Ibn Hibban

Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: In the blessed era of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), previously, one of us would converse with his companion during prayer about some need of his, until this verse was revealed: "Guard strictly the prayers, especially the middle prayer, and stand before Allah with devotion." So we were commanded to remain silent (during prayer). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The words narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him): "In the blessed era of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we used to be such that one of us would converse with his companion during prayer," have caused a scholar to misunderstand that the incident of the abrogation of speaking during prayer occurred in Madinah Munawwarah, because Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) belonged to the Ansar. However, this is not the case; the incident of the abrogation of speaking during prayer occurred in Makkah, at the time when Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and his companions returned from Abyssinia. The narration from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) can have two meanings: one possibility is that it may be inferred that Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the Islam of Sayyiduna Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) migrated to Madinah Munawwarah, when Sayyiduna Mus'ab bin Umair (may Allah be pleased with him) used to teach them the Qur'an and religious rulings. At that time, conversing during prayer was permissible in both Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah. So, at that time, some of the Ansar in Madinah Munawwarah had accepted Islam. This was before the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) migrated to Madinah Munawwarah; at that time, one of them would converse with his companion during prayer. This was before the abrogation of speaking during prayer, so Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the incident of their prayer during those days. This should not be understood to mean that the incident of the abrogation of speaking during prayer occurred in Madinah Munawwarah. The second possibility is that by these words, he meant the Ansar and other people, who used to do so before the abrogation of speaking during prayer. Just as a person says in his language, "So we did this," whereas what is meant is that some people did so, not that everyone did so.