588 - Muhammad ibn 'Ali informed me, saying: Abu Bakr al-Athram related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn al-Minhal related to us, saying: I heard Yazid ibn Zuray' say: "The best of this ummah after the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is Abu Bakr, then 'Umar, then 'Uthman, and then we stop." He said: And I heard Musa ibn Isma'il say: "This is how we were taught, and it is what our flesh grew upon, and it is what we found the people to be upon: giving precedence to Abu Bakr, 'Umar, and 'Uthman, and then remaining silent."