Sahih Muslim
The Book of the Merits of the Companions — Hadith #6016
Scholarly Consensus: Sahih How we grade
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ الْعَبْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ،
بْنِ رَجَاءٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ أَبِي الْهُذَيْلِ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَبِي الأَحْوَصِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ،
اللَّهِ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ يُحَدِّثُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ
" لَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا خَلِيلاً لاَتَّخَذْتُ
أَبَا بَكْرٍ خَلِيلاً وَلَكِنَّهُ أَخِي وَصَاحِبِي وَقَدِ اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ صَاحِبَكُمْ خَلِيلاً " .
If I were to choose a bosom friend I would have definitely chosen Abu Bakr as my bosom friend, but he is my brother and my companion and Allah, the Exalted and Gliorious. has taken your brother and companion (meaning Prophet himself) as a friend.
Chain of Narration (Isnad)
Hadith Grading
Each grade below reflects one scholar's assessment of the chain of transmission. The grade describes the chain, not the Prophet's words. How we grade
Scholarly Consensus: Sahih