"I said: 'O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about ablution.' He said: 'Perform ablution properly and sniff water up into your nostrils, thoroughly, unless you are fasting.'"
"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever performs ablution, let him clean his nose, and whoever uses pebbles to clean himself after defecating, let him use an odd number.'"
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَامِرِ بْنِ زُرَارَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا شَرِيكُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النَّخَعِيُّ، عَنْ ثَابِتِ بْنِ أَبِي صَفِيَّةَ الثُّمَالِيِّ، قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ قُلْتُ لَهُ حُدِّثْتَ عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ تَوَضَّأَ مَرَّةً مَرَّةً قَالَ نَعَمْ . قُلْتُ وَمَرَّتَيْنِ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَثَلاَثًا ثَلاَثًا قَالَ نَعَمْ .
"I asked Abu Ja'far: Was it narrated to you from Jabir bin 'Abdullah that the Prophet performed ablution washing each part once?' He said: 'Yes.' I said: 'And each part twice, and each part thrice?' He said: 'Yes.'"
"I saw `Uthman and `Ali performing ablution, washing each part three times, and they said: 'This is how the Messenger of Allah used to perform ablution.'" (Hasan) Another chain with similar wording.