Bakr and ʿUmar and said, “These two are the leaders of the middle-aged men of Paradise, from the first to the last, with the exception of the prophets and messengers. Do not tell them this, O ʿAlī.”

A similar wording is transmitted through comparable chains from Zur ibn Hubaysh, from ʿĀṣim ibn Ḍumrah, and from Haram, all on the authority of ʿAlī. Ṭalḥah ibn ʿAmr also reported it from ʿAṭāʾ, from Ibn ʿAbbās in the same terms.

Muḥammad ibn Kathīr narrated it through al-Awzāʿī, from Qatādah, from Anas in like manner. Al-Tirmidhī collected the report and remarked, “A fair, singular ḥadīth.” He later transmitted it through al-Mawqarī, from al-Zuhrī, but that chain is not sound.

Ibn Masʿūd said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared, “If I were to take an intimate friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as my intimate friend.”

Ibn ʿAbbās narrated the same but added, “Rather, he is my brother and companion for the sake of Allah. Seal every small door opening into the mosque except the door of Abu Bakr.”

Hishām ibn ʿUrwah narrated from his father, from ʿĀʾishah, that ʿUmar said, “Abu Bakr is our master, the best among us, and the most beloved to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” Al-Tirmidhī graded it sound.