The Quran mentions four species of intelligent beings (Zawil Aql): Allah, the Perfect Creator; the Angels; the Jinns; and Human Beings. This article focuses on the second interaction of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with the invisible beings called the Jinns.
After their first encounter, during which the Jinns listened to the Prophet recite the Quran, they sent a representative to invite him to a second meeting at Al-Hajoun in the upper part of Makkah. He was accompanied by his companion, Hadrat Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him).
Allah references this meeting in the Quran: “Remember when a group of the Jinns turned towards thee, wanting to listen to the Quran. And when they were present, they said, ‘Be silent.’ And when it was finished, they went to their people warning them” (Quran 46:28).
According to Ibn Mas’ud, as they approached the meeting place, the Prophet drew a circle with his staff and instructed Ibn Mas’ud to remain inside it. The Prophet moved further away, and due to the large number of Jinns, Ibn Mas’ud could hardly see or hear him. From time to time, he heard disputes among the Jinns while the Prophet ordered them to remain silent. The interaction continued throughout the night until dawn.
Ibn Mas’ud described seeing “black men wearing white clothing,” which the Prophet identified as Jinns from Nasiibiin (Iraq). When Ibn Mas’ud asked about the disputes he heard, the Prophet explained that one Jinn had killed another, and he had settled the matter with justice. The Prophet warned that fleeing could have led to Ibn Mas’ud being captured by the Jinns until the Day of Resurrection.
As the night progressed, the Jinns requested food. The Prophet prayed to Allah to provide meat from dry bones and grains from animal dung for their riding animals. Consequently, he forbade Muslims from using dry bones and dung for cleansing after attending nature’s call.
Hadrat Abdullah Bin Jaabir, in Tirmidhi, reported that the Prophet recited Surat Rahman to his companions without response, commenting that the Jinns were more attentive: “There is no favour of our Lord which we deny. To you belong all praise and thanks.”
The event demonstrates the invisible nature of Jinns, contrasting with human delegations that met the Prophet openly during the conquest of Quraish. The incident also clarifies that the “food of the Jinns” refers to intelligent beings, not bacteria or other microorganisms, which the Prophet referred to separately as “Daai” (disease).
Scientific understanding today recognizes that bacteria, fungi, and viruses are microscopic organisms causing diseases and are not the intelligent Jinns described in Islamic texts. The Prophet’s interaction with the Jinns during Lailatul Jinn (Night of the Jinns) thus provides strong evidence of their intelligent, unseen nature.
By Khalid Kofi Ahmad
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