2531 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad al-Baghawī informed us; he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAwn narrated to us; he said: al-Naḍr ibn Ismāʿīl — ḥāʾ.

2532 – Likewise, ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar and ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb told us; they said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated to us; he said: al-Ḥasan ibn ʿArafah narrated to us; he said: al-Naḍr ibn Ismāʿīl Abū al-Mughīrah narrated to us, from Muḥammad ibn Sūqah, from Munḏir al-Thawrī, from Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, who said:

I asked my father, “Who is the best of people after the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?”

He replied, “My son, what do you know?”
I said, “I do not know.”
He said, “Abū Bakr.”

I asked, “Then who?”
He said, “My son, do you not know?”
I said, “No.”
He said, “Then ʿUmar.”

I quickly interjected, “Father, are you the third?”

He answered, “My son, your father is simply a man among the Muslims; he has what they have and he is liable for what they are liable.”