حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ حَدَّثَنَا سُهَيْلُ بْنُ أَبِي صَالِحٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ كُنَّا نَعُدُّ وَرَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَيٌّ وَأَصْحَابُهُ مُتَوَافِرُونَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرُ وَعُثْمَانُ ثُمَّ نَسْكُتُ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 4626
It was narrated that Ibn 'Umar said: When the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was still alive and all his Companions were still with us (in Madinah), we used to regard as the highest in status Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, then 'Uthmaan, then we stopped (i.e I did not mention any other name).
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020