2679. ʿUbayd Allah ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad narrated to us; he said: Daʿlaj ibn Aḥmad narrated to us; he said: ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz reported; he said: Abū ʿUbayd said: Abū Badr narrated to us, from Khalaf ibn Ḥawshab, from al-Walīd ibn Qays, from ʿAlī, who said:

“The best people of this ummah are the middle, moderate group; those who come next will catch up with them, and the one who goes to extremes will find his way back to them.”