his chamber, and then declared, “No, no—no one may lead the people in prayer but Ibn Abī Quḥāfah!” He said this in evident anger.

Al-Bukhārī also reports: ʿUmar ibn Ḥafṣ related to us, my father related to us, al-Aʿmash related to us from Ibrāhīm who said: al-Aswad reported, “We were with ʿĀʾishah when the topic of being constant in prayer and persevering in it was mentioned. She said:

‘When the Prophet ﷺ fell ill with the sickness from which he passed away and the prayer became due, Bilāl gave the adhān. The Prophet said, “Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer.” They replied, “Abū Bakr is a tender-hearted man; if he stands in your place he will not be able to lead the people in prayer.” He repeated the command, and they repeated their objection; when he ordered a third time he said, “You are the women who were with Joseph! Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer.”

Abū Bakr came out, and the Prophet ﷺ felt some relief and came out leaning on two men—I can almost see his feet dragging along the ground from pain. Abū Bakr wanted to step back, but the Prophet ﷺ motioned to him, “Stay where you are.” Then the Prophet was brought forward until he sat beside him.’

Al-Aʿmash was asked, “Was the Prophet ﷺ praying while Abū Bakr followed his prayer, and the people followed Abū Bakr’s prayer?” He nodded his head and said, “Yes.”

Al-Bukhārī then remarked: Abū Dāwūd transmitted part of this through Shuʿbah, and Abū Muʿāwiyah added—on the authority of al-Aʿmash—“He sat to the left of Abū Bakr, while Abū Bakr stood and prayed.” Al-Bukhārī records this report in several places, and it is also related by Muslim, al-Nasāʾī, and Ibn Mājah through multiple chains from al-Aʿmash—among them the version Bukhārī took from Qutaybah, and the versions Muslim took from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah and Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā, all through Abū Muʿāwiyah.

Al-Bukhārī further says: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Yūsuf related to us, Mālik informed us, from Hishām ibn ʿUrwah, from his father, from ʿĀʾishah, who said: “During his illness the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’” ʿĀʾishah added, “I said, ‘Abū Bakr is such a sensitive man that if he stands in your place he will not make the people hear (his recitation) because of his weeping, so order ʿUmar to lead the people in prayer.’ [I then said to Ḥafṣah, ‘Tell him: if Abū Bakr stands in your place the people will not hear because of his weeping, so order ʿUmar to lead them.’] Ḥafṣah relayed this, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, ‘Enough! You are indeed the women who were with Joseph. Tell Abū Bakr to lead the people in prayer.’” Ḥafṣah then said to ʿĀʾishah, “You never let me gain anything good from you.”

Al-Tirmidhī and al-Nasāʾī also transmitted this ḥadīth from Mālik, and al-Tirmidhī said, “It is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.”