Abu Saʿid narrated: Abu Bakr al-Siddiq—may Allah be pleased with him—said, “Am I not the one most entitled to it? Was I not the first to embrace Islam? Was I not the companion in such-and-such?”

Ibn ʿAsakir (1) transmitted—by way of Bahlul ibn ʿUbayd; Abu Ishaq al-Sabiʿi related to us from al-Harith—who said: I heard ʿAli declare, “The first of the men to accept Islam was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, and the first of the men to pray with the Prophet ﷺ was ʿAli ibn Abi Talib.”

Shuʿbah reported—from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abu Hamzah, from Zayd ibn Arqam—who said, “The first person to pray with the Prophet ﷺ was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.” Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasaʾi all collected it through Shuʿbah, and al-Tirmidhi graded it ḥasan ṣaḥih (2).

Ibn Jarir’s version has already been cited—transmitted through Shuʿbah, from ʿAmr ibn Murrah, from Abu Hamzah, from Zayd ibn Arqam—stating that the first to embrace Islam was ʿAli ibn Abi Talib. ʿAmr ibn Murrah said, “I mentioned this to Ibrahim al-Nakhaʿi, and he rejected it, saying, ‘The first to accept Islam was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him’ (3).”

Al-Waqidi likewise narrated—through his various chains (4)—from Abu Arwa al-Dawsi, Abu Salamah ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman, and a group of the early Muslims that “The first to embrace Islam was Abu Bakr al-Siddiq.”

Yaʿqub ibn Sufyan (6) said: Abu Bakr al-Humaydi related to us; Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah related to us from Malik ibn Mughawwil, from an informant who said: Ibn ʿAbbas was asked, “Who was the first to believe?” He answered, “Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. Have you not heard the verses of Hassan?

If ever you recall the grief of a loyal brother,
then remember your brother Abu Bakr for what he did.

The best of creation—most faithful and most just of them—after the Prophet,
and foremost in bearing what he bore.

The companion, the second of the two, whose presence is praised;
the very first among the people to affirm the messengers.”