وَعَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَنَفِيَّةِ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي: أَيُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ بَعْدَ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ؟ قَالَ: أَبُو بَكْرٍ. قُلْتُ: ثُمَّ مَنْ؟ قَالَ: عُمَرُ. وَخَشِيتُ أَنْ يَقُولَ: عُثْمَانُ. قُلْتُ: ثُمَّ أَنْتَ قَالَ: «مَا أَنَا إِلَّا رجلٌ من الْمُسلمين» . رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ
Muhammad b. al-Hanafiya[*] told that when he asked his father which of the people after the Prophet was best, he replied that it was Abu Bakr. He asked who came next and he replied that it was `Umar. As he was afraid that he might mention `Uthman next he suggested that his father himself came next, but he replied, "I am only a man among the Muslims." *He was a son of Ali bin Abu Talib. Bukhari transmitted it.
Reported by Al-Bukhari (No. 3671) and Abu Dawud (No. 4629). Cited in Mishkat al-Masabih (No. 6024).