In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Darkness fell upon Medina.
The final prayers and the exhortation regarding prayer.
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, went out to lead the Muslims in his final prayer.
It was the last prayer the Prophet, peace be upon him, led for the Muslims.
And the last verses recited from the lips of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
As narrated by Umm al-Fadl bint al-Harith.
She said, may Allah be pleased with her:
I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, reciting in the Maghrib prayer:
"By the emissaries, sent forth in succession."
He did not lead us in prayer after that,
until Allah took his soul.
That was his final prayer leading the Muslims, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
In the narration of al-Tirmidhi from Umm al-Fadl,
the state of the Prophet, peace be upon him, when he went out to pray is described.
She said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, came out to us,
with his head bound due to his illness.
He prayed Maghrib,
and recited "The Emissaries" (al-Mursalat).
He did not pray it again until he met Allah, the Almighty and Majestic.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, grew weaker,
yet he was concerned about the prayer with the Muslims.
Ubayd Allah Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Utbah said:
I entered upon Aisha,
and said:
"Will you not tell me about the illness of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him?"
She replied: "Certainly."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, asked,
saying:
"Have the people prayed?"
We said: "No,
they are waiting for you."
He said:
"Put water for me in the basin."
She said:
"We did so."
He performed ghusl,
then tried to stand,
but he fainted.
Then he recovered and said, peace be upon him:
"Have the people prayed?"
We said: "No,
they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah."
He said:
"Put water for me in the basin."
She said:
"He sat up and performed ghusl,
then tried to stand,
but he fainted."
Then he recovered and said:
"Have the people prayed?"
We said: "No,
they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah."
He said:
"Put water for me in the basin."
He sat up and performed ghusl,
then tried to stand,
but he fainted.
Then he recovered and said:
"Have the people prayed?"
We said: "No,
they are waiting for you, O Messenger of Allah."
The people were gathered in the mosque,
waiting for the Prophet, peace be upon him, for the final night prayer (Isha).
The Prophet, peace be upon him, sent word to Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.
The messenger came to him and said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, commands you to lead the people in prayer."
Abu Bakr,
who was a tender-hearted man, said:
"O Umar,
lead the people in prayer."
Umar replied to him:
"You are more entitled to that."
So Abu Bakr led the prayer during those days.
In another narration,
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, says:
When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, fell into the illness from which he died,
the time for prayer arrived.
The call to prayer was made,
and he said:
"Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer."
It was said to him:
"Abu Bakr is a soft-hearted man;
if he stands in your place, he will not be able to lead the people in prayer."
He repeated the command,
and they repeated their concern.
He repeated it a third time and said:
"You are like the companions of Joseph;
tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer."
So Abu Bakr went out and led the prayer.
In the narration of Abu Musa,
there is clarification of the ambiguous.
He said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, fell ill,
and his illness intensified.
He said:
"Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer."
Aisha said:
"He is a tender-hearted man;
if he stands in your place,
he will not be able to lead the people in prayer."
He said:
"Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer."
She repeated her concern,
and he said:
"Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer,
for you are like the companions of Joseph."
The messenger came to him,
and he led the people in prayer during the lifetime of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Anas Ibn Malik narrates
some of what happened to them during that period,
regarding the news of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
He says:
Abu Bakr was leading them in prayer during the illness of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in which he died,
until it was Monday.
While they were in rows for prayer,
the Prophet, peace be upon him, drew back the curtain of his chamber to look at us,
standing there as if his face were a page of the Mushaf.
Then he smiled, laughing.
We were nearly tempted to break our prayer out of joy at seeing the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Abu Bakr stepped back to join the row,
thinking the Prophet, peace be upon him, was coming out to pray.
But the Prophet, peace be upon him, signaled to us
to complete our prayer, and he let the curtain fall.
In a narration by Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, he said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, drew back the curtain,
and the people were in rows behind Abu Bakr.
He said:
"O people,
nothing remains of the glad tidings of prophethood
except the righteous dream
that a Muslim sees or is seen for him.
Verily, I have been forbidden to recite the Qur'an while bowing or prostrating.
As for bowing,
glorify the Lord therein;
and as for prostration,
strive in supplication,
for it is likely to be answered for you."
Aisha tells us about the prayer of the Prophet, peace be upon him, during that period.
She says:
By the One who took his soul,
he did not abandon it until he met Allah.
And he did not meet Allah, the Exalted, until he became too weak for prayer,
and he used to perform much of his prayer sitting down.
She means the two rak'ahs after Asr,
which the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to perform,
but he would not perform them in the mosque
for fear of making it burdensome for his Ummah,
as he loved what made things easier for them.
A narration of Aisha in al-Bukhari clarifies
that the Prophet, peace be upon him, had prayed behind Abu Bakr while sitting.
She said:
The Prophet, peace be upon him, felt a sense of relief,
so he went out, supported by two men,
and I can still see his feet dragging on the ground due to the pain.
Abu Bakr wanted to step back,
but the Prophet, peace be upon him, signaled to him to stay where he was.
Then he was brought until he sat beside him.
Urwah said on the authority of Aisha:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, felt a sense of relief and went out,
and Abu Bakr was leading the people in prayer.
When Abu Bakr saw him, he stepped back,
but he signaled to him to remain as he was.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, sat beside Abu Bakr,
and Abu Bakr was praying following the prayer of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and the people were praying following the prayer of Abu Bakr.
In the narration of al-Tirmidhi,
Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, prayed
behind Abu Bakr during his final illness while sitting.
And darkness fell upon Medina.