Sahih Muslim 6173
صحيح مسلم#6173Sahihحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْمُثَنَّى، وَابْنُ، بَشَّارٍ - وَاللَّفْظُ لاِبْنِ الْمُثَنَّى - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ، بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ " لَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَحَدًا خَلِيلاً لاَتَّخَذْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ " .
Abdullah 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
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Every narration in Sahih Muslim is accepted as Sahih (authentic) by the established status of the book.
In-book reference: 44:5