2623 – Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahman told us; Shuʿayb ibn Muhammad told us; ʿAli ibn Harb narrated to us; he said: I heard Shuʿayb ibn Harb say:

“I asked, ‘O Abū ʿAbd Allah’—meaning Sufyan al-Thawri—‘what does it mean to be in accord with the Sunnah?’ He replied, ‘To give precedence to the two Shaykhs, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar—may Allah be pleased with them. O Shuʿayb ibn Harb, what you have written will not ⦗1453⦘ benefit you until you place ʿUthmān and ʿAli ahead of all who came after them.’”