Commentary of Suratul Jinn

Selection of Ahadith from Al-Usul Al-Kafi Concerning the Jinn

The Jinn come to them (the A'immah)
for Religious Instructions and for Settling their Affairs
 

Hadith 1

Some of our companions narrated from our people, who have narrated from Muhammad ibn `Ali from Yahya ibn Musawir from Sa`d al-Askaf who said the following: ”On one of my meeting with Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him) when I went to see him, he asked me to wait.

* I waited until the sun became very hot on me, thus I tried to follow the shadow to stay away from the sun.  Not very long after, a group of people that looked like locusts dressed in large gowns and were very pale and slim due to extensive worshipping, came out from where the Imam was.  *

*Their beautiful sight made me forget my troubles.  When I went in the presence of the Imam (peace be upon him) he said, 'I am afraid I caused you hardships.'  *
 
*I said, 'Yes, it was difficult but by Allah, I forgot everything when I saw them.  A group of people passed by the like of whose beauty I had not seen before.  They looked like locusts that were pale and slim due to worshipping a great deal.' *
 
*The Imam (peace be upon him) said, 'O Sa`d, did you see them?'  I said, 'Yes, I saw them.'  The Imam (peace be upon him) said, 'They are your brethren from among the Jinn.' *
 
The narrator said, 'I asked the Imam (peace be upon him), 'Do they come to you?'  He said, 'Yes, they come to us for religious instructions and to learn the lawful and unlawful matters from us.'”
 

Hadith 2

`Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from `Ali ibn Hisan from Ibrahim ibn Isma'il from Ibn Jabal, who has said the following:

“On one occasion we were in front of the door of the house of Abu `Abdillah (peace be upon him) when a group of people who looked like Indian gypsies came out wearing loin cloths to cover their bodies.  We asked Abu `Abdillah (peace be upon him) about them and he said, 'They were your brethren from among the Jinn.'”
 

Hadith 3

Ahmad ibn Idris and Muhammad ibn Yahya have narrated from al-Hasan ibn `Ali al-Kufi from Ibn al-Faddal from a certain person of our people from Sa`d al-Askaf, who has said the following:

“*One time I went to ask for permission to meet Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him).  I found saddles of camels lined up in front of the door and heard very loud noises.  At this time, a group of people came out who were wearing turbans and looked like those of the Indian gypsies.  *

*I asked Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him) about them saying, 'May Allah take my soul in the service of your cause.  Today it took me a long time to receive permission to meet you.  I saw a group of people coming out with turbans on that I did not recognize.'  *
 
He said, 'Do you know, O Sa`d, who they were?'  I replied, 'No, I do not know.'  The Imam (peace be upon him) said, 'They were your brethren in religion from among the Jinn.  They come to us for religious instructions, to learn the lawful and unlawful matters and the principles of their religion.'”
 

Hadith 4

Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn from Ibrahim ibn Abu'l Balad from Sadir al-Sayrafi, who has said the following:

“Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him) asked me to help him with a few things in Madina.  I left and when I reached Fajj al-Rawha` (name of a place) a man waved to me with his clothes.

The narrator said that I turned to him and I thought he was thirsty.  I offered him a cup but he declined saying, 'I do not need it.'  He gave me a letter whose ink was not dry yet.
 
The narrator said that when I looked at it, it had the seal of Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him) on it.  I asked him 'When were you in the presence of Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him)?'  He said, 'Just now I was in his presence.'  In the letter were a few things that he had commanded me to do.  When I looked around there was no one with me.”
 
The narrator then said, 'After this, I went to meet Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him) and said, 'May Allah take my soul in the service of your cause.  A man came to me with your letter, the ink of which had not yet dried up.'  He said, 'O Sadir, we have servants from among the Jinn.  When we need a thing to happen quickly, we send them to do it.'”
 

Hadith 5

'Ali ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn al-Hasan have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad, from the person who he mentioned from Muhammad ibn Jahrash who has said that Hakima, daughter of Musa has said the following:

“*Once, I saw ar-Rida (peace be upon him) standing at the door of the firewood room whispering, but I could not see anyone else around him.  I asked him, 'My master, who are you talking to?' He said, 'This is 'Amir al-Zahra`i.  He has come to ask a few questions and he has certain complaints.'  *

I then asked, 'My master, I would like to hear his voice.'  He said, 'If you hear his voice, then you will have a fever for one year.'  I said, 'My master, I would (still) like to hear him.'  He said, 'All right then listen.'  I listened and I heard something like a whistle.  I then felt feverish for one entire year.”
 

