Abu Juhaifah – whom Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) used to call Wahb al-Khair – narrates that I once heard Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) saying (during a sermon): “Shall I not tell you who is the best person in this Ummah after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?” (Abu Juhaifah says: I said, ‘Of course,’ and I thought that there was no one better than him himself.) “He is Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). And shall I tell you who is the best person in this Ummah after Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him)? He is Sayyiduna Umar al-Faruq (may Allah be pleased with him).”