Prophet Muhammad’s Meeting with Jinn

When the people of Banu Thaqif did not accept

, Muhammad decided to return to Makkah. On the way back, he stopped at a place Nakhla. While he was praying at Nakhla in the middle of the night, a number of jinn passed by. ¹ This event occurred in the month of Rabi ul Awwal, during the 11th year of prophethood. ² They were seven jinn and belonged from Naibin, which is located in Yemen, ³ but Ibn Hajr records that Nasibin was a famous city of Al-Jazira which was located between Syria and Iraq. ⁴ They listened to the from the Messenger of while he was reciting it in the prayer (Salat). When he finished his prayer they accepted and returned to their people so that they could inform them about their acceptance of Islam and narrate the details of the divine message to them. ⁵ It is cited that Prophet Muhammad recited Surah Al-Rahman in the first Raka’t and Surah Al-Jinn in the second Raka’t. ⁶ Allah Almighty mentioned Prophet Muhammad's meeting with the jinn as:

  وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَا إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقُرْآنَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوا أَنْصِتُوا فَلَمَّا قُضِيَ وَلَّوْا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ مُنْذِرِينَ 29 قَالُوا يَاقَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَى طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ 30 يَاقَوْمَنَا أَجِيبُوا دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ وَآمِنُوا بِهِ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُجِرْكُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ 31 ⁷

  And, when, (O Beloved,) We diverted a group of jinn to you, listening to the Qur’an with active attention, (and) when they came there (i.e., before the holy presence of the Messenger ), they said (to one another): ‘Keep silent.’ And when (the recitation) was over, they went back as warners to their people (i.e., the callers to the truth). They said: ‘O our people (O community of jinn), indeed we have heard such a Book that has been revealed after (the Torah of) Musa (Moses. It) confirms (the Books) that came before it, and guides to the true (Din undefined) and the straight road. O our people! Accept the call of the Caller (the Holy Prophet Muhammad ) to Allah and believe in him. Allah will then forgive your sins and save you from a painful punishment.

Surah Al-Jinn also refers to some of the jinn, who were listening to the

in the following words:

  قُلْ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ أَنَّهُ اسْتَمَعَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَقَالُوا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا قُرْآنًا عَجَبًا 1 يَهْدِي إِلَى الرُّشْدِ فَآمَنَّا بِهِ وَلَنْ نُشْرِكَ بِرَبِّنَا أَحَدًا 2 وَأَنَّهُ تَعَالَى جَدُّ رَبِّنَا مَا اتَّخَذَ صَاحِبَةً وَلَا وَلَدًا 3 ⁸

  Say: It has been revealed to me that a company of jinn listened (to my recitation). They said, 'We have really heard a wonderful Quran'. It shows the path of guidance. So we have believed in it and will never set up any partner with our Lord (Allah Almighty). And Exalted is the Glory of our Lord: He has taken neither a wife nor any children.

The above-mentioned verses confirm that the jinn were awed after listening to the verses of the

and they recognized that it was divine guidance. They accepted the message of the oneness of , praised Him and swore not to indulge in any form of henceforth. Buhkari has also recorded an incident similar to the one mentioned above. According to Bukhari’s narration, Muhammad was leading the Fajr prayer when the Jinn arrived. Bukhari quotes:

  قال :فانطلق الذين توجهو نحو تھامة الي رسول اللّٰه صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم وهو عامد الي سوق عكاظ وهو يصلي باصحابه صلاة الفجر فلما سمعو القرآن تسمعو له فقالو هذا الذي حال بينكم وبين خبر السماء فهنالك رجعو الي قومهم، فقالوا: يا قومنا (انا سمعنا قرآنا عجبا، علي نبيه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم: (قل اوحي الي انه استمع نفر من الجن) (الجن:1) وانما اوحي اليه قول الجن" ⁹

  Those (of the jinn) who had set out towards Tihama, went to Allah's Messenger at Nakhla (a place between Makkah and Taif) while he was on his way to Market of Ukaz. (They met him) while he was offering the Fajr prayer with his companions. When they heard the Holy Quran being recited (by Allah's Messenger), they listened to it and said (to each other). This is the thing which has intervened between you and the news of the Heavens. Then they returned to their people and said, O our people! We have really heard a wonderful recital (Quran). It gives guidance to the right, and we have believed therein. We shall not join in worship, anybody with our Lord. Then Allah revealed to His Prophet (Verses of Surat Al-Jinn): 'Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of jinn listened (to the Quran).' The statement of the jinn was revealed to him.

