Nuʿaym related to us: Aḥmad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Salm told us, Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Abar told us, Manṣūr ibn Abī Muzāḥim told us, and ʿAnbasah al-Khathʿamī—who was one of the righteous—said, “I heard Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad say:
‘Beware of theological disputation, for it preoccupies the heart and gives rise to hypocrisy.’
It is also narrated that a fly once landed on Abū Jaʿfar al-Manṣūr. He kept driving it away, but it persisted. He then asked Jaʿfar, ‘Why did Allah create the fly?’ Jaʿfar replied, ‘So that by it He might humble the tyrants.’
Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad likewise said, ‘If something displeasing about your brother reaches you, do not be distressed. If it is true, it is a punishment hastened for him; if it is false, it is a good deed credited to you that you did not even perform.’
Moses, peace be upon him, said, ‘My Lord, I ask You that no one mention me except with good.’ He was answered, ‘I have not decreed that even for Myself.’
We were further informed—through a chain of transmission reaching Suwayd ibn Saʿīd—who said:
Khalīl ibn Aḥmad reported, ‘I heard Sufyān al-Thawrī say:
“I arrived in Mecca and found Abū ʿAbd Allah Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad encamped at al-Abṭaḥ. I asked him, ‘O grandson of the Messenger of Allah, why was the standing-place (ʿArafāt) set outside the Sacred Precinct instead of within the Sacred Monument (al-Mashʿar al-Ḥarām)?’
He replied, ‘The Kaʿbah is the House of Allah; the Sanctuary is its curtain; and the standing-place is its door. When the pilgrims come to it, He makes them halt at the door so they may implore Him. Once He grants them leave to enter, He brings them nearer to the second door, Muzdalifah. When He sees the abundance of their supplication and the length of their striving, He shows them mercy and commands them to present their sacrifices. After they offer their sacrifices, attend to their grooming, and cleanse themselves of the sins that had formed a barrier between Him and them, He then commands them…’”