Abu Bakr. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, came forward and sat to the left of Abu Bakr. He then led them in prayer while seated, whereas they remained standing. They followed Abu Bakr, while Abu Bakr followed the prayer of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, because his voice was too weak to be heard by the people. Abu Bakr, being beside him, could hear him; so Abu Bakr would raise his voice, and the people would thus follow Abu Bakr’s prayer. (1)
They said: This occurred at the end of his life, and therefore abrogates the Prophet’s statement, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “When he prays seated, then all of you pray seated.” (2) It also abrogates his gesture to his Companions—when he prayed seated and they prayed standing behind him, he gestured to them to sit down—(3) because it is well known that what came later in the Messenger’s sunnah abrogates what came earlier.
- Standing is an essential pillar of the prayer for one who is able to stand, and these people were able to stand; therefore, standing was an essential pillar in their case.
But we say: This view is weak, because recourse may not be made to abrogation unless reconciliation between the evidence is impossible. The scholars know that abrogation is subject to two conditions:
The first condition: knowing that the abrogating evidence came later.
The second condition: that it is not possible to reconcile it with what is claimed to have been abrogated.
This is because, if you claim abrogation, you set aside one of the two proofs and nullify its ruling. Setting aside evidence is not a trivial matter, such that whenever we find reconciliation difficult, we say, “This has been abrogated.” That is not permissible.