حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ أَنْبَأَنَا مَنْصُورُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ يَعْنِي الْغُدَانِيَّ الْأَشَلَّ عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو جُحَيْفَةَ الَّذِي كَانَ عَلِيٌّ يُسَمِّيهِ وَهْبَ الْخَيْرِ قَالَ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يَا أَبَا جُحَيْفَةَ أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِأَفْضَلِ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا قَالَ قُلْتُ بَلَى قَالَ وَلَمْ أَكُنْ أَرَى أَنَّ أَحَدًا أَفْضَلُ مِنْهُ قَالَ أَفْضَلُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَبَعْدَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَبَعْدَهُمَا آخَرُ ثَالِثٌ وَلَمْ يُسَمِّهِ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 835
Abu Juhaifah - whom 'Ali used to call Wahb al-Khair - said: 'Ali (RA) said: O Abu Juhaifah, shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? I said: Yes indeed. He [Abu Juhaifah] said: And i did not think that anyone was better than him. He ['Ali] said: The best of this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, and after Abu Bakr it is 'Umar, and after both of them there is a third one - but he did not name him.
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020