حَدَّثَنَا عَبْد اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا شَرِيكٌ عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ عَنْ أَبِي جُحَيْفَةَ قَالَ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ خَيْرُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَبَعْدَ أَبِي بَكْرٍ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَلَوْ شِئْتُ أَخْبَرْتُكُمْ بِالثَّالِثِ لَفَعَلْتُ
مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 836
It was narrated that Abu Juhaifah said: 'Ali (RA) said: The best of this ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, and after Abu Bakr it is 'Umar (RA), and if I wanted to tell you of the third one, I could do so.
Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020