As such...
As such, there really is nowhere to place this new claim of ‘Aishah – that her father was our Prophet’s Imam – within the possible timeframe. However, Anas b. Malik made a frantic attempt to save her!
Imam Ibn Hibban documents: أخبرنا عمر بن محمد الهمداني قال حدثنا إسحاق بن إبراهيم بن سويد الرملي قال حدثنا أيوب بن سليمان قال حدثني أبو بكر بن أبي أويس عن سليمان بن بلال عن حميد الطويل عن ثابت البناني عن أنس بن مالك قال آخر صلاة صلاها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مع القوم في ثوب واحد متوشحا به برد قاعدا خلف أبي بكر ‘Umar b. Muhammad al-Hamdani – Ishaq b. Ibrahim b. Suwayd al-Ramli – Ayub b. Sulayman – Abu Bakr b. Abi Uways – Sulayman b. Bilal – Humayd al-Tawil – Thabit al-Banani – Anas b.
Malik: The last salat performed by the Messenger of Allah , peace be upon him, with the people was done in a single garment wrapped around him in a sitting posture BEHIND Abu Bakr .[^7] ‘Allamah al-Albani comments: صحيح Sahih ^8 Shaykh al-Arnaut agrees: إسناده صحيح Its chain is sahih ^9 Imam al-Tirmidhi also records: حدثنا عبد الله بن أبي زياد شبابة بن سوار حدثنا محمد بن طلحة عن حميد عن ثابت عن أنس قال صلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم في مرضه خلف أبي بكر قاعدا في ثوب متوشحا به ‘Abd Allah b.
Abi Ziyad - Shubabah b. Sawar – Muhammad b. Talhah – Humayd – Thabit – Anas: He (the Prophet), peace be upon him, during his illness, performed salat in a sitting posture BEHIND Abu Bakr , wrapped in a garment.[^10] Al-Tirmidhi comments: هذا حديث حسن صحيح This hadith is hasan sahih ^11 ‘Allamah al-Albani agrees: صحيح الإسناد Its chain is sahih ^12 So, it was the last congregational salat of the Prophet, after all. But, even Anas’ intervention rescues nothing!
We still do not know when that last salat was. Anas himself narrated that the final congregational salat of the Messenger of Allah – and it was led by him, obviously before the ‘Isha prayer - was on Thursday, followed by three days when he never stepped into the mosque at all. On the Monday of his departure, he came into the mosque, but did not join the congregational salat . He retreated into his room, and that was the very last time his Sahabah saw him alive.
He apparently died shortly after his appearance. Basically, it is practically impossible to fix his alleged salat behind Abu Bakr anywhere within his lifetime! There is another similarly unfixable riwayah by this same ‘Aishah, concerning the same period. Imam al-Nasai (d.