57 — ‘Abdullāh narrated to us, saying: Abū Sālih al-Hakam ibn Mūsā narrated to me, saying: Ismā‘īl—that is, Ibn ‘Ayyāsh—narrated to us, saying: Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd narrated to us, from Nāfi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar, who said:

“During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), we used to say among ourselves: ‘The best of this community after its Prophet is Abū Bakr, then ‘Umar, then ‘Uthmān.’”