Tha'labah bin Zahdam al-Hanzali said: We were with Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Tabaristan, and Sa'id bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Which of you was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the fear prayer?" Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I was. One row would stand behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) and one row facing the enemy, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) would lead them in one rak'ah. Then they would go to the others' row. Then those would come, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would lead them in one rak'ah, then he would give the salam with them."
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6046
Sulaym bin Abd al-Saluli (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I was with Sa'id bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) in Tabaristan, and Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Who among you was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the fear prayer?" Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I was present." He described the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that was prayed at Usfan. In the narration of Tha'labah, the narrator's words 'a row facing the enemy' refer to the state of prostration, and his words 'they went to their place' mean that, after finishing the first rak'ah, the front row came back and the rear row went forward. In this way both rak'ahs were prayed with the imam, and there is no need to complete the second rak'ah.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6047
Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the fear prayer at a place called Dhu Qarad. One row was behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) and the other row facing the enemy. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in one rak'ah. Then this row went to the place of the other row. Those came and prayed one rak'ah with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the salam with them. Sufyan said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had two rak'ahs, and each group one rak'ah.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6048
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is not established among the people of knowledge that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), at a place called Dhu Qarad, led one group in one rak'ah, then they gave the salam, then led the other group in one rak'ah, then they gave the salam, so that the imam had two rak'ahs and each group one rak'ah.
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: We have left it only because all the hadiths on the fear prayer agree that the followers owe the same number of rak'ahs as the imam, and likewise the basic obligation of prayer upon people is one and the same in number; and because nothing like it is established with us, due to something in part of its chain.
The Shaykh said that the words "Then these went to the rows of those, and those came" mean that the front row moves back and the rear row moves forward.
Abu Bakr bin Abi al-Jahm is alone in narrating it in this way from Ubaydullah bin Abdullah.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6049
Qasim bin Hassan said: I came to so-and-so bin Wadi'ah and asked him about the fear prayer, and he said: Go to Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) and ask him. I came to Zayd bin Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him. He said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led the fear prayer: one row was behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) and the other row facing the enemy. He (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in one rak'ah. Then these went to the place of the other row, and those came to their place. He (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in one rak'ah, then gave the salam.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6050
Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I was present with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at the fear prayer. He (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered a group to stand facing the enemy, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) stood and led a group in one rak'ah. Then those who had prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the others' place, and those stood behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in one rak'ah. When they had made the prostrations, he sat and gave the salam with them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had two rak'ahs and those behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) one rak'ah each; when those who were behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the salam, the others gave the salam as well.
Note: That he (peace and blessings be upon him) had two rak'ahs and those behind him one rak'ah each may also come from some of the narrators, whereas other narrations state that they completed their own rak'ah afterwards.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6051
Yazid bin Suhayb al-Faqir said: I asked Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him): Is there shortening in the two rak'ahs of travel? Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said: There is no shortening in the two rak'ahs of travel; rather, the shortening is one rak'ah in battle. Then he related that he was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) at a time of fighting, and the time of prayer came. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood, and one group formed a row behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) while the other group remained facing the enemy. He (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in one rak'ah and made two prostrations in it. Then those who had prayed behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the other group's place. Then the other group came and prayed behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in one rak'ah and made two prostrations in it. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sat and gave the salam. Then those who were behind him (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the salam, and the others too. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had two rak'ahs and the people one rak'ah each.
Then Yazid recited this verse: "And when you are among them and establish the prayer for them" [Surah al-Nisa: 102].
The Shaykh said: It is possible that what Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) described was the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in a campaign, and likewise others described that they prayed one rak'ah on their own. In any case, the affirming report is the one to be taken.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6052
(a) Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led one group in one rak'ah of the fear prayer and the other group also in one rak'ah.
(b) Nafi' narrates from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that they prayed one rak'ah each by themselves.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6053
Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Allah Almighty, on the tongue of your Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), made obligatory upon you four rak'ahs when resident, two rak'ahs in travel, and one rak'ah in fear.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6054
It is possible that this means one rak'ah with the imam and the other rak'ah prayed alone, because the obligatory prayer remains as it originally is.
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) and other hadith scholars hold that acting upon every form of the fear prayer that has come in the hadiths is permissible.
Hadith Referenceالسنن الكبرى للبيهقي / كتاب صلاة الخوف / 6055