Sahih Muslim 6173
صحيح مسلم#6173SahihAbdullah reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:If I were to choose from my Umma anyone as my bosom friend, I would have chosen Abu Bakr
Scholarly Authentication
We show the most cautious grade (weakest-wins) as the overall label. Individual scholars graded it as follows:
Every narration in Sahih Muslim is accepted as Sahih (authentic) by the established status of the book.
In-book reference: 44:5