عن ابن عمر قال: كنا نقول ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حي: أفضل أمة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بعده أبو بكر ثم عمر ثم عثمان رضي الله عنهم أجمعين (سنن أبي داود، الرقم: 4628)

Hazrat ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma) mentioned, “Whilst Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) was alive amongst us, we would say (and Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) would not object, but approve of what we were saying), ‘The greatest person of the ummah after Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) is Hazrat Abu Bakr (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), thereafter Hazrat ‘Umar (radhiyallahu ‘anhu), and then Hazrat ‘Uthmaan (radhiyallahu ‘anhu).’”