(Imām Bukhārī narrates): Qutaibah ibn Sa'īd narrated to us, he said: Abū Mu'āwiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from Ibrāhīm, from al-Aswad, from 'Ā'ishah, may Allāh be pleased with her, she narrated that:

when the condition of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ became heavy, Bilāl, may Allāh be pleased with him, came to inform him of the adhān. He said: Convey this command to Abū Bakr, that he should lead the people in prayer. I said: O Messenger of Allāh! Abū Bakr is a soft-hearted person, and indeed whenever he stands in your place, he will not be able to make the people hear the Qur'ān. Would that you had given this command to 'Umar. He said: Convey this command to Abū Bakr, that he should lead the people in prayer. So I said to Hafsah, may Allāh be pleased with her: Say that Abū Bakr is a soft-hearted person, and when he stands in your place, he will not be able to make the people hear, so would that you had given this command to 'Umar, may Allāh be pleased with him. He said: Indeed, all of you are like the women of the time of Yūsuf, upon him peace. Convey this command to Abū Bakr, that he should lead the people in prayer. Then when Abū Bakr went to lead the prayer, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ felt some relief in his illness, so he stood between two men and began to walk (supported by them), and his two feet were dragging upon the ground, until he entered the mosque. When Abū Bakr heard his footsteps, he began to step back, so the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ gestured to him (to continue leading the prayer). Then the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ came and sat on the left side of Abū Bakr. So Abū Bakr was praying standing, and the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ was leading the prayer sitting; Abū Bakr was following the prayer of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, and the people were following Abū Bakr.