A caller from the Jinn came to me, and I went along with him and recited the Qur’an to them
Authentic hadithعن عامر، قال: سألتُ عَلْقَمةَ: هل كان ابنُ مسعود شَهِدَ مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلةَ الجنِّ؟ قال: فقال عَلْقَمةُ، أنا سألتُ ابنَ مسعود فقلتُ: هل شَهِدَ أحدٌ منكم مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ليلةَ الجنِّ؟ قال: لا، ولكنَّا كنَّا مع رسول الله ذاتَ ليلة ففَقَدْناه فالتمسناه في الأودية والشِّعاب. فقلنا: استُطِير أو اغْتِيل. قال: فبِتْنَا بِشَرِّ ليلة بات بها قومٌ، فلما أصبحْنا إذا هو جاء من قِبَل حِرَاء. قال: فقلنا يا رسول الله فقدْناك فطلبْناك فلم نجدْك، فبِتْنَا بِشَرِّ ليلة بات بها قوم. فقال: «أتاني داعي الجنِّ فذهبتُ معه فقرأتُ عليهم القرآنَ» قال: فانطلقَ بنا فأرانا آثارَهم وآثارَ نِيرانِهم وسألوه الزاد فقال: «لكم كلُّ عظم ذُكر اسمُ الله عليه يقع في أيديكم أوفر ما يكون لحمًا، وكلُّ بَعْرة عَلَفٌ لدوابِّكم» . فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : «فلا تسْتَنْجُوا بهما فإنَّهما طعامُ إخوانِكم».
‘Āmir reported: I asked ‘Alqamah if Ibn Mas‘ūd was present with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on the night of the Jinn (the night when the Prophet met the Jinn). He said: "No, but we were in the company of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) one night, and we missed him. We looked for him in the valleys and the hills and thought that he might have been taken away (by the Jinn) or assassinated. So we spent the worst night which people could ever spend. When it was dawn, we saw him coming from the side of Hirā'. We said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we missed you and looked for you, but we could not find you, and we spent the worst night which people could ever spend.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘A caller from the Jinn came to me, and I went along with him and recited the Qur’an to them.’ So he then went along with us and showed us their traces and traces of their embers. They (the Jinn) asked him for provision, and he said: ‘For you is each bone on which the name of Allah is mentioned. When it falls in your hand, it will have plenty of flesh; and each piece of dung is a fodder for your beasts.’ The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Do not cleanse (your private parts) with these, for these are the food of your brethren (the Jinn).'"
Explanation
‘Āmir Ash-Sha‘bi (may Allah have mercy upon him) asked ‘Alqamah (may Allah have mercy upon him) — both were venerable Tābi‘īn — whether ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) witnessed the night when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) met the Jinn. ‘Alqamah said that he asked Ibn Mas‘ūd about that, and he told him that none of the Companions witnessed that. However, one night, they were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) but they suddenly could not find him. Therefore, they searched for him in the valleys, roads, and among mountains, but they could not find him. So they feared that the Prophet was assassinated or kidnapped by the Jinn. This prospect was so upsetting to them that they spent the night in grief. In the morning, they saw the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) coming from the direction of the mount of Hirā'. They told him that they missed him and had looked for him but could not find him, which made them spend the night in great sorrow and grief. However, the Prophet told them that an emissary from he Jinn had come to him, so the Prophet went along with him and read the Qur’an to the Jinn. The Prophet went with the Companions and showed them the traces of the Jinn and the traces of their embers. He told the Companions that the Jinn had asked him for food, so he told them that their food would be every bone on which the name of Allah was mentioned. If such bones fell in their hands, they would find them covered with meat. Likewise, the dung of animals would be fodder for their beasts. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Muslims to cleanse themselves after defecation with bones and animal dung, for these belong to the food of their brethren from among the Jinn.
Source · Narrated by Muslim
From the Hadith Encyclopedia (hadeethenc.com).