1188 — Abū Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd narrated to us, saying: Ayyūb ibn Mansūr al-Duba‘ī narrated to us, saying: Shabāba—that is, Ibn Sawwār—narrated to us, saying: Shu‘ayb ibn Maymūn narrated to us, from Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahmān and Abū Hubāb, both of whom narrated from al-Sha‘bī, from Shaqīq ibn Salama, who said: Ali ibn Abī Tālib (may Allah be pleased with him) was told, “Appoint a successor over us.” He replied, “I will not appoint a successor. But if Allah, Mighty and Majestic, wills good for this community, He will unite them around the best among them, just as He united them after their Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) around the best among them.”