(52) باب فَضْلِ الصَّحَابَةِ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ يَلُونَهُمْ
This hadith has been reported on the authority of Abu Huraira through another chain of transmitters (but with this variation) that Abu Huraira said:
I do not know whether he (the Holy Prophet) said (these words:" Then next" ) twice or thrice.
Reference: Sahih Muslim 2534 b
In-book reference: Book 44, Hadith 303
USC-MSA web (English) reference(deprecated numbering scheme): Book 31, Hadith 6155