Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Salih that a camel driver was singing a hadith for Hazrat Uthman and was saying, "Surely after Uthman, Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) is the leader, and in Zubair is the preferred caliphate." The narrator says, Hazrat Ka'b said, "But there is Muawiyah, the one with the brown mule." So it was said to Hazrat Muawiyah that Hazrat Ka'b is joking with you and thinks that you will become the guardian of this matter of caliphate. The narrator says, then Hazrat Ka'b came to Hazrat Muawiyah, so Muawiyah said, "O Abu Ishaq! How did you say this while Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), Zubair, and other companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) are present?" Ka'b said, "You are the one who is deserving of this caliphate."