‘Ali and Mu'adh b. Jabal reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When any of you comes to pray and the imam is at a certain point, he must do as the imam does.”
Tirmidhi transmitted it and said this is a gharib tradition.
Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “When you come to the prayer and we are prostrating ourselves you must prostrate yourselves without reckoning it as part of your prayer; and if anyone is present at a rak'a he has been present at the prayer.”
When God’s Messenger was seriously ill* and Bilal came to announce the time of prayer for him, he said, “Order Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.” So Abu Bakr led the prayer during those days, then when the Prophet experienced some improvement in his condition he got up and came into the mosque swaying between two men with his feet touching the ground. On hearing the sound Abu Bakr began to withdraw, but God’s Messenger signed to him not to do so. He then came and sat at Abu Bakr’s left, and Abu Bakr prayed standing and God’s Messenger prayed sitting, Abu Bakr following God’s Messenger’s prayer, while the people followed Abu Bakr’s.
* Here the reference is to the Prophet's last illness.
(Bukhari and Muslim.) They both have a version which says that Abu Bakr caused the people to hear the takbir.
