English-Quran al hilali-khan(Muhammad Taqi-ud Din al-Hilali and. Dr.Muhammad Muhsin Khan)

Unanimously agreed that Abu Bakr is the best of this ummah after its Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).

This is testimony of all the Sahaabah, narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar, that Abu Bakr was superior to all the Sahaabah, followed by ‘Umar, then ‘Uthmaan.

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “We used to compare the people as to who was better at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). We used to regard Abu Bakr as the best, then ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, then ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan (may Allaah be pleased with them).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3655. According to another report he said: “At the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) we did not regard anyone as equal with Abu Bakr, then ‘Umar, then ‘Uthmaan, then we left the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and we did not differentiate between them.” Al-Bukhaari, 2679

Among the virtues of Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) is that which was narrated from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) delivered a khutbah and said: “Allaah has given a slave the choice between this world and what is with Him, and he chose what is with Him.” Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq (may Allaah be pleased with him) began to weep, and I said to myself, “What is making this old man cry if Allaah has given a slave the choice between this world and what is with Him, and he chose what is with Him?” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was that slave, and Abu Bakr was the most knowledgeable of us. He said, “O Abu Bakr, do not weep. Abu Bakr has favoured me greatly with his companionship and his wealth. If I were to have taken a close friend among my ummah, I would have chosen Abu Bakr, but the brotherhood of Islam is sufficient. Do not leave any door to the mosque without closing it off, apart from the door of Abu Bakr.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 466; Muslim, 2382

The Messenger (saw) said, "Abu Bakr and 'Umar will be the leaders of men of Paradise from the
earlier and later generations Silsilat al Haith as-Saheehah, 12/487, no. 824 ]

A'isha reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) in his (last) illness asked me to call Abu Bakr, her father, and her brother too, so that he might write a document, for he feared that someone else might be desirous (of succeeding him) and that some claimant may say:
I have better claim to it, whereas Allah and the Faithful do not substantiate the claim of anyone but that of Abu Bakr.
Sahih Muslim 2387

“If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not matter), for Allaah did indeed help him when the disbelievers drove him out, the second of the two; when they (Muhammad and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, he said to his companion (Abu Bakr): ‘Be not sad (or afraid), surely, Allaah is with us.’ Then Allaah sent down His Sakeenah (calmness, tranquillity, peace) upon him, and strengthened him with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word of Allaah that became the uppermost; and Allaah is All-Mighty, All-Wise”
[al-Tawbah 9:40]

Another of his virtues is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) appointed him to lead the prayers in his stead at the end of his life, when he fell sick with his final illness, and he rebuked those who objected to this and said, “Tell Abu Bakr to lead the people in prayer.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 683; Muslim 418.

Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) appointed him as the commander of the army of Dhaat al-Salaasil. He said: So I came to him and said, “Which of the people is dearest to you?” He said, “ ‘Aa’ishah.” I said, “Who among men?” He said, “Her father.” I said, “Then who?” He said, “Then ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab,” and he mentioned some other men.

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3662; Muslim, 2384.

And it was narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) climbed Uhud with Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan, and it trembled beneath them. He said, ‘Stand firm, O Uhud, for there is no one on you but a Prophet, a Siddeeq and two martyrs.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3675.

It was narrated that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (who was the son of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib) said: “I said to my father, ‘Which of the people was the best after the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?’ He said, ‘Abu Bakr.’ I said, ‘Then who?’ He said, ‘Then ‘Umar.’ I was afraid that he would say ‘Uthmaan. I said, ‘Then is it you?’ He said, ‘I am only one of the Muslims.’”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3671.

It was narrated from Abu Juhayfah that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) ascended the minbar and praised and glorified Allaah and sent blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then he said: “The best of this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr. The second is ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him), and after that, whoever Allaah wants to be good will be good.”

Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad, 839. And Shaykh Shu’ayb al-Arna’oot said: its isnaad is qawiy.

Narrated Abu Hurayrah: The Prophet (s.a.w) said: Gabriel came and taking me by the hand showed the gate of Paradise by which my people will enter. AbuBakr then said: Messenger of Allah! I wish I had been with you so that I might have looked at it. The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) then said: You, AbuBakr, will be the first of my people to enter Paradise.

[Sunan Abi Dawud 4652,

Abdullah ibn Mas’ood reported that, when the Messenger of Allah(saw) died, the people of the Ansaar said, “Let there be two rulers: one that will be chosen from among us ( the Ansaar), and one that will be chosen from among you (i.e, from among the Muhaajiroon)”. ‘Umar(as) went to them and said, “O people of the Ansaar, don’t you know that the Messenger of Allah(saw) ordered Abubakr to lead the people in prayer. So which one of you would be pleased with himself if he were to be placed ahead of Abubakr(in ranking or status)?” The people of the Ansaar responded, “We seek refuge from being placed ahead of Abubakr”.

(Al-Mustadrak vol 3, page 67).

Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wassallam) said to his companions, “Who has observed fast among you today?” Abu Bakr (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu) replied, “Me.” He (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wassallam) said, “Who among you followed a funeral procession today?” Abu Bakr (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu) replied, “Me”. He (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassallam) said, “Who among you has fed a poor person (today)?” Abu Bakr (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu) replied, “Me”. He (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wassallam) said, “Who among you visited a sick person today?” Abu Bakr (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu) said, “Me.” Upon this the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassallam) said, “Anyone in whom (these good deeds) are combined will certainly, enter paradise

[Ref: Sahih Muslim, Book #5, Hadith #2242]

The Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassallam) informed his Companions (radhiyAllahu ‘anhum) that, whenever he invited a person to Islam, that person would hesitate before making up his mind to embrace Islam – except for Abu Bakr (radhiyAllahu ‘anhu), who neither hesitated nor wavered.
[Ref: “The Noble life of The Prophet, Vol. 1” by Ali Muhammad al-Sallaabee, 2005, p. 158]

Many embraced Islam at his hands; here are some examples: ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn ‘Auf, Sa’d ibn Abee Waqqaas, Az-Zubair ibn Al-‘Awaam and Talhah ibn ‘Ubaidullah (radhiyAllahu ‘anhum). These particular five were the fruits of Abu Bakr’s Dawah. Once these five brave men entered the fold of Islam, others began to follow.

[Ref: The Biography of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq” by Ali Muhammad al-Sallaabee, 2007, p.742]

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (radiyallahu ‘anhu) reports that Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said to Abu Bakr (radiyallahu ‘anhu):
“You will be my companion at the pond [of Kawthar] and were my companion in the cave (during Hijrah)”

[Ref: Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 3670]