612 - Al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan informed me, saying: Ibrahim ibn al-Harith narrated to us that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Ahmad ibn Hanbal] was asked. Muhammad ibn ‘Ali also informed me, saying: Al-Athram narrated to us, saying: I heard Abu ‘Abd Allah being asked about one who says: "I hold the five members of the Shura [Consultation Council] to be equal after ‘Uthman." He replied: "As for me, I say that Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, and ‘Uthman are in [a state of] precedence, and as for the Caliphate, ‘Ali is in our view one of the Caliphs."