237 – ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us, saying: Bashshār ibn Mūsā al-Khaffāf narrated to me, saying: ʿUbayd Allāh—meaning Ibn ʿAmr—narrated to us, from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn ʿUmayr, from one of Abū al-Muʿallā’s children, from his father, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said while beside his pulpit:

“My feet stand at one of the entrances to Paradise.”

Then he said:

“One of Allah’s servants obeyed his Lord and worshipped Him well, until Allah took him to Himself.”

Abū Bakr wept until he sobbed, and said, “We would ransom you, O Messenger of Allah, with our own lives and our fathers!”

The narrator said: We were astonished and said, “The Prophet mentions a man, and you say what you have just said?”

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“O people, no one has been more generous to us with his companionship and his wealth than Ibn Abī Quhāfah. Were I to take anyone as an intimate friend, I would take Abū Bakr. But ours is affection and brotherhood in faith; and indeed, your companion is Allah’s intimate friend.”

He meant himself.