Sahih al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari 3655
Arabic hadith text
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُلَيْمَانُ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ـ رضى الله عنهما ـ قَالَ كُنَّا نُخَيِّرُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِي زَمَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَنُخَيِّرُ أَبَا بَكْرٍ، ثُمَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، ثُمَّ عُثْمَانَ بْنَ عَفَّانَ رضى الله عنهم.
Translation
ʿAbd al-ʿAziz ibn ʿAbdullah narrated to us: Sulayman narrated to us, from Yahya ibn Saʿid, from Nafiʿ, from Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: During the time of the Prophet ﷺ, we used to rank people by merit, placing Abu Bakr first, then ʿUmar ibn al-Khattab, then ʿUthman ibn ʿAffan (may Allah be pleased with them).