Reference: Hilyatul-Awliyaa v4 p359
said:
The time for prayer entered upon a group of scholars, so it was said to one of them to lead [the prayer], but he declined. It was said to him:
‘What prevents you [from leading the prayer]?’
He said: ‘I feared that a passerby would pass and say, certainly he was asked to lead [the prayer] because he was the best of them.’
