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As-Salaam alaikum, In his book titled 'Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah, Sheikh Muhyi al-Din Muhammad Ibn Ali al-Arabi (A.H. 560-638/A.D 1165-1240), may Allah be pleased with him, tells of an anecdote so as to cite a hadith that is gharib or unattested by other lines of transmission, but conveys an indisputable spiritual teaching. In this case, the Sheikh makes the point that the believing Jinn were better than people at listening to the Qur'an when the Prophet, Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam, recited it.
The Sheikh observed that:--
"I have recounted a gharib hadith from one of the community of the Jinn. It was narrated to me by the blind man, Ibrahim ibn Suleiman in my home in Aleppo. He was from Dayr
al-Rumman, one of the districts Khabur. He had it from a trustworthy man, a woodcutter, who had killed a serpent. He was then abucted by the jinn, who brought him before a very old
Sheikh, the leader of the people. They said, 'This man has killed our uncle's son.' The woodcutter replied, 'I do not know what you are saying. I am a woodcutter, and a serpent interfered with me, so I killed it.'
The group said, 'That was our uncle's son.' Then the Sheikh- Allah be pleased with him- said, 'Let the man go and take him back to his place. You can do nothing against him, for I heard the Messenger of Allah, while he was speaking to us, 'He who assumes a form other
than his own form and is slain, had no intellect, and there is no retaliation.' The son of your uncle assumed the form of a serpent, which is one of the enemies of human beings.'
The woodcutter said, 'I said to him, Sir, I see you saying that you heard the Messenger of Allah. Did you meet him?' He said, 'Yes. I was one of the Jinn of Nasibin who went before the Messenger of Allah. So we heard from him. But I am the only one of that group left. i judge among my companions according what I head from the Messenger of Allah.''
But the narrator did not mention the name of this great man- the Sheikh of the Jinn, nor did I ask it from him.''
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