Ubaidullah bin Abdullah narrates: I went to the service of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). I requested her, "Will you not tell me about the illness of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?" She said: Yes, the Prophet (peace be upon him) fell ill. He asked: "Have the people performed the prayer?" I replied: "No, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! They are waiting for you." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Place water for me in a tub." Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says: We did so, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) bathed. Then, when he tried to get up, he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he asked: "Have the people performed the prayer?" I replied: "No, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! They are waiting for you." At that time, the people were sitting in the mosque waiting for the Prophet (peace be upon him) for the Isha prayer. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace be upon him) sent a message to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), "Lead the people in prayer." The messenger came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah has commanded you to lead the people in prayer." Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was a soft-hearted man, said: "O Umar! You lead the people in prayer." Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "You are more deserving of this." The narrator states: In those days, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) led the people in prayer. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) felt better, he went for the Zuhr prayer, walking between two men. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was leading the people in prayer at that time. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him, he began to step back. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gestured to him not to step back. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to those two men: "Seat me beside him." So, those two men seated him beside Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) began to pray, standing and following the prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the people were following the prayer of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), while the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sitting at that time. The narrator named Ubaidullah says: I went to the service of Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "Shall I present to you the hadith that Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated to me about the illness of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?" He said: "Present it." I narrated the hadith to him, and he did not deny any part of it.

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) led the people in prayer while the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was present in the row behind him. (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) Shu’bah bin Hajjaj has opposed Zaidah bin Qudamah in transmitting the text of this narration; he has narrated it from Musa bin Abu Aisha. So, Shu’bah has mentioned in his narration that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was performing the prayer sitting, participated as a follower, and the people were standing. Whereas the narrator named Zaidah has mentioned in his narration that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), when he was performing the prayer sitting, was leading the prayer as the Imam, and the people were performing the prayer standing. Both these narrators are trustworthy and both are memorizers, so how can it be permissible to accept the narration transmitted by only one of them, even though both narrations are transmitted about the same action and apparently contradict each other? And this becomes a narration that abrogates the previously existing absolute ruling. So, whoever considers one of these two narrations as abrogating the previous ruling of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and abandons the other narration, and does so without any evidence that proves its authenticity, then he compels his opponent to accept the other narration which he himself has abandoned from among these two narrations, and his opponent abandons the narration which he has accepted. An example of this type in the hadiths is the narration transmitted from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) in which it is mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) married Lady Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) while in the state of Ihram. Whereas Sayyiduna Abu Rafi’ (may Allah be pleased with him) has narrated that when the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) married that lady, neither of them was in the state of Ihram. So, these two narrations are contradictory regarding the same action. Although, according to us, there is no contradiction between the two. A group of hadith scholars has considered these two narrations about the marriage of Lady Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) as explanatory of each other. And they have given the fatwa according to the narration transmitted from Sayyiduna Uthman Ghani (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“A person in Ihram can neither marry nor arrange a marriage for someone else.”The hadith scholars have accepted this narration because it agrees with one of the two narrations transmitted about the marriage with Lady Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her), and the hadith scholars have abandoned the narration transmitted from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) in which it is mentioned that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) married Lady Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her) while in the state of Ihram. Whoever does so, it is necessary for him to say that regarding the reason for the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) performing the prayer, these two narrations are contradictory, as we have mentioned earlier. So now it is necessary that we refer to the narration in which the followers are commanded to perform the prayer sitting when their Imam is performing the prayer sitting. So now we will give the fatwa according to this narration, because it agrees with one of the two narrations transmitted about the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), in which its reason is mentioned, and we will abandon the narration which is unique among the two, just as was done regarding the narration about the marriage with Lady Maymunah (may Allah be pleased with her). According to us, there is no contradiction or difference in these narrations, nor is any narration among them abrogating or abrogated. Rather, one of these narrations is concise and the other is detailed; one is general and the other is explanatory. When one part is combined with the other, the contradiction between the two will be eliminated, and each narration will be applied to its specific context, as we will soon explain, if Allah wills.

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he asked: "Have the people performed the prayer?" I replied: "No." He said: "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." I said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is a soft-hearted man. When he stands in your place, he will not be able to lead the people in prayer." This statement was narrated by the narrator named Asim. The word "Aseef" used in the text of the narration means soft-hearted and kind. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said this three times, and each time I gave the same reply. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: Then Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) led the people in prayer. Then, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) felt better, he went, leaning between Barirah and Nubah (the names of two slave women). This scene is still before my eyes today. His blessed sandals were making lines on the pebbles, and I was looking at the soles of his feet. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said to both of them: "Seat me beside Abu Bakr." When Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saw him, he began to move back, but the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) gestured to him to stay in his place, and both of them seated him beside Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace be upon him) continued to pray while sitting, and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed standing, following the prayer of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the people prayed following the prayer of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).

Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: During the illness in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) passed away, he performed prayer sitting behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The narrator named Naeem bin Abu Hind has transmitted a different opinion in the text of this narration from Asim bin Abu Nujood. Asim has narrated that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a follower (muqtadi), while Naeem has narrated that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was the imam. Both narrators are trustworthy, are memorizers, and are“agreed upon.”So how can it be permissible that the report of one of them be made to abrogate a previously established ruling, while a similar narration apparently exists in opposition to it? So, with the will of Allah Almighty and His guidance, we say that all these narrations are authentic and there is nothing in them that opposes the other. The reality is that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed prayer in congregation in the mosque twice during his illness. He did not perform one prayer. Out of these two, on one occasion he participated as a follower, and on the other occasion he participated as an imam. And the evidence for this is that he participated in two prayers, not in one. One narration is that Ubaidullah bin Abdullah has transmitted from Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) went walking between two men, one of whom was Sayyiduna Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and the other was Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). While Masruq has transmitted from Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) went walking between Barirah and Nubah (the names of two slave women). So this will guide you to the fact that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) performed two prayers, not one.

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was afflicted with the illness in which he passed away, so Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) came to call him for prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. We said: O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is a soft-hearted man. If he stands in your place, he will begin to weep. If you instruct Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he can lead the people in prayer (that would be more appropriate). The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer. He said this three times, then said: You are like the women of Yusuf’s (Joseph’s) time. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: We sent a message to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). He began to lead the people in prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) felt some improvement in his health, so he went out leaning between two men. His feet were dragging lines on the ground. When Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sensed his presence, he began to step back. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gestured to him to remain in his place. The narrator states: Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) came and sat beside Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), so Sayyiduna Abu Bakr continued to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him), and the people continued to follow Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) This narration is concise and summarized. As for its conciseness, it does not mention the place where the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat—whether he sat to the right of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) or to his left.

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) felt better in his health, he came and sat down to the left of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was leading the people in prayer while sitting, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was standing (and leading the prayer). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) As far as the ambiguity of this narration is concerned, the ambiguity is that Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned this prayer, which is about this particular occasion, while the other incident is narrated from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the people to sit down. That too is about this same prayer, just as the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave them this order when he had fallen from a horse, as we have mentioned this narration earlier.

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) became ill. We performed prayer behind him while he was praying sitting down, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was conveying his takbir (saying Allahu Akbar) aloud to the people. The narrator says: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) turned towards us and saw us standing, so he gestured to us, and we sat down and performed that prayer sitting. When he finished the prayer with salam, he said: "It was close that you would do the action which the people of Persia and Rome do. They stand before their kings while the kings are sitting. Do not do so. Follow your imam. If he prays standing, then you also pray standing. If he prays sitting, then you also pray sitting." (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) This explanatory narration is a clear statement that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting to the left of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), then Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) became a follower (muqtadi), and he was following the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He was saying the takbir and conveying the takbir aloud to the people so that the people could follow the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw them standing, he ordered them to sit. When he finished the prayer, he again instructed them that when their imam prays sitting, they should also pray sitting. Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) participated in that prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) when he had fallen from his horse and was injured, and his right side was wounded. The incident of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) falling from his horse occurred in the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, which happened at the end of the fifth year of Hijrah. And Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) also participated in the prayer performed during the illness of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). So he narrated each of these incidents in his own words. Did you not notice that he mentioned regarding this prayer that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was saying the takbir aloud so that the people could follow the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in prayer? As for the prayer which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed in his house after falling from his horse, there was no need for Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to say the takbir aloud so that his voice could reach the people. The reason for this is that the chamber of Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) was small. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said the takbir aloud in the mosque, which was large. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed prayer during his illness, what we have mentioned is authentically established from it. Now it is not permissible that any one of these narrations be considered abrogating a previously existing ruling, as we have mentioned.

Sayyiduna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in the Zuhr prayer. He led the prayer while sitting, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was behind him. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the takbir, Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said the takbir in a loud voice so that it would reach us. The narrator says: When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw us standing, he said, "You people sit down." He gestured towards the people (that you should sit down). The narrator says: We sat down. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer, he said: "You were about to adopt a practice which the Persians and Romans do with their kings. You should follow your imams; if they pray sitting, then you should also pray sitting, and if they pray standing, then you should also pray standing."

