zaid (r.a.) complied with the Prophet’s order, and lo, by Allah, those two trees uprooted themselves and by One, Who sent Muhammad as His truthful messenger, they came close and embraced one another like two close friends. The Prophet then sat behind these trees. Seeing this, the hypocrites said: He has disappeared from our eyesight.
Then one of them said: Let us go on the other side. When they approached them, the two trees also turned their direction, keeping the Holy Prophet (S) hidden from their sight. The more they tried to view the Prophet, the more the trees kept revolving. Finally they decided to encircle the trees from all sides so that some of them could observe the desired scene.
But then, the trees also formed a circle and remained like that until the Prophet purified himself, made ablution and returned to his army in the open. Then he again asked Zaid (r.a.) to tell those trees that Allah’s Messenger commands you to go back to your earlier positions. Zaid (r.a.) complied with the order and so did the trees.
By Almighty Allah, Who sent Muhammad (S) as His true Messenger, those trees were running fast like a man who runs away speedily from an enemy with an open sword in his hand. Finally, when the hypocrites failed in observing the Holy Prophet (S) in sitting position they told themselves: Let us see what he has thrown out from his body over there. It will show us whether we and he are same or not. When they went there, they could not find anything!
After observing this event, companions of the Prophet became astonished; they heard a voice from the sky: Are you surprised at seeing the trees running towards one another? The rushing of angels towards the friends of Muhammad and Ali (a.s.) with divine miracles is far more faster than what you saw. On Judgment Day, running away of flames of Hellfire from friends of Ali (a.s.) and those who are aloof from the enemies of Ali (a.s.) will be quicker than the departing of the trees that you saw.