Ubaidullah bin Abdullah says that once I went to Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and asked, "Will you tell me something about the illness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) at the time of his death?" She said, "Why not? When the Prophet (peace be upon him) felt heavy (with illness), he asked, 'Have the people prayed?' We said, 'No, O Messenger of Allah! They are waiting for you.' The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'Put water for me in a tub.' We did so. The Prophet (peace be upon him) bathed, and as he was about to stand up to go, he fainted. When he regained consciousness, he asked the same question, 'Have the people prayed?' We gave the same answer as before, and this happened three times. Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the people were sitting in the mosque waiting for the Prophet (peace be upon him) for the Isha prayer. The Prophet (peace be upon him) sent a message to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) to lead the people in prayer. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was a very soft-hearted man, so he said, 'O Umar! You lead the people in prayer.' Umar said, 'You are more deserving of it.' Thus, during those days, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) led the people in prayer. One day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) felt some relief from his illness, so he came out between two men at the time of the Zuhr prayer, one of whom was Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). When Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the Prophet (peace be upon him), he began to step back. The Prophet (peace be upon him) gestured to him not to step back and instructed the two men who were with him, so they seated the Prophet (peace be upon him) beside Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him). Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) continued to stand and pray, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed sitting. Ubaidullah says that after hearing this hadith, I once visited Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both). I said to him, 'Shall I narrate to you the hadith that Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) told me regarding the illness of the Prophet (peace be upon him) at the time of his death?' He said, 'Certainly, narrate it.' So I narrated the entire hadith to him. He did not object to any part of it, but he did ask, 'Did Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) tell you the name of the man who was with Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him)?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'He was Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). May Allah's mercy be upon him.'"