Arabic (Original)
أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ شُبَّانَ الْعَطَّارُ بِبَغْدَادَ ثنا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ سَلْمَانَ الْفَقِيهُ ثنا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُكْرَمٍ ثنا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ عُمَرَ ثنا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ أَنَّ ابْنَ الزُّبَيْرِ كَتَبَ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْعِرَاقِ إِنَّ الَّذِيَ قَالَ لَهُ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ لَوْ كُنْتُ مُتَّخِذًا خَلِيلًا لَاتَّخَذْتُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ خَلِيلًا جَعَلَ الْجَدَّ أَبًا
English Translation
Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Shubban al-Attar in Baghdad informed us: Ahmad ibn Salman the jurist narrated to us: al-Hasan ibn Mukram narrated to us: Uthman ibn Umar narrated to us: Ibn Jurayj narrated from Ibn Abi Mulaykah that Ibn al-Zubayr wrote to the people of Iraq: 'Indeed, the one to whom the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: If I were to take a close friend, I would have taken Abu Bakr as my close friend - he treated the grandfather as a father.'