Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 39835 — Reports on the caliphate of Abu Bakr

It is narrated from Ibn Abi Mulaykah: I heard Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), when she was asked: "O Mother of the Believers! If the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had appointed a successor, whom would he have appointed?" She replied: "Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)." The narrator says: Then she was asked: "Then whom after Abu Bakr?" Sayyidah Aishah replied: "Then Umar." She was asked: "Whom after Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)?" Sayyidah Aishah replied: "Sayyiduna Abu Ubaydah bin al-Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him)." Then Sayyidah Aishah stopped at this point.