Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) fell ill with the sickness in which he passed away, Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came to inform him about the prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Tell Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the people in prayer." We said, "O Messenger of Allah, indeed Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is very soft-hearted and he weeps quickly. If he stands in your place, he will start crying and will not be able to lead the prayer. Therefore, if you command Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), it would be better." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." The Prophet (peace be upon him) gave this command three times. Then he said: "Indeed, you are like the women who were involved in the story of Yusuf (peace be upon him)." Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says, so we sent a message to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) (he came) and led the people in prayer. (During this time) the Prophet (peace be upon him) felt some relief, so he came out supported by two men, while his blessed feet were dragging on the ground. When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sensed the arrival of the Prophet (peace be upon him), he began to step back, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) gestured to him to remain in his place. Thus, the Prophet (peace be upon him) came and sat beside Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). In this way, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was following the Prophet (peace be upon him) in prayer, and the people were following Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) in prayer. May Allah be pleased with them all. This hadith is from Waki’ and in the narration of Abu Muawiyah, the words are that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was sitting and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing. Imam Abu Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a group of hadith scholars say that when a sick imam leads the prayer sitting, the followers who are able to stand should pray standing behind him. They say that the hadith of Aswad and Urwah narrated from Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) abrogates those ahadith which we have mentioned in previous pages, in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) commanded his companions to pray sitting when their imam was also praying sitting. He says that the previous ahadith are from the time when the Prophet (peace be upon him) fell from a horse (and due to a sprain, he led the prayer sitting), and the incident mentioned in this hadith is from the time of the illness in which he passed away. Therefore, they say that the last action of the Prophet (peace be upon him) abrogates his previous statements and actions. Imam Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) says: I ask Allah Almighty for protection from error and for guidance to the right path, and I say that in this matter, in my view, the correct position is that if it is proven that the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself was the imam in his last illness, then the matter will be as this group of hadith scholars says. But in our view, this is not established, because there is a difference among the narrators regarding this prayer, and they have formed three groups (which are as follows).