128. MENTION OF HIS COMMAND TO ABU BAKR AS- SIDDIQ TO LEAD IN PRAYER AND HIS EXITING THEN HE PRAYED BEHIND HIM
Imam Ahmed narrated from ‘Abdullah Ibn Zam’ah Ibn Al- Aswad Ibn Al-Muttalib Ibn Asad who said that when the illness became severe for the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) while I was with him in a group from among the Muslims, Bilal called for the prayer. He said: “Command somebody to lead the prayer.” He said: So I exited then suddenly ‘Umar was with the people and Abu Bakr was absent so I said: “Stand, ‘Umar and lead the people in prayer.” So he stood, and when ‘Umar pronounced: Allahu Akbar, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) heard his voice, for ‘Umar was a man with a loud voice. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) asked: “Where is Abu Bakr? Allah refuses that and so do the Muslims; Allah refuses that and so do the Muslims.” Thereafter Abu Bakr was sent for and he arrived after ‘Umar had prayed that prayer, and led the people in prayer. Then ‘Abdullah Ibn Zam’ah said: ‘Umar said to me: “Woe be unto you! What did you do, Ibn Zam’ah? By Allah, I did not think when you commanded me except that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded me with it, if it was not for that I would not have prayed.” I replied: “By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) did not command me, however, when I did not see Abu Bakr, I saw you more deserving of the people in leading them in prayer.”
Al-Aswad said: We were with A’ishah, and we spoke of being steadfast on the prayer and veneration of it so she said: When the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) became ill, during the illness from which he died, the time of prayer entered,and Bilal made the Adhan. He said: “Order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.” It was said to him: “Verily, Abu Bakr is a weak man, i.e., he had a soft heart and would cry much from the fear of Allah as other narrations have mentioned, and when he stands in your place he will not be able to lead the people in prayer.” He repeated himself and they repeated themselves to him. Then he replied on the third occasion and said: “You are like the women who tried to tempt Yoosuf, may peace be upon him, order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.” Thereafter Abu Bakr exited (as an Imam). Thereafter the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) felt better and came out between two people, it is as though I see his legs dragging from the pain. Abu Bakr wanted to move back, but the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) indicated to him to stay in his place. Thereafter he was led until he sat next to him. It was said to Al- A’mash: So the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed and Abu Bakr followed him in prayer whilst the people were following Abu Bakr in prayer? So he nodded with his head: “Yes.”
‘Ubaidullah Ibn ‘Abdullah said: “I entered upon ‘A’ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) and said: Will you inform me about the illness of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ?” She said: “Indeed, the Messenger of Allah’s (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) illness became heavy upon him and so he asked: ‘Have the people prayed?’ We replied: ‘No, they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said: ‘Put some water for me in the container.’ So we did. Then he had a bath and when he went to stand up, he became unconscious. When he regained consciousness he said: ‘Have the people prayed?’ We replied: ‘No, they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah.’ He said: ‘Put some water for me in the container.’ So we did. Then he had a bath when he went to stand up, he became unconscious. When he regained consciousness he said: ‘Have the people prayed?’ We replied: ‘No, they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah.’ Then he said: ‘Put some water for me in the container.’ So we did. Then he had a bath then he went to stand up, he became unconscious. When he recovered he said: ‘Have the people prayed?’ We replied: ‘No, they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah,’ and the people were sitting in the mosque waiting for the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) for the Isha’ prayers. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) sent for Abu Bakr so that he can lead the people in prayers. Abu Bakr was a weak man (who cried from the fear of Allah). He (Abu Bakr) said: ‘Umar, lead the people in prayers,’ to which he replied: ‘You are more deserving of that.’ So Abu Bakr led them in prayers in those days. When the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) felt a little better, so he came out between two men, one of whom was Al-‘Abbas for the Dhuhr prayers. When Abu Bakr saw him he started to move back, but the Prophet indicated to him not to move back. He commanded him and then set him next to him. Thereafter Abu Bakr prayed standing and the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed while seated.” ‘Ubaidullah mentioned: So I entered upon Ibn ‘Abbas and I said: ‘Shall I not inform you of what A’ishah told me about the illness of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ‘ He replied: ‘Tell me.’ So I informed him and he didn’t deny anything about it except that he said: ‘Did she mention to you the name of the person who was with Al‘Abbas?’ I replied: ‘No.’ He said: ‘He was ‘Ali’.“
In another narration: Abu Bakr began to pray standing while following the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him). The people were following the prayer of Abu Bakr while the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) was seated.Al-Baihaqi mentioned: So in this (narration) the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) went forward in this prayer, and Abu Bakr joined his prayer with his.
