He asked Abu Hurairah, "Did you pray the prayer of fear with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?"Abu Hurairah replied, "Yes."Marwan asked, "When?"Abu Hurairah said, "In the year of the expedition of Najd. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood for the afternoon prayer. One group stood with him, while another group faced the enemy with their backs toward the qiblah. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said the takbir, and they all said the takbir together, both those with him and those facing the enemy. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed one bowing, and the group with him bowed as well. Then he prostrated, and the group nearest to him prostrated, while the others remained standing facing the enemy. Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up, and the group with him stood as well, and they went toward the enemy and faced them. The group that had been facing the enemy then came forward, bowed, and prostrated while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained standing. Then they stood up. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed another bowing and they bowed with him, and he prostrated as before, and they prostrated with him. Then the group that had been facing the enemy came forward, bowed, and prostrated while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was sitting along with those who were with him. Then came the salam. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave the salam and they all gave the salam together. So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had completed two units, while each man from the two groups had completed one unit each."
أنه سأل أبا هريرة: هل صليت مع رسول الله ﷺ صلاة الخوف؟ قال أبو هريرة: نعم، قال مروان: متي؟ فقال أبو هريرة: عام غزوة نجد، قام رسول الله ﷺ إلى صلاة العصر، فقامت معه طائفة، وطائفة أخرى مقابل العدو وظهورهم إلى القبلة، فكبر رسول الله ﷺ، فكبروا جميعا، الذين معه، والذين مقابل العدو، ثم ركع رسول الله ﷺ ركعة واحدة، وركعت الطائفة التي معه، ثم سجد فسجدت الطائفة التي تليه والآخرون قيام مقابلي العدو، ثم قام رسول الله ﷺ، وقامت الطائفة التي معه، فذهبوا إلى العدو، فقابلوهم، وأقبلت الطائفة التي كانت مقابلي العدو، فركعوا وسجدوا، ورسول الله ﷺ قائم قاموا فركع رسول الله ﷺ ركعة أخرى وركعوا معه وسجد كما هو، ثم. وسجدوا معه ثم أقبلت الطائفة التي كانت مقابلي العدو، فركعوا وسجدوا، ورسول الله ﷺ قاعد ومن [كان] معه، ثم كان السلام، فسلم رسول الله ﷺ وسلموا جميعا، فكان لرسول الله ﷺ ركعتان، ولكل رجل من الطائفتين ركعة ركعة.
It was narrated by Abu Dawud (1240) and Nasai (1543), both through the route of Abdullah bin Yazid Al-Muqri, who said, Haywa and Ibn Lahia narrated to us, they said, Abu Aswad informed us that he heard Urwa bin Zubayr narrating from Marwan bin Hakam, and he mentioned it, the wording being that of Abu Dawud. In the chain is Ibn Lahia, who has been criticized, but he is only being corroborated here, and Nasai did not mention his name but simply said, "Haywa and another man."Bayhaqi (3/264) also narrated it through this route, except that he said, "So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed two rakat, and each man of the two groups prayed one rakat each." That is what he said, but the correct wording is, "each of the two groups prayed two rakat each." End of quote.I say, this is as he said, and what clarifies this will also come later. However, his statement, "each man of the two groups prayed one rakat each," could be understood to mean that this was together with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and then each of them prayed one more rakat individually.Ibn Khuzayma (1361) and Hakim (1/338) graded it sahih, and both of them narrated it through this route, except that neither of them mentioned "Ibn Lahia" in the chain. Hakim said, "Sahih according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, though they did not include it."I say, Marwan is among the narrators of Bukhari alone, but he is not actually part of the chain of transmission, he is only mentioned in it because he was the one asking about the prayer of fear, while Urwa actually narrates it directly from Abu Hurairah. The proof of this is what Abu Dawud (1241) and Ibn Khuzayma (1362) narrated, both from the hadith of Muhammad bin Ishaq, from Muhammad bin Jafar bin Zubayr and Muhammad bin Aswad, from Urwa bin Zubayr, from Abu Hurairah, who said, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Najd, and when we were at Dhat Al-Riqa among the palm trees, he encountered a gathering of Ghatfan." He then mentioned something similar in meaning, though its wording differs from that of Haywa. In it he said, "when he bowed with those who were with him and prostrated," and he said, "then when they stood up, they walked backward to the ranks of their companions," and they did not mention turning away from the qibla. All this is in Abu Dawud.As for Ibn Khuzayma, in his version Muhammad bin Ishaq explicitly stated that he heard directly from Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman bin Aswad bin Nawfal, who had been an orphan under the guardianship of Urwa bin Zubayr, and he did not pair him with Muhammad bin Jafar bin Zubayr. In this version, Urwa bin Zubayr says, "I heard Abu Hurairah, while Marwan bin Hakam was asking him about the prayer of fear," and he then mentioned the hadith. Ibn Ishaq likewise explicitly stated that he heard it directly, in the narration of Yunus bin Bukayr, which Bayhaqi (3/264) narrated through his route from Muhammad bin Ishaq, who said, Muhammad bin Jafar bin Zubayr narrated to me, from Urwa, from Abu Hurairah, who said,"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led the people in the prayer of fear, so the people were divided into two groups. One group stood behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and the other group faced the enemy. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led those behind him in one rakat and prostrated with them twice, then he stood, and they stood with him. When he had stood up straight, those who were behind him withdrew backward and stood behind those who were facing the enemy, and the others came forward and stood behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and prayed one rakat for themselves while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ remained standing. Then they stood, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led them in another rakat, so they and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had two rakat. Then those who had been facing the enemy came and prayed one rakat and two prostrations for themselves, then sat behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he gave the closing salutation with all of them together."Ayesha also took part in narrating this account, as will come later.As for Abu Hurairah's statement, "We went out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to Najd..." this expedition has been given several names, among them the Expedition of Najd, the Expedition of Muharib, the Expedition of Ghatfan, the Expedition of Dhat Al-Riqa, and the Day of Qarad.