565 - 'Abd al-Malik informed me that he asked Abu 'Abd Allah, saying: I said: "Do you not say: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman?" He replied: "As for the order of preference, it is Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman." I said: "For it has been narrated to me from you that you say: If someone says, 'Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Ali, and 'Uthman,' or 'Abu Bakr and 'Umar,' that this, in your view, is all close to one another." His color changed, then he said to me: "No, by Allah, I have never said this at all, nor has such a statement ever passed between me and anyone. I have always said: Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman, and then I remain silent." He was distressed by the statement I had narrated to him."