Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī

ذِكْرُ الْبَيَانِ بِأَنَّ أَهْلَ بَدْرٍ هُمْ أَفْضَلُ الصَّحَابَةِ وَخَيْرُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ

ibnhibban:7224 – Abū ʿArūbah > Muḥammad b. Maʿdān al-Ḥarrānī > ʿAlī b. Qādim > Sufyān > Yaḥyá b. Saʿīd > ʿAbāyah b. Rifāʿah > Rāfiʿ b. Khadīj

[Machine] "The Prophet ﷺ was visited by Gabriel or an angel, who asked, 'How are the people of Badr among you?' The Prophet ﷺ replied, 'They are the most virtuous among us.' The angel said, 'Similarly, those who were present with us from the angels are also like that.'"  

ابن حبّان:٧٢٢٤ – أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَرُوبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَعْدَانَ الْحَرَّانِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ قَادِمٍ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ عَبَايَةَ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ قَالَ

أَتَى النَّبِيَّ ﷺ جِبْرِيلُ أَوْ مَلَكٌ فَقَالَ كَيْفَ أَهْلُ بَدْرٍ فِيكُمْ؟ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ «هُمْ عِنْدَنَا أَفَاضِلُ النَّاسِ» قَالَ وَكَذَلِكَ مَنْ شَهِدَ عِنْدَنَا مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ «  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Aḥmad, Ṭabarānī
ahmad:15820 – Wakīʿ > Sufyān > Yaḥyá b. Saʿīd > ʿAbāyah b. Rifāʿah from his grandfather Rāfiʿ b. Khadīj

"Jibril or an angel came to the Prophet and said: 'How do you regard those among you who were present at Badr?' He said: 'They are the best among us.' He said: 'We think the same (of the angels who were present at Badr), they are the best of the angels.'" (Using translation from Ibn Mājah 160)   

أحمد:١٥٨٢٠ – حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ عَبَايَةَ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ عَنْ جَدِّهِ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ قَالَ

إِنَّ جِبْرِيلَ أَوْ مَلَكًا جَاءَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَ مَا تَعُدُّونَ مَنْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا فِيكُمْ؟ قَالُوا خِيَارُنَا قَالَ كَذَلِكَ هُمْ عِنْدَنَا خِيَارُنَا مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ  

tabarani:4412 – Mūsá b. Hārūn > Isḥāq b. Rāhawayh > Wakīʿ > Sufyān > Yaḥyá b. Saʿīd > ʿAbāyah b. Rifāʿah > Rāfiʿ b. Khadīj

[Machine] Jibreel ﷺ or an angel came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked, "How do you consider the people of Badr among you?" He replied, "They are the best of people." Jibreel ﷺ said, "And likewise, whoever witnessed Badr among the angels."  

الطبراني:٤٤١٢ – حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ هَارُونَ أَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ رَاهَوَيْهِ ثنا وَكِيعٌ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ عَبَايَةَ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ عَنْ رَافِعِ بْنِ خَدِيجٍ قَالَ

جَاءَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَوْ مَلَكٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَقَالَ كَيْفَ تَعُدُّونَ أَهْلَ بَدْرٍ فِيكُمْ؟ قَالَ «هُمْ أَفَاضِلُ النَّاسِ» قَالَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ وَكَذَلِكَ مَنْ شَهِدَ بَدْرًا مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