Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
hakim:4699 – Bakr b. Muḥammad b. Ḥamdān al-Ṣayrafī Bimarw > Muḥammad b. Yūnus b. Mūsá al-Qurashī > Nāʾil b. Najīḥ > Fiṭr b. Khalīfah > Ḥabīb b. Abū Thābit > Dakhal Ṣaʿṣaʿah b. Ṣūḥān > ʿAlī

[Machine] "O Amir al-Mu'minin, who will succeed us?" He said, "If Allah knows goodness in your hearts, He will appoint the best among you as your successor." Sa'sa'a said, "But Allah knows evil in our hearts, so He appointed us as successors." Al-Dhahabi deleted it from the summary due to its weakness.  

الحاكم:٤٦٩٩ – حَدَّثَنَا بَكْرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ حَمْدَانَ الصَّيْرَفِيُّ بِمَرْوَ ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ بْنِ مُوسَى الْقُرَشِيُّ ثنا نَائِلُ بْنُ نَجِيحٍ ثنا فِطْرُ بْنُ خَلِيفَةَ عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ قَالَ دَخَلَ صَعْصَعَةُ بْنُ صُوحَانَ عَلَى عَلِيٍّ فَقَالَ

يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مَنْ تَسْتَخْلِفُ عَلَيْنَا؟ قَالَ «إِنْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ خَيْرًا يَسْتَخْلِفْ عَلَيْكُمْ خَيْرَكُمْ» قَالَ صَعْصَعَةُ «فَعَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِنَا شَرًّا فَاسْتَخْلَفَ عَلَيْنَا» حذفه الذهبي من التلخيص لضعفه  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Ḥākim
hakim:4698 – Abū Bakr b. Isḥāq > ʿAbdullāh b. Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal > ʿAmr b. ʿAbdullāh al-Awdī > Muḥammad b. Bishr > Mūsá b. Maṭīr > Ṣaʿṣaʿah b. Ṣūḥān > Khaṭabanā ʿAlī Ḥīn Ḍarabah Ibn Muljam Faqulnā Yā Amīr al-Muʾminīn Āstakhlif ʿAlaynā

[Machine] "I leave you as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ left us." We said, "O Messenger of Allah, appoint a successor over us." He said, "If Allah knows any good in you, He will guide you to the best among you." 'Ali said, "So Allah guided us to the best among us, and he appointed Abu Bakr as our leader." (This hadith is extracted from Al-Talkhis by Al-Dhahabi due to its weakness.)  

الحاكم:٤٦٩٨ – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ أَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ ثنا عَمْرُو بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْأَوْدِيُّ ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بِشْرٍ عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ مَطِيرٍ عَنْ صَعْصَعَةَ بْنِ صُوحَانَ قَالَ خَطَبَنَا عَلِيٌّ حِينَ ضَرَبَهُ ابْنُ مُلْجَمٍ فَقُلْنَا يَا أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اسْتَخْلِفْ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ

أَتْرُكُكُمْ كَمَا تَرَكْنَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ اسْتَخْلِفْ عَلَيْنَا فَقَالَ «إِنْ يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ فِيكُمْ خَيْرًا يُوَلِّ عَلَيْكُمْ خِيَارَكُمْ» قَالَ عَلِيٌّ «فَعَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِينَا خَيْرًا فَوَلَّى عَلَيْنَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ حذفه الذهبي من التلخيص لضعفه