Ibn Hibban

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: During the illness in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) passed away, he performed prayer sitting behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The narrator named Naeem bin Abu Hind has transmitted a different opinion in the text of this narration from Asim bin Abu Nujood. Asim has narrated that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a follower (muqtadi), while Naeem has narrated that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was the imam. Both narrators are trustworthy, are memorizers, and are “agreed upon.” So how can it be permissible that the report of one of them be made to abrogate a previously established ruling, while a similar narration apparently exists in opposition to it? So, with the will of Allah Almighty and His guidance, we say that all these narrations are authentic and there is nothing in them that opposes the other. The reality is that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed prayer in congregation in the mosque twice during his illness. He did not perform one prayer. Out of these two, on one occasion he participated as a follower, and on the other occasion he participated as an imam. And the evidence for this is that he participated in two prayers, not in one. One narration is that Ubaidullah bin Abdullah has transmitted from Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) went walking between two men, one of whom was Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). While Masruq has transmitted from Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) went walking between Barirah and Nubah (the names of two slave women). So this will guide you to the fact that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed two prayers, not one.