Hadith 6

Muhammad ibn Yahya and Ahmad ibn Muhammad have narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan from Ibrahim ibn Hashim from `Amr ibn `Uthman from Ibrahim ibn Ayyub from `Amr ibn Shimr from Jabir from Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him), who had said the following:

“*Once when Amir al-Mu'minin `Ali (peace be upon him) was on the pulpit, a serpent entered from one of the doors of the Masjid.  The people wanted to kill the serpent however, Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) asked them to leave the snake alone and thus they left him.  *

*The serpent began to crawl towards the pulpit.  He stretched out and saluted Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him).  The Imam (peace be upon him) made a gesture to him to wait until the sermon was completed.  When the sermon was finished, Imam `Ali came to the snake and said, 'Who are you?'  *

He said, 'I am `Amr ibn `Uthman, your deputy among the Jinns.  My father has died and in his will, he has asked me to come to you and find out your instructions and that is why I am here.  What do you command me and instruct me to do?'

* Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) said, 'I ask you to be pious before Allah and go back and act as the successor of your father among the Jinn.  I appoint you as my deputy over them.'*
 
The narrator said that `Amr then bid farewell to Amir al-Mu'minin `Ali (peace be upon him) and left as his deputy over the Jinn.  I asked the Imam (peace be upon him), 'May Allah take my soul in the service of your cause, does `Amr fulfill the obligation upon him?'  He said, 'Yes, he does so.'”
 

Hadith 7

`Ali ibn Muhammad has narrated from Salih ibn Abu Hammad from Muhammad ibn `Urma from Ahmad ibn al-Nadr from al-Nu`man ibn Bashir, who said the following:

“Once, I was accompanying Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju`fi on a journey. We reached the city of Madina upon which, he went to meet Abu Ja`far (peace be upon him).  (After the meeting) he said farewell to the Imam and came out very happy until we arrived to al-`Ukhayraja, the first length of the journey from Fayd to Madinah.

* It was a Friday and we said our prayers at noon and when the camel rose to leave, I saw a tall, brownish man with a letter.  He gave it to Jabir, who kissed it and placed it over his eyes.  It was from Muhammad ibn `Ali al-Baqir (peace be upon them) addressed to Jabir ibn Yazid whose black ink was still wet.  *

*He asked the tall man, 'When were you in the presence of my master?'  He said, 'Just now.'  He asked, 'Were you in his presence before or after the prayer?'  He said, 'I was there after the prayer.'  He then opened the seal and began to read the letter and his face began to look strained until he read it to the end.  He held the letter and I did not see him laughing or happy until we arrived in Kufah.  *
 
I spent my night in Kufah and then in the morning, I went to see Jabir out of respect and I found him coming out to meet me with a large ring made of anklebones around his neck riding on a twig of reeds saying: 'I see Mansur ibn Jumhur, a ruler - but no one obeys him' and other such rhymes.

* He looked at me and I looked at him, and he did not say anything to me and I did not say anything to him.  I began to weep when I saw him.  The children and people gathered around us.  He came to ar-Rahba and would go in circles with the children, and people started to say, 'Jabir has gone mad, Jabir has gone insane.'  *

By Allah, only a few days passed that a letter from Hisham ibn `Abd al-Malik came to the governor to look for a man called Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju`fi.  It said, 'Kill him and send his head to me.'
 
*The governor turned to the people in his court and asked, 'Who is this Jabir ibn Yazid al-Ju`fi?'  They replied, 'May Allah grant well being to the governor.  Jabir was a man of knowledge, excellence, hadith and Hajj but now he has become insane.  *

He is there with the children riding on a twig of reeds.  He plays with them.'  He went to see him and found him playing with the children while riding a twig of reeds. He said, 'Thanks be to Allah for saving me from having to kill him.'  The narrator said that within a few days Mansur ibn Jumhur entered Kufah and did to Jabir what he had ordered his commander to perform (kill Jabir).”