How the jinn answered the question the companions sat silent through
He read them the whole surah and got nothing back.
قَالُوا لاَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ نِعَمِكَ رَبَّنَا نُكَذِّبُ فَلَكَ الْحَمْدُ
Qālū: lā bi-shayʾin min niʿamika rabbanā nukadhdhib, fa-laka-l-ḥamd
“They said: not one of Your blessings, our Lord, do we deny. So all praise belongs to You.”
Jabir reports it. Tirmidhi records it as gharīb.
Where this comes from
He recited ar-Rahman from beginning to end and they said nothing. So he told them: I recited it to the jinn on the night of the jinn, and they answered better than you. Every time he reached the refrain asking which of your Lord's favours you deny, they said this back.
The full narration
Muhammad bin Al Munkadir narrated that:Jabir [may Allah be pleased with him] said: “The Messenger of Allah came out to his Companions, and recited Surat Ar-Rahman from its beginning to its end for them, and they were silent. So he said: ‘I recited it to the Jinns on the ‘Night of the Jinns,’ and they had a better response to it than you did. Each time I came to Allah’s saying: ‘Which of your Lords favor do you deny.’ They said: “We do not deny any of Your favors our Lord! And Yours is praise.”
Source
Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī · 3291
- Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Hasan
- Al-Albani: Hasan
- Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan
- Zubair Ali Zai: Daif
Note on the chain. Scholars differ on this chain. Zubair Ali Zai grades it Daif. The majority (3 of 4) authenticate it.
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