Ahl Al-Bid’ah amongst the Jinn

Al-Hāfidh Ibn Kathīr – Allāh have mercy upon him – reports the following incident in his tafsīr of Sūrah Al-Jinn, verse 11:

Ahmad b. Sulaymān al-Najjād said in his Amālī: … Abū Mu’āwiyah said, “I heard Al-A’mash say, ‘A jinni once came to us and I asked him: what is the favorite food amongst you?’ He replied, ‘Rice.’ So we gave some to them and I saw handfuls of rice being lifted and I couldn’t see anyone [picking them up]. I asked, ‘Do these false desires (bid’ah) that are amongst us exist amongst you?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘How are the Rāfidah amongst you?’ He replied, ‘The worst of us.’” Ibn Kathīr said, ‘I presented this chain of narration to our Shaykh, Al-Hāfidh Abū Al-Hajjāj Al-Mizzī and he said, ‘This chain of narration is sahīh all the way to Al-A’mash.’’

Ibn Kathīr said, ‘I presented this chain of narration to our Shaykh, Al-Hāfidh Abū Al-Hajjāj Al-Mizzī and he said, ‘This chain of narration is sahīh all the way to Al-A’mash.’’