Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ghalib related to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Hamdan related to us; he said: Muhammad ibn Ayyub narrated to us; he said: al-Hasan ibn ‘Isa narrated to us—

2609 – Ahmad also said: Muhammad related to us; he said: Abu Bakr al-Jarudi narrated to us; he said: I heard al-Hasan ibn ‘Isa say—and he dictated it to me—he said: Jarir ibn ‘Abd al-Hamid narrated to us; he said: I heard Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Ansari say, “So-and-so narrated to me, and I have never seen a shaykh more distinguished than him. I asked him, ‘Which of the Messenger of Allah’s ﷺ Companions and Followers have you met, and what did they say about Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, and ‘Ali?’ He replied, ‘All the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Followers whom I met were unanimous concerning Abu Bakr and ‘Umar and their superiority; the only point on which they differed was between ‘Ali and ‘Uthman.’”