The Prophet ﷺ sent word to Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer during the illness in which he died. The messenger came to him and said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ commands you to lead the people in prayer."Abu Bakr, who was a tender-hearted man, said, "Umar, you lead the people in prayer."Umar replied to him, "You are more deserving of that."So Abu Bakr led the prayer during those days.
أن النبي ﷺ أرسل إلى أبي بكر بأن يصلي بالناس، وذلك في مرضه الذي مات فيه، فأتاه الرسول فقال: إن رسول الله ﷺ يأمركم أن تصلي بالناس. فقال أبو بكر- وكان رجلا رقيقا- يا عمر صل بالناس فقال له عمر: أنت أحق بذلك. فصلى أبو بكر تلك الأيام.
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Adhan (687), and Muslim in the Book of Prayer (418), both from Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Yunus, who said, Zaida narrated to us, who said, Musa bin Abu Ayesha narrated to us, from Ubaydullah bin Abdullah bin Utba, who said, I went in to see Ayesha and said, "Won't you tell me about the illness of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?" She said, "Yes. The Prophet ﷺ grew heavy with illness and said, 'Have the people prayed?'" And she then recounted the story that will come later in the biography of the Prophet ﷺ.