He went on: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ and his Companions were delighted by what I had recited; their happiness could be read on their faces.

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb then leapt toward me, embraced me, and said, ‘I have long wished to hear this story from you. Does your familiar still visit you nowadays?’

I answered, ‘Since I began to recite the Qur’an, no; and what an excellent substitute the Book of Allah is for the jinn.’

ʿUmar continued, ‘We were once in a Quraysh quarter called the Household of Dhariḥ. They had slaughtered a calf and the butcher was cutting it up when we suddenly heard a voice coming from inside the carcass, though we saw nothing. It cried:

“O Household of Dhariḥ! A fortunate affair—
a herald calls out with eloquent speech,
testifying that there is no deity but Allah.”

This chain is broken at this point, but al-Bukhārī transmits supporting evidence, and the narrations agree that the one who heard the voice from the calf was ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—Allah knows best.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Sahl al-Kharāʾiṭī relates in his work on the Voices of the Jinn (1): ‘Abū Mūsā ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Muʾaddib told us, Muḥammad ibn ʿImrān ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā told us, Saʿīd ibn ʿUbayd-Allāh al-Waṣṣāfī (2) told us, from his father, from Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī, who said:

“Sawad ibn Qārib as-Sadūsī once came in to ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb —may Allah be pleased with him. ʿUmar said, ‘I adjure you by Allah, O Sawad ibn Qārib, do you still practice any of your old soothsaying?’

He replied, ‘Glory be to Allah, O Commander of the Believers! You have never greeted any of your companions the way you have greeted me!’

ʿUmar said, ‘Subḥān Allah, Sawad! The idolatry we were upon was worse than the soothsaying you practiced. By Allah, Sawad, a story has reached me about you that is truly astonishing!’ [He added, ‘Indeed, by Allah, O Commander of the Believers, it is astonishing beyond measure.’] (3)

ʿUmar said, ‘Tell it to me.’

He replied, ‘I was a soothsayer in the Age of Ignorance. One night, while I was asleep, my confidant came to me, struck me with his foot, and said, “Sawad, listen and I shall speak.” I said, “Speak.” He chanted:

I marvel at the jinn and their vileness,
at their pale-humped camels with saddle-pads;
They rush toward Mecca in search of guidance—
the believers among them are unlike their impure.
So travel to Hashim’s Chosen One,
and lift your eyes to where he stands.

‘I went back to sleep and paid no attention to his words. When the second night came, he visited me again, struck me with his foot, and said, “Arise, Sawad ibn Qārib; listen and I shall speak.” I said, “Speak.” He recited:

I marvel at the jinn and their eager pursuit,
and at their pale camels laden with saddle-frames…’ ”