13 – Ibrāhīm b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Harawī narrated to us; he said: ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUthmān b. Isḥāq narrated to us; he said: I heard from my mother’s father, Mālik b. Ḥamzah b. Abī Usayd, who transmitted from his own father, who transmitted from his grandfather Abū Usayd al-Sāʿidī al-Khazrajī:

He had cut the fruit of his orchard and stored it in an upper room. A ghūl (ghoul) kept slipping into his drinking-place, stealing the fruit and ruining things for him. He complained of that