641 - Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Sa‘id narrated to me, saying: Ya‘qub al-Dawraqi narrated to us, saying: I asked Abu ‘Abd Allah [Ahmad ibn Hanbal] about the statement: Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman. He said: This refers to precedence [in virtue]. As for the Caliphate, ‘Ali is the fourth. We hold the view of Safinah: ‘The Caliphate in my Ummah will last for thirty years.’