2626 – Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Musa told us; Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Yazid related to us; ʿAli ibn Harb narrated; Kathir ibn Hisham, from Kulthum ibn Jawshan, who said ⦗1454⦘:

Al-Nadr ibn ʿAmr asked al-Hasan al-Basri, “Who holds the higher rank, Abu Bakr or ʿAli?”

He replied, “Glory be to Allah—there is no comparison. ʿAli has earlier merits in which Abu Bakr also shared, yet he then became involved in later matters in which Abu Bakr had no part. Abu Bakr is superior.”

He then asked, “Who is superior, ʿUmar or ʿAli?” Al-Hasan repeated the same opening words and concluded, “ʿUmar is superior.”

He asked, “Is ʿAli superior or ʿUthman?” He again gave the same preliminary reply and said, “ʿUthman is superior.”

A man from Syria thought he saw an opening and asked, “Is ʿAli superior or Muʿawiyah?”

Al-Hasan answered, “Glory be to Allah—there is no comparison. ʿAli has prior merits in which Muʿawiyah had no share, and ʿAli later took part in events that Muʿawiyah shared with him. ʿAli is superior to Muʿawiyah.”