Musnad al-Jinn
- Author died
- 1380 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Rashād al-Ḥadīthah
Musnad al-Jinn (The Musnad of the Jinn) is a specialized hadith monograph by the Moroccan traditionist Ahmad ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari (1320–1380 AH / 1902–1960 CE), dedicated to collecting narrations, Quranic recitations, and transmission chains (asānīd) reported through the medium of the jinn .
Purpose and Methodology
Al-Ghumari compiled narrations transmitted by later human scholars from the jinn not to rely on them as authoritative proofs for legal or doctrinal rulings, but rather to document them according to the tradition of hadith collectors who record all received chains regardless of their soundness, weakness, or nullity . The author noted that the vast majority of the texts collected in the book already exist in the standard works of the Sunnah, with the exception of two or three narrations that he only encountered through these specific chains .
In terms of critical hadith evaluation, al-Ghumari did not refrain from scrutinizing texts and chains throughout the treatise, pointing out transmission errors, identifying disrupted narrators, and critiquing earlier authorities when assessing variant wordings .
Structure and Contents
The work opens with an introduction examining the relationship between humans and the jinn, the possibility of meeting and hearing them, and their appearance in altered forms . In the first prefatory point, al-Ghumari asserts that the companionship of certain jinn with the Prophet ﷺ and their receiving transmissions directly from him are established by the authentic Sunnah and Quranic texts, citing accounts narrated by numerous Companions such as Ibn Mas'ud, Abu Hurayrah, and Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah .
Following the introduction, the book documents chains of transmission connecting the author to the jinn for:
- The entire Quran, specific surahs, and distinct verses, such as chains running through Sufi figures like Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hama'il al-Sarwi back to long-lived Successors (tābiʿūn) among the jinn from Companion jinn .
- Prophetic hadiths and patterned narrations (musalsalāt) transmitted with specific ritual conditions and formulas .
Critical Assessment of Jinn Narrations
Despite compiling the text, al-Ghumari explicitly rejected the reliability of jinn transmissions reported in later Islamic history (from after the 9th to the late 13th century AH), arguing that moral integrity (ʿadālah) cannot be verified for jinn and that deceptive devils cannot be distinguished from upright believers among them . In other writings, such as al-Mu'jam al-Wajiz, Majma' Fudala' al-Bashar, and al-Mu'jam al-Asghar, he characterized popular claims of transmitting from long-lived jinn figures—such as the widely claimed judge Shamhurush—as baseless fabrications and curiosities of superstition . He cited figures like Ibn Hajar al-Haytami to explain that some scholars preserved such chains strictly for seeking blessing (tabarruk) from righteous masters rather than establishing religious rulings .
Related Works and Manuscript
Al-Ghumari noted that Murtada al-Zabidi had previously authored a compilation titled Musnad al-Jinn, though al-Ghumari stated that he had not seen it . Other contemporary scholars also treated the subject, including Muhammad 'Abd al-Hayy al-Kattani, who penned two treatises on human transmission from the jinn .
The text is preserved in an autograph manuscript by al-Ghumari held at the Egyptian National Library and Archives (Dar al-Kutub wa-l-Watha'iq al-Qawmiyya), cataloged under gifts (no. 330, microfilm 1033), spanning 54 folios (108 pages) with authorial marginal notes and corrections .
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