Anas said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed behind Abu Bakr in one single garment wrapped around him. When he wished to stand he said: “Call Usamah Ibn Zaid for me.” So he came and then leaned his back to his neck, and that was the last prayer he prayed. Al- Baihaqi mentioned: In this is proof that this prayer was the morning prayer of Monday the day of his passing away. It was the last prayer that he prayed due to what has been affirmed that he passed away during midmorning (Dhuha) of Monday. That which Al-Baihaqi has mentioned, Muslim took it from the Book of Maghazi by Moosa Ibn Uqbah, for he mentioned it just like that. Similarly, Abul-Aswad narrated from Urwah, but it is weak. Rather this was the last prayer that he prayed with the people as was mentioned specifically in the other narration, and a general incident is overruled by a specific one. Therefore, it is not possible for this to be the morning prayer of Monday the day of his passing away, because that prayer was in congregation, rather than in his house because of the weakness. The evidence for that is what Al-Bukhari mentioned in his Saheeh from Anas Ibn Malik, who followed, served, and accompanied the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him): Verily, Abu Bakr used to lead the prayer during the illness from which the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) passed away, until it was Monday while they were in rows for prayer. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) uncovered the curtain of the house looking at us while standing, his face was like the page of a Mus- haf, he smiled and was laughing. So we thought we were going to be tempted from the joy of seeing the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), and Abu Bakr had gone back on his heels to reach the row of worshippers behind him, and he thought that the Prophet was coming out for the prayer. He indicated to us to complete the prayer, and then he let the curtain down, and passed away on that day.“
Anas ibn Malik said that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) did not come out for three days, then the (Iqamah) prayer was established, Abu Bakr moved forward. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Lift the curtain,”and they lifted it. When the Prophet’s (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) face became apparent to us, we had not seen a sight more beloved to us than his face. Thereafter, the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) indicated with his hand to Abu Bakr to move forward and the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) let go of the veil, and he was not seen until he died.
This is the most clear evidence that he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) did not pray the Monday morning prayer with the people, and he had no contact with them, because he did not come out for three days. We say: So upon this basis, the last prayer that he prayed with them was Dhuhr, as it has come explicitly in the Hadith of ‘A’ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) which was mentioned before, and that was on Thursday not Saturday or Sunday, as Al- Baihaqi mentioned from Maghazi Moosa Ibn ‘Uqbah, who is weak, and because of we mentioned from his sermon after it. Also due to the fact he lost contact with them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and these were full days. What is strange is that Al-Hafiz Al-Baihaqi cited this Hadith from these two paths, then he said: So maybe he (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) secluded himself from them in the first Raka‘ahs, then he exited in the second Raka‘ah, then prayed behind Abu Bakr, just as ‘Urwah and Moosa Ibn Uqbah mentioned, and that had been unknown to Anas Ibn Malik, or he mentioned some of the incident and didn’t mention the end of it.This, which he mentioned, is very far fetched because Anas said: Then he was not seen until he died, and in another narration he said: Then that was the last time with him. The statement of a Companion takes precedence over the statement of a Tabi‘ee And Allah (SWT) knows best.
What is important is that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) chose Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq as an Imam for all of the Companions in the prayer, which is the greatest pillar of Islam in terms of acts of worship. Shaikh Abul- Hasan Al-Ash‘ari said: “His preference of him is a matter known by necessity from the religion of Islam. His preference of him is a proof that he was the most knowledgeable of the Companions and the best of them in memorization due to what has been affirmed in the report whose authenticity is agreed upon by the scholars. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allahbe upon him) said: ‘The one who leads the people in prayer is the one who has the best recitation/ memorization of the Qur’an; ifthey are the same in recitation, then the one who has the most knowledge of the Sunnah; if they are the same with regards to the Sunnah, then the one who is older; if they are the same age, then the one who accepted Islam first’.” Isay: these words of Al-Ash‘ari deserve to be written in gold. All these qualities were indeed present in As-Siddeeq. The prayer of the Messenger (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) behind him in some of the prayers as we mentioned previously from the authentic narrations do not contradict that which has been narrated in the Saheeh that Abu Bakr followed him, because that was in another prayer as Ash- Shafi‘i and others from the Imams mentioned.
Point of Benefit: Malik, Ash-Shafi‘i and a number of the scholars, including Al-Bukhari, used the Prophet’s prayer while being seated and Abu Bakr following him standing and the people following Abu Bakr as an evidence for the abrogation of his statement in the Hadith that is agreed upon,when he prayed with some of his companions seated. He fell from his horse and his right side was injured, so they prayed behind him while standing. So he indicated to them to sit down, then when he finished he said: “By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you are similar to what the Persians and the Romans would do, standing for their great ones while they are seated. The Imam is only there to be followed, so when he pronounces Allahu Akbar then pronounces Allahu Akbar. When he performs the Rukoo’ also performs the Rukoo‘, and when he stands straight then stands straight; when he prostrates the prostate, and when he prays sitting then everyone should pray sitting.” They said: Then he led them while seated, and they were standing in the illness of death, so that illustrates that it is an abrogation of what was mentioned before, And Allah (SWT) knows best.
And the ways in which people replied to this conclusion have differed into many opinions, and the place of their mentioning is in the book Al-Ahkam AlKabeer. The summary of it is that some people claimed that the Companions sat because of his previous command and Abu Bakr only continued standing in order to convey his voice. Some of the people said that Abu Bakr was the Imam at the same time as some of the narrators explicitly mentioned as was mentioned before, and Abu Bakr, due to his great conduct with the Messenger of Allah, would not lead him rather he would follow him. So it is as though the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) became the Imam of the Imam, because of this they did not sit as they were following Abu Bakr while he was standing. As-Siddeeq did not sit because he was the Imam and also in order to convey to them the Prophet’s Movements, still moments, and transmissions. And Allah (SWT) knows best. From the people are those who said: There is a difference between starting the prayer behind the Imam in a state of standing, then continuing standing in it, even if the sitting of the Imam occurs during it, as is in this situation, and beginning a prayer behind an Imam who is already seated, in the latter case it is obligatory to sit as in the Hadith mentioned earlier And Allah (SWT) knows best. From the people are those who said: This action and the Hadith mentioned earlier are an evidence allowing standing and sitting, and both of them are allowed and permissible; sitting because of what has been mentioned, and standing because of the later action. And Allah (SWT) knows best.
By: Ibn Katheer
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