An authentic report is transmitted through al-Jarirī, from ʿAbdullāh ibn Shaqīq, who said: “I asked ʿĀʾishah, ‘Which of the Prophet’s Companions was dearest to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’ She answered, ‘Abu Bakr.’ I asked, ‘Then who?’ She replied, ‘ʿUmar.’ I asked, ‘Then who?’ She said, ‘Abu ʿUbaydah.’ I asked, ‘And after that?’—and she remained silent.

Mālik records in the Muwaṭṭaʾ, through Abū al-Naḍr, from ʿUbayd ibn Ḥunayn, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ once sat upon the pulpit and said: “A servant was given the choice by Allah between receiving as much as he wished of the splendor of this world and what is with Allah, and he chose what is with Allah.” Abu Bakr exclaimed, “May we ransom you, O Messenger of Allah, with our fathers and mothers!” We were amazed, and the people said, “Look at this elderly man— the Messenger of Allah is speaking about a servant whom Allah offered a choice, yet he says, ‘May we ransom you with our fathers and mothers!’” The narrator continued: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ himself was the servant who had been offered that choice, and Abu Bakr understood it better than any of us.”

The Prophet ﷺ then declared: “The person who has benefited me most through his companionship and his wealth is Abu Bakr. If I were to take an intimate friend (khalīl), I would have taken Abu Bakr as my intimate friend; but it is the brotherhood of Islam. Let no side-door (khawkha, small door) remain in the mosque except the side-door of Abu Bakr.” This narration is agreed upon as authentic.

Abū ʿAwānah also transmitted a similar report through ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from Ibn Abī al-Maʿlā, from his father, from the Prophet ﷺ, yet the first version is more sound.