Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Ibn al-Bazzi narrates that I was at a funeral. Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq and Hazrat Umar were walking in front of the funeral, and Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was walking behind. I approached Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked, "Is it better to walk behind the funeral or in front of it? Because I see you walking behind, while these two gentlemen are walking in front." Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "Walking behind the funeral is better than walking in front of it, just as the prayer of a person performed alone is better. Those two gentlemen are walking in front for the sake of ease. They prefer to make things easy for the people."