Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Once the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) became ill, so we performed prayer behind him while he was sitting, and Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was saying the takbir so that the people could hear. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his attention towards us and saw us standing, he gestured to us (to sit down), so we performed the prayer sitting. When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) finished the prayer, he said: "It was close that you would do what the Persians and Romans do, that their kings sit while they stand before them. So do not do so, and follow your imams. If they pray standing, then you should pray standing, and if they pray sitting, then you should also pray sitting."