1154 – Abu Bakr ibn ‘Abd al-Hamīd reported to us: Muhammad ibn Rizq Allah al-Kalwadhānī reported to us: ‘Abd Allah ibn Sālih reported to us: Nāfi‘ ibn Yazīd reported to me: Abu ‘Aqīl Zuhra ibn Ma‘bad informed me, from Sa‘īd ibn al-Musayyib, from Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah, Glorious and Exalted, chose my nation above all other nations. From among my nation, He chose my Companions above all others except the prophets and messengers. From among my Companions, He chose four for me: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmān, and ‘Alī. He made them the best of my Companions, though there is goodness in all my Companions. From my nation, He chose four generations after my Companions: the first, second, and third in succession, and the fourth on its own.”