I heard ʿAli ؓ say on the minbar: Shall I not tell you of the best of this ummah after its Prophet? Then he mentioned Abu Bakr. Then he said: Shall I not tell you of the second one? Then he mentioned ʿUmar ؓ . Then he said: If I wished, I could tell you of the third one, And he kept quiet. We thought that he meant himself. I [the narrator] said: Did you hear him say that? He said: Yes, by the Lord of the Kaʿbah, otherwise may they [his ears] go deaf.  

سَمِعْتُ عَلِيًّا يَقُولُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ أَلا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِخَيْرِ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا؟ قَالَ فَذَكَرَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ أَلا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِالثَّانِي؟ قَالَ فَذَكَرَ عُمَرَ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَوْ شِئْتُ لَأَنْبَأْتُكُمْ بِالثَّالِثِ قَالَ وَسَكَتَ فَرَأَيْنَا أَنَّهُ يَعْنِي نَفْسَهُ فَقُلْتُ أَنْتَ سَمِعْتَهُ يَقُولُ هَذَا قَالَ نَعَمْ وَرَبِّ الْكَعْبَةِ وَإِلا صُمَّتَا