and the people were gathered in the mosque, waiting for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to lead the ʿIshāʾ prayer. She said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ therefore sent word to Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer. When the messenger reached him, Abū Bakr—who was a soft-hearted man—said, “ʿUmar, lead the people in prayer.” ʿUmar replied, “You are more entitled to that than I.” She continued: so Abū Bakr led them in prayer during those days.

Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ felt some relief. For the ẓuhr prayer he came out, supported by two men—one of them was al-ʿAbbās—while Abū Bakr was leading the people. When Abū Bakr saw him he started to step back, but the Prophet ﷺ signalled to him not to withdraw and said to the two men, “Seat me beside him.” They seated him next to Abū Bakr, who continued the prayer standing, following the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the people following Abū Bakr, while the Prophet ﷺ prayed seated.

ʿUbayd Allāh said: I presented this report to Ibn ʿAbbās and he did not object to a single word of it. Agreed upon.

Al-Aswad ibn Yazīd and ʿUrwah likewise narrated that Abū Bakr made his prayer dependent on the prayer of the Prophet ﷺ, as did al-Arqam ibn Sharāḥbīl from Ibn ʿAbbās, and others besides them.

As for the Prophet’s praying behind Abū Bakr, Shuʿbah related from Nuʿaym ibn Abī Hind, from Abū Wāʾil, from Masrūq, from ʿĀʾishah, who said: “During the illness from which he died, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed behind Abū Bakr while seated.”

Shuʿbah also reported from al-Aʿmash, from Ibrāhīm, from al-Aswad, from ʿĀʾishah that the Prophet ﷺ prayed behind Abū Bakr.

Hushaym and Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Kathīr likewise transmitted—with Hushaym’s wording—from Ḥumayd, from Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ came out while Abū Bakr was leading the people in prayer. He sat down beside him, wearing a mantle whose two ends he had crossed over, and prayed following him.