Lady Aisha Siddiqa (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he asked: Has the call to prayer (adhan) been given for the prayer? We replied: No. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Tell Bilal to hasten the prayer and let Abu Bakr lead the people in prayer. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: We said: O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)! Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is a soft-hearted man; he will not be able to stand in your place. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace be upon him) looked at me, and when he finished speaking, he again fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he asked: Has the call to prayer (adhan) been given? Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: I replied: No. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Tell Bilal to give the call to prayer and let Abu Bakr lead the people in prayer. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: I gestured to Hafsa, and she said: O Prophet of Allah! Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) is a soft-hearted man. He will not be able to recite (the Qur'an) and will keep weeping. The narrator states: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) finished listening to her, he looked at her, and then again fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he asked: Has the call to prayer been given? Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: I replied: No. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Tell Bilal to give the call to prayer and let Abu Bakr lead the people in prayer. You women are like the women of Yusuf's time. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) again fell unconscious. Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) gave the iqamah for the prayer, and then Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) began to lead the people in prayer. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) regained consciousness, he went with Nubah and Barirah. Both of them were supporting him. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The sight of the toes of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is still before my eyes; they were making marks on the ground. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: When Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sensed the arrival of the Prophet (peace be upon him), he intended to step back, but the Prophet (peace be upon him) gestured to him to remain in his place. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: The Prophet (peace be upon him) was brought and seated in the row next to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says): This narration confuses the one who does not have expertise in the science of hadith and does not understand authentic narrations, and he believes that this is contrary to all the other narrations that we have mentioned before. However, there is no contradiction or difference in the narrations transmitted from the Prophet (peace be upon him), nor does any one of them belie another, nor can any narration be used to abrogate the command of the Qur'an. Rather, through it, the concise and ambiguous rulings of the Book are clarified, and its difficult and brief rulings are explained. By the grace and mercy of Allah, we have already guided towards the fact that all these narrations that have been transmitted are about two prayers, not one prayer, as we have previously mentioned. As for the first prayer, the Prophet (peace be upon him) went walking between two persons to perform that prayer, and he joined that prayer as the imam. He led the people in prayer while sitting, and he also instructed the people to pray sitting in that prayer. And this is the prayer for which the Prophet (peace be upon him) went walking between Lady Barirah (may Allah be pleased with her) and Lady Nubah (may Allah be pleased with her), who were slave women. He participated in it as a follower (muqtadi), and he performed the prayer sitting in the row behind Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The last prayer that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed with the people, he performed it in a single garment which he had draped as a shawl. He prayed sitting behind Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). (Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says) This narration removes doubt from the hearts that there appears to be any contradiction in these narrations, and no one should fall into the misunderstanding that the reconciliation we have made between these narrations is contrary to the statement of Imam Shafi’i. The reason is that every fundamental principle about which we have discussed in our books, and every subsidiary issue about which we have deduced from the hadiths and mentioned all of them in our writings, all of them will be the statements of Imam Shafi’i. And they will return to that which is mentioned in their books, even if it is as their well-known statement. The reason is that I heard Imam Ibn Khuzaymah saying that I heard Imam Muzani saying that he said: I heard Imam Shafi’i saying:“When an authentic hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is established before you, then accept it and leave my statement.”Imam Shafi’i (may Allah be pleased with him) made great efforts regarding the hadiths, collected them, and understood them, and he strongly opposed anyone who presented an opinion contrary to them. He says: If any narration is authentically established, he too will be an adherent of the issue according to that hadith and will be counted among those who retract from what (is contrary to the issue mentioned in the hadith) and which had previously been written in their books. We have already mentioned in the book“Al-Mubeen”that Imam Shafi’i has three statements which no one before him in Islam has stated, nor has anyone after him said them. And if anyone has stated them later, their source will be Imam Shafi’i. One of these statements is the one I have already mentioned. The second statement is the one which Muhammad bin Munzir narrated from Hasan bin Muhammad, who says: I heard Imam Shafi’i saying: Whenever I debated with anyone, I never wished that he would make a mistake. The third statement is the one which Musa bin Muhammad narrated from Rabi’ bin Sulayman, who says: I heard Imam Shafi’i saying:“It is my wish that people acquire the knowledge of these books, but they should not attribute them to me.”