—the one who had been given the choice—and Abū Bakr grasped this better than any of us.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said:

“The person whose wealth and companionship have been the safest for me is Abū Bakr. Had I been permitted to take an intimate friend (khalīl), I would have taken Abū Bakr as my intimate friend; but the bond of Islamic brotherhood remains…,” and so on.

This ḥadith is reported by al-Bukhārī, Muslim, and al-Tirmidhī—the wording above is theirs—and by Aḥmad, who records an alternate wording that likewise appears in a narration of al-Bukhārī. Al-Tirmidhī comments: “A ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ ḥadith.”

A corroborating report with a similar meaning comes from Ibn ʿAbbās; it is related by al-Bukhārī and Aḥmad, and its full wording will appear later in the section “Prohibitions,” paragraph 12.

In the same connection the Prophet ﷺ said:

“Close all the doors leading into the mosque except the door of ʿAlī.”

Aḥmad transmits this through the chain of Abū ʿAwānah—who said: Abū Balj narrated to us, ‘ʿAmr ibn Maymūn narrated to us from Ibn ʿAbbās’—as a marfūʿ report. Al-Tirmidhī also records it through Shuʿbah from Abū Balj with a similar wording and remarks: “A singular ḥadith; we do not know it from Shuʿbah with this chain except through this route.” He then adds: “Abū Balj’s given name is Yaḥyā ibn Sulaym.”