Some of the narrators mentioned that there were 9 jinn while others suggest that their number was 7. Four of them were from Nasibin while three were from Haran. ¹⁰ Al-Tabari quotes Muhammad ibn Ishaq and mentions the names of the jinn, who listened to the Quran, as Hassa (حسا), Massa (مسا), Shasir (شاصر), Nasir (ناصر), Ayna Al-Ard (ايناالارد), Aynayn (اينين), and Al-Ahqam (الاحقم). ¹¹ Some have added Al-Adras (الادراس), Wardan (وردان) and Al-Ahqab (الاحقاب) beside the first four ones. Al-Suhaili also mentions Munshi (منشی) and Mashi (ماشی) beside Shasir (شاصر), Masir (ماصر) and Al-Ahqab (الأحقب). ¹² It is also said that Al-Ahqab (الأحقب) was not a name of a Jind, rather it was his title and his real name was different. ¹³ These jinn were searching for the cause of meteors which were in their pursuit when they tried to listen to the conversations of the Angels. However, coincidently, they got the chance to listen to the

. When they heard it, they knew that it was divine guidance, thus, they accepted and also preached it to the other members of their community. ¹⁴ Their efforts resulted in the conversion of thousands of Jinns towards Islam.

It is narrated from Ka’b Al-Ahbar that Al-Ahqab and his friends preached Islam to their nation, and as a result, 300 of them came to visit

Muhammad . Then Al-Ahqab came to Prophet Muhammad and said that his nation wanted to meet him so, Prophet Muhammad told him to meet him at night at Hajoon. Later on, this night became famous as “The Night of Jinn” amongst the companions. During this night, the companions saw that Prophet Muhammad was not in his premises, hence they launched a search for him, but returned unsuccessful. It was the worst night for the companions of Prophet Muhammad , as they were worried about him. In the morning the Messenger of returned and told the companions about his meeting with the jinn. ¹⁵

It is narrated by Ikramah on the authority of Ibn Abbas that, 12,000 jinn visited

Muhammad at one point. The narrations suggest that the Jinn met the Holy Prophet multiple times. On the first occasion, the jinn listened to the while they were just passing by. However, later on, these jinn intentionally came to Prophet Muhammad to learn about the rulings of . This was a result of the preaching of the above-mentioned group of jinn. It is said that these jinn were the followers of Prophet Moses . That is why they mentioned Prophet Moses (Musa) and compared the with revelation to Moses . ¹⁶

 

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• ¹ Muhammad ibn Saad Al-Basri (1968), Tabqat Al-Kubra, Dar Sadir, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 1, Pg. 212.
• ² Muhammad ibn Yusuf Al-Salihi Al-Shami (1993), Subul Al-Huda wal-Rashad fe Seerat Khair Al-Abad, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 443.
• ³ Muhammad ibn Jareer Al-Tabari (1387 A.H.), Tareekh Al-Tabari, Dar Al-Turath, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 346-347.
• ⁴ Abu Al-Fadl Ahmed ibn Ali Al-Asqalani (1379 A.H.), Fath Al-Bari Sharah Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dar Al-Ma’rifah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 7, Pg. 172
• ⁵ Abd Al-Malik ibn Hisham (1955), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah le-ibn Hisham, Shirkah Maktabah wa Matba’ Mustafa Al-Babi, Cairo, Egypt, Vol. 1, Pg. 422
• ⁶ Ahmed ibn Zaini Dahlan (1996), Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah, Dar Al-Qalam Al-Arabi, Aleppo, Syria, Vol. 1, Pg. 273.
• ⁷ Holy Quran, Al-Ahqaf (The Dunes) 46: 29-31
• ⁸ Holy Quran, Al-Jinn (The Jinn) 72: 1-3
• ⁹ Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999), Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith: 4921, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 876
• ¹⁰ Abu Al-Fadl Ahmed ibn Ali Al-Asqalani (1379 A.H.), Fath Al-Bari Sharah Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dar Al-Ma’rifah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 8, Pg. 674.
• ¹¹ Muhammad ibn Jareer Al-Tabari (1387 A.H.), Tareekh Al-Tabari, Dar Al-Turath, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 347.
• ¹² Abd Al-Rahman ibn Abdullah Al-Suhaili (2000), Al-Raudh Al-Unf fe-Sharha Al-Seerat Al-Nabawiyah, Dar Al-Ihya Al-Turath Al-Arabi, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 4, Pg. 31.
• ¹³ Abu Al-Fadl Ahmed ibn Ali Al-Asqalani (1379 A.H.), Fath Al-Bari Sharah Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dar Al-Ma’rifah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 8, Pg. 674.
• ¹⁴ Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari (1999.), Sahih Al-Bukhari, Hadith: 4921, Dar Al-Salam, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Pg. 876.
• ¹⁵ Muhammad ibn Yusuf Al-Salihi Al-Shami (1993), Subul Al-Huda wal-Rashad fe Seerat Khair Al-Abad, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 2, Pg. 444.
• ¹⁶ Abu Al-Fadl Ahmed ibn Ali Al-Asqalani (1379 A.H.), Fath Al-Bari Sharah Sahih Al-Bukhari, Dar Al-Ma’rifah, Beirut, Lebanon, Vol. 8, Pg. 674.