pulpit, addressed the people, and explained to them how the episode had taken place. ʿAbd Allah said: I turned and saw my father al-Zubayr among those present. When I recognized his face, awe of him almost caused my words to falter, but he signalled to me with his eye and gestured for me to press on, so I continued the sermon as before.
When I stepped down he said, “By Allah, my son, it was as though I were hearing the sermon of Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq when I listened to yours.” (1)

Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari reported: I heard Abu Sulayman al-Darani say, “Ibn al-Zubayr once set out on a moonlit night riding his mount. He halted at Tabuk, turned, and there on the mount sat an old man with white hair and beard. Ibn al-Zubayr charged at him; the old man stepped aside, whereupon Ibn al-Zubayr remounted and continued on his way.
The old man called after him, ‘By Allah, Ibn al-Zubayr, had so much as a single hair of me entered your heart tonight, I would have driven you mad!’
He replied, ‘And could anything of you, O accursed one, ever find its way into my heart?’
This story has other sound chains that corroborate it.

ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Mubarak narrated—from Ishaq ibn Yahya, from ʿAmir ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr—who said: “ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Zubayr was returning from ʿumrah with a party of Quraysh. When they reached al-Yanasib (2) they saw a man standing by a tree. Ibn al-Zubayr rode ahead, greeted him with salam, but the man paid him no heed and gave only a feeble reply. Ibn al-Zubayr dismounted, yet the man did not move.
Ibn al-Zubayr said to him, ‘Move away from the shade,’ so he shifted grudgingly.
Ibn al-Zubayr continued, ‘I sat down, took him by the hand and asked, “Who are you?” He said, “A man from the jinn.” No sooner had he spoken than every hair on my body stood on end. I seized him and said, “You are one of the jinn and you appear to me like this?” He was wearing shabby clothes, became subdued, and I rebuked him, saying, “You dare to appear before me when you are of the dwellers on earth?” He fled.
My companions arrived and asked, “Where is the man who was with you?” I said, “He was a jinni and he ran away.”
Not one of them remained on his mount; each fell to the ground. I lifted every one of them and tied him to his mount until I brought them to Amaj (3), and they were unaware of anything.’”

Sufyan ibn ʿUyaynah related that Ibn al-Zubayr said: “I entered the Mosque one night and saw some women circumambulating the Kaʿbah; they pleased me. When they had finished their tawaf they left, so I followed them to see where they lived. They left Makkah, reached the ʿAqabah, then descended into a valley and entered a deserted ruin, so I followed them inside.
There I found a group of elders seated. They said, ‘What has brought you, O Ibn al-Zubayr?’ I asked, ‘Who are you?’ They said, ‘We are the jinn, and those women are our womenfolk. What do you desire, O Ibn al-Zubayr?’
I said, ‘I would like some fresh dates, and at that time there were none in Makkah.’
They brought me fresh dates and I ate. Then they said, ‘Take what remains with you.’ I brought them home, placed them in a saft (basket) and put the basket inside a chest. Then I laid my head down to sleep. While I was between sleep and wakefulness I heard a commotion in the house. Some of them said, ‘Where did he put it?’ Others answered, ‘In the chest.’ They opened it, and there it was…"}