Thus, the authentic hadith collections contain about ten hadiths concerning ‘Alī’s virtues, none of which describes a distinction unique to him. For Abū Bakr, these collections (1) contain about twenty hadiths, most of which concern distinctions unique to him.

The claim, “Virtues have been authentically established for ‘Alī that have not been established for anyone else,” is false. Neither Ahmad nor any other (2) leading hadith scholar would say this. One might, however, say, “Reports concerning his virtues have been transmitted that have not been transmitted concerning anyone else.” Yet most of these come through transmitters known to have lied or erred. A single argument with sound premises, free of counterevidence, is better than twenty arguments whose premises are weak—indeed, invalid—and which are contradicted by sounder evidence establishing the opposite.

The purpose here is to explain Abū Bakr’s unique distinction in companionship founded on faith: no other person shared it to the same extent, with the same qualities, or with the same benefit (3). If one were to count the time Abū Bakr spent with the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and the time ‘Uthmān, ‘Alī (4), or any other Companion spent with him, one would find that the time unique to Abū Bakr was many times that unique to any one of them—I do not mean merely twice as much (5).

As for what they shared, none had an exclusive claim to it.

As for the fullness of his knowledge of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—his love for him, and his belief in him, he is