Suwayd ibn Saʿīd—through Muʿāwiya ibn ʿAmmār—transmitted from Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad, who said:
“Whoever invokes blessings upon Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—and upon his household one hundred times, Allah will fulfill one hundred of his needs.” (1)

Ahmad ibn Salamah granted us authorisation; from Abū al-Makārim al-Labbān; Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥaddād informed us; Abū Nuʿaym informed us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghazwān told me; Mālik ibn Anas narrated to us—from Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad—who said:

When Sufyān said to him, “I will not leave until you relate something to me,” he replied, “Very well, I will relate something to you; yet, O Sufyān, an abundance of narration is not what will benefit you.

• When Allah blesses you with a favour and you wish it to remain, then increase your praise and gratitude for it, for Allah has said in His Book: ‘If you give thanks, I will surely increase you’ (Ibrāhīm 14:7).

• If your provision seems slow in coming, then make abundant istighfār (seeking forgiveness), for Allah has said: ‘Seek forgiveness from your Lord—indeed, He is ever Forgiving; He will send the sky upon you with plentiful rain and will aid you with wealth…’ (Nūḥ 71:10-13).

• O Sufyān, whenever you are beset by some matter—whether from the ruler or from anyone else—repeat often: lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh (‘There is no might nor power except with Allah’), for it is the key to relief and a treasure from the treasures of Paradise.”

Sufyān then counted these on his fingers and said, “Three—what splendid three!”

Jaʿfar remarked, “By Allah, Abū ʿAbd Allāh has grasped them, and Allah will surely benefit him through them.”

I say: This is a fine story—provided Ibn Ghazwān did not fabricate it, for he is a liar.

Through this same chain Abū Nuʿaym said: Abū Aḥmad al-Ghitrīfī narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Mukram al-Ḍabbī narrated to us; ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd narrated to us; Mūsā ibn Masʿūd narrated to us; Sufyān narrated:
“I entered upon Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad while he was wearing a dark khazz robe and [a khazz cloak] (2) of Aydjānī make, and I kept looking at him in astonishment.

He said, ‘What is the matter with you, O Thawrī?’

I replied, ‘O grandson of the Messenger of Allah!’