399 - ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿUmar al-Qawārīrī and Muhammad ibn Sulaymān, known as Luwayn, narrated to me. They both said: Hammād ibn Zayd narrated to us—and this is al-Qawārīrī’s wording—saying: ʿĀsim narrated to us, from Zirr, from Abū Juhayfah, who said:

ʿAlī delivered a sermon to us one day and said, “Shall I tell you who is the best of this nation after its Prophet? Abū Bakr.” Then he said, “Shall I tell you who is the best of this nation after its Prophet and after Abū Bakr? ʿUmar.”

400 - ʿAbd Allāh narrated to us: Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn ʿAlī al-Muqaddamī narrated to me, saying: Hammād ibn Zayd narrated to us, from ʿĀsim, from Zirr, from Abū Juhayfah, who said, “ʿAlī said…” He then related the same account.