In another narration:

“Abū Bakr and ‘Umar had an exchange in which Abū Bakr angered ‘Umar (1). ‘Umar left him in anger, and Abū Bakr followed him, asking him to forgive him. But ‘Umar refused and shut his door in his face. Abū Bakr then went to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace…” The hadith continues.

The narrator said, “The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—became angry.” It also contains the words:

“I said, ‘O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all,’ but you said, ‘You are lying,’ whereas Abū Bakr said, ‘You have spoken the truth.’” (2).

This authentic hadith singles him out for companionship in the Prophet’s words, “Will you then leave my companion alone for my sake?” It also explains one reason for this: when Allah sent him to the people, he said, “I am the Messenger of Allah to you all.” They said, “You are lying,” whereas Abū Bakr said, “You have spoken the truth.” This shows that he never accused the Prophet of lying and that he affirmed his truthfulness (3) when all the people accused him of lying.

This clearly indicates that he affirmed the Prophet’s truthfulness before anyone else among those to whom he had conveyed the message. This (4) is true, for as soon as the message was conveyed to him, he believed (5).

This agrees with what Muslim narrated from ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah:

“I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, who is with you in this matter?’ He replied, ‘A free man and a slave.’ With him at that time were Abū Bakr and Bilāl.” (6).