2555 – ʿUbayd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad reported: ʿUthman related to us; ⦗1424⦘ Hanbal related to us; Hajjaj narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd Allah ibn Dawud narrated to us, from Misʿar, from ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Maysarah, from al-Nazzal ibn Sabrah, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud, who said:

“When ʿUthman was invested with authority, ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud declared: ‘We have appointed the best of those who remain—and we have not been negligent.’”