2607 – Al-Qāsim ibn Jaʿfar reported to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥammād narrated to us; he said: ʿAlī ibn Ḥarb narrated to us; he said: Ismāʿīl ibn Abān narrated to us; he said: I heard Sharīk say to a group of the Shīʿah:

“We only know that when ʿAlī mounted the pulpit he proclaimed, ‘The finest of this ummah after its Prophet are Abū Bakr and ʿUmar.’ By Allah, we did not question him about that, you ignoramus! Do you imagine we would wait until he stood up and then say to him, ‘You have lied’?”