Sayyiduna Salim bin Ubayd (may Allah be pleased with him), who was one of the People of the Suffah, narrates: During the illness of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he asked: "Has the time of prayer come?" We said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell Bilal to give the call to prayer (adhan), and tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "My father is a soft-hearted man; if you were to instruct someone other than him to lead the prayer, that would be appropriate." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fainted again. When he regained consciousness, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Has the time of prayer come?" I said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Tell Bilal to give the call to prayer, and tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "My father is a soft-hearted man; if you were to order someone other than him to lead the prayer, that would be appropriate." Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fainted again. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regained consciousness, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Has the prayer been established?" We said: "Yes." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Bring me someone I can lean on." Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) and another man came to him, and he leaned on the two of them and came to the mosque. When he entered the mosque, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading the people in prayer. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) began to step back, but the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stopped him. He was seated at the side of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) until he finished the prayer. Then when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed away, Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Let me not hear anyone saying that the Messenger of Allah has died; if I hear anyone, I will strike him with the sword." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came holding my wrist, leaning on me. He came walking and said: "Make room, make room for him." Then he bent over the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), touched him and said: "You have passed away, and the people too will die." The people said: "O companion of the Messenger of Allah, has the Messenger of Allah died?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "Yes." So the people knew that it was just as he said. The people said: "O companion of the Messenger of Allah, shall we offer the funeral prayer for the Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "Yes." The people said: "How shall we offer his funeral prayer?" He said: "Some people should come in, say the takbir, make supplication and send blessings, then go out, (and others come in) until all the people have finished." The people said: "O companion of the Messenger of Allah, will the Messenger of Allah be buried?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "Yes." The people asked: "Where will he be buried?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "In the very place where he passed away, for Allah Almighty has taken him in death only in a pure place." So the people knew that it would be just as he had described. Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: "Your master is with you." Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) ordered the people to wash the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he left. The Muhajirun gathered to consult, and they said: "Come with us to our brothers of the Ansar, for they too will have a share in this matter." They went, and a man from the Ansar said: "One leader will be from us and one leader from you." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took hold of the hand of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and said: "Tell me, which person has these three qualities: he is the second of two when the two of them were in the cave, so who were those two? He said to his companion: 'Do not grieve,' so who was that companion? (And it also says:) 'Indeed Allah Almighty is with us.'" Then he took hold of the hand of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to the people: "Pledge allegiance to him." So the people pledged allegiance to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) in an excellent manner. (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Ibn Majah recorded part of this narration.
Al-Tabarani recorded it; its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب الخلافة / 8935
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه الطبراني فى المعجم الكبير (6367)»