It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa'd (may Allah be pleased with him) that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), when dispatching Abu Ubaydah (may Allah be pleased with him) to Syria, said: "I want you to know the honour and rank that you hold in my heart. By the One in whose hand is my soul, there is no man on the face of the earth, among the Muhajirun or anyone else, whom I would regard as your equal, not even this one (Umar); his rank with me is less than yours."