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.
tabarani:178ʿAlī b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz > Abū Nuʿaym > Hārūn b. Salmān al-Farrāʾ a freed slave of ʿAmr b. Ḥurayth > ʿAmr b. Ḥurayth > ʿAlī

[Machine] "He was sitting on the pulpit and mentioned Abu Bakr and Umar and said, "Indeed, the best of this nation after its Prophet, ﷺ , is Abu Bakr and the second is Umar. And if I wanted to mention the third, I would have."  

الطبراني:١٧٨حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ ثنا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ سَلْمَانَ الْفَرَّاءُ مَوْلَى عَمْرِو بْنِ حُرَيْثٍ حَدَّثَنِي عَمْرُو بْنُ حُرَيْثٍ عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ؓ

أَنَّهُ كَانَ قَاعِدًا عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ فَذَكَرَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ ؓ فَقَالَ «إِنَّ خَيْرَ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّهَا ﷺ أَبُو بَكْرٍ وَالثَّانِي عُمَرُ وَلَوْ أَشَاءُ أَنْ أَذْكُرَ الثَّالِثَ ذَكَرْتُهُ»