430 - Abd Allāh narrated to us, saying: al-Hasan ibn al-Sabbāh ibn Muhammad al-Bazzār narrated to us, saying: Abd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar al-Raqqī narrated to us, saying: Abd Allāh—meaning Ibn Amr al-Raqqī—narrated to us, from Khalaf ibn Hawshab, from Abū Ishāq, from Abū Mālik, from al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, from his father, who said:

I asked Alī ibn Abī Tālib: “Who is the best of this community after its Prophet?”

He replied: “Glory be to Allah, my son! Abū Bakr.”

I asked: “Then who?”

He replied: “Glory be to Allah, my son! Then Umar.”

Fearing that if I asked further, he would name more people, I said: “Then you, Commander of the Faithful?”

He replied: “I am not of that rank. I am, after all, just one of the Muslims.”