3. Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qittan said: al-Hasan ibn `Ali al-Sukkari said: Abu `Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Basari said: Ja`far ibn Muhammad ibn `Umarah said, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju`fi that

I asked Abu Ja`far Muhammad ibn `Ali al-Baqir about the meaning of “there is no power and no strength save in Allah” [la hawla waw la quwwata illa bi Allah]. Therefore, he answered: “It means that we have no power to disobey Allah except by the help of Allah, and we have no strength to obey Allah except by the direction of Allah, the Mighty and High.”