He saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Abu Bakr, and Umar walking in front of the funeral procession.
أخبرنا إسحق بن إبراهيم وعلي بن حجر وقتيبة عن سفيان عن الزهري
أنه رأى رسول الله ﷺ وأبا بكر وعمر رضي الله عنهما يمشون أمام الجنازة
[Hasan] Reported by Abu Dawud, Funerals, chapter on walking ahead of the funeral procession, no. 3179, and Tirmidhi, no. 1007, and Ibn Majah, no. 1482, from the hadith of Sufyan bin Uyayna, with this wording. It is also found in Kubra, no. 2071. See the following hadith.