He said...

He said, “It is not correct for anyone to lead in salat in a sitting posture other than him, peace be upon him.” He said, “And this is the famous statement of Malik and the majority of his companions.” He said, “And this is the most correct of the opinions, because it is NOT correct to lead in front of him in salat or in anything else, whether due to an excuse or otherwise .”[^2] Al-Hafiz (d.

852 H), while relating the submissions of Qaḍi Iyaḍ, reports: واحتج أيضا بأنه صلى الله عليه وسلم إنما صلى بهم قاعدا لأنه لا يصح التقدم بين يديه لنهى الله عن ذلك He cited as proof also the fact that he, peace be upon him, led them in salat in a sitting posture, because it is NOT correct to lead in front of him, due to the prohibition of that by Allah .[^3] In simpler words, it was absolutely impossible that Abu Bakr ever led Muhammad in salat or in any anything else.

Allah has totally forbidden that; and so, Abu Bakr was NOT qualified in any way or by any means to lead the Messenger in salat or in any other situation or circumstance. Even Abu Bakr too realized this, as documented by Imam Muslim (d. 261 H): قال أبو بكر ما كان لابن أبي قحافة أن يصلي بين يدي رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم Abu Bakr said, “It is NOT for the son of Abu Quhafah (i.e.

Abu Bakr) to lead salat in front of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.”[^4] So, all the reports about how the Prophet was led in salat by Abu Bakr or anyone else from this Ummah are fallacious and hold no truth at all. The Book of Allah rejects them, and Abu Bakr too denounced them. There is also an element of high blasphemy in those ahadith .

The only way Abu Bakr could have legitimately led the Messenger of Allah in salat was if the latter had lost or forfeited his risalah (messengership) and had become inferior to the former in many areas. Moreover, we ask our Sunni brothers: who was the ruler of Madinah at that moment when – as your sect claims - Abu Bakr led the Prophet in salat ? Was it the Messenger? Or, was it Abu Bakr? This question is crucial in the light of some authentic narrations in your books.

For instance, Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 H) records: حدثنا هناد حدثنا أبومعاوية عن الأعمش عن إسماعيل بن رجاء عن أوس بن ضمعج عن أبي مسعود أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال لا يؤم الرجل في سلطانه ولا يجلس على تكرمته إلا بإذنه Hanad – Abu Mu’awiyah – al-A’mash – Isma’il b. Raja - Aws b.