Whether in this very report or in any other narration of his regarding an event he had personally witnessed, here he is relating an incident he saw with his own eyes. The account is, in fact, unusual because it conflicts with the common practice of performing the prayer after the sun has passed its zenith. The combination of these factors—his direct observation and the singular nature of the event—tips the balance in favor of his accurate recall. The more likely conclusion, therefore, is that this report is authentic. Perhaps for this very reason Imām Aḥmad relied on it, as his son ʿAbd Allāh records in al-Masāʾil ⟨p. 112⟩:

He was asked about the time of the Friday prayer. He replied: “If it is performed before the zenith there is no problem, because of the hadith of ʿAmr ibn Murrah from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salamah—that ʿAbd Allāh led them in the Friday prayer during the forenoon—and because of the hadith of Sahl ibn Saʿd: ‘We used to pray and then have lunch after the Friday prayer,’ which seems to indicate that it took place before the zenith.”

c) From Saʿīd ibn Suwayd, who said: “Muʿāwiyah led us in the Friday prayer during the forenoon.” Ibn Abī Shaybah transmitted it through ʿAmr ibn Murrah from him.

I say: No other transmitter from Saʿīd is mentioned besides this ʿAmr, yet Ibn Ḥibbān still listed him among the reliable narrators in al-Thiqāt.