429 - Abd Allāh narrated to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Ishkāb narrated to me, saying: Muhādir narrated to us, from Mūsā al-Saghīr, who said: I heard Abd al-Malik ibn Maysarah say: I heard al-Nazzāl say:

I heard Alī delivering a sermon in the mosque, saying: “Shall I tell you of the best of this community after its Prophet—three?” Then he mentioned Abū Bakr and Umar, and said: “If I wished, I would name the third.”