حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ کَثِيرٍ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ حَدَّثَنَا جَامِعُ بْنُ أَبِي رَاشِدٍ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو يَعْلَی عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ ابْنِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ قَالَ قُلْتُ لِأَبِي أَيُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّی اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ أَبُو بَکْرٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ مَنْ قَالَ ثُمَّ عُمَرُ قَالَ ثُمَّ خَشِيتُ أَنْ أَقُولَ ثُمَّ مَنْ فَيَقُولَ عُثْمَانُ فَقُلْتُ ثُمَّ أَنْتَ يَا أَبَةِ قَالَ مَا أَنَا إِلَّا رَجُلٌ مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ
سنن ابودوٗد · Hadith 4629
Muhammad bin al-Hanafiyyah said: I said to my father: Which of the people after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is best? He replied: Abu Bakr. I then asked: Who comes next? He said: Umar. I was then afraid of asking him who came next, and he might mention Uthman, so I said: You came next, O my father? He said: I am only a man among the Muslims.
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020