390 – Al-Nasāʾī, through a different chain, relates from Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him): “The Prophet ﷺ led a group of his Companions in two rakʿahs, then pronounced the taslīm; he then led another group in two rakʿahs, after which he pronounced the taslīm once more.” (1) A similar narration is found in Abū Dāwūd on the authority of Abū Bakrah. (2)

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Grading of the ḥadīth:
This report appears in al-Bukhārī (4125) and Muslim (843) in these very words, with an explanatory addition. Jābir said, “We were with the Prophet ﷺ at Dhāt al-Riqāʿ. When the prayer was called, he led one contingent in two rakʿahs; they then withdrew, and he led the other contingent in two rakʿahs. Thus the Prophet ﷺ prayed four rakʿahs while the people prayed two.” Agreed upon.

As for the narration of Abū Bakrah, it is transmitted by Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and al-Dāraqutnī. Ibn al-Qaṭṭān critiqued it on the grounds that Abū Bakrah embraced Islam some time after the fear-prayer had already been instituted. Al-Ḥāfiẓ replied, “This is not a valid defect, for in that case it would merely be a Companion-mursal report.”

What is taken from the ḥadīth:
1 – This represents the fourth mode of the fear-prayer. The Prophet ﷺ performed it during the expedition of Dhāt al-Riqāʿ. The principal narration is found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs from Jābir, but there it includes an explanatory addition: Jābir said, “We were with the Prophet ﷺ at Dhāt al-Riqāʿ. When the prayer was called, he led one contingent in two rakʿahs, pronounced the taslīm, they withdrew, and he led the other contingent in two rakʿahs, then—”