1290 – Hāmid ibn Shuʿayb Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Balkhī narrated to us, saying: Mansūr ibn Abī Muzāhim narrated to us, saying: Abū Saʿīd al-Muʾaddib narrated to us, from Yūnus ibn Abī Ishāq, from Abū Ishāq, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd, who said: “Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—bought Bilāl from Umayya ibn Khalaf and Ubayy ibn Khalaf for a cloak and ten ūqiyyas, then freed him for the sake of Allah—Mighty ⦗1828⦘ and Majestic. Allah Most High then revealed: ‘By the night when it covers, by the day when it shines forth, and by Him Who created male and female, surely your endeavors are diverse’ [al-Layl: 2]—meaning the endeavors of Abū Bakr, Umayya, and Ubayy. ‘As for the one who gives, is mindful of Allah, and affirms the finest’ [al-Layl: 5]—by affirming, ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’—meaning Abū Bakr; ‘We shall ease his way toward ease’ [al-Layl: 7]. He said: ‘Paradise.’ ‘But as for the one who is miserly, deems himself self-sufficient, and denies the finest’ [al-Layl: 8]—‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah’—meaning Umayya and Ubayy; ‘We shall ease his way toward hardship’ [al-Layl: 10]. He said: ‘The Fire.’ ‘What will his wealth avail him when he falls?’ [al-Layl: 11]. He said: ‘When he dies.’ ‘Surely it is for Us to provide guidance, and surely to Us belong the Hereafter and the present life. So I have warned you of a blazing Fire, in which none will burn except the most wretched—the one who denied and turned away’ [al-Layl: 12]—meaning Umayya and Ubayy. ‘But the most mindful will be kept away from it—the one who gives his wealth to purify himself’ [al-Layl: 17]—meaning Abū Bakr ⦗1829⦘. ‘No one has any favor with him that is to be repaid’ [al-Layl: 19]. He said: ‘Abū Bakr did not do this because of any favor Bilāl had done him, such that he was repaying him for it. Rather, he sought only the Countenance of his Lord, the Most High, and he will surely be pleased’ [al-Layl: 20].”

Muhammad ibn al-Husayn—may Allah have mercy on him—said: Everything we have mentioned above indicates that Allah—Glorious is His Majesty—singled out Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—for certain distinctions by which He favored him over every one of the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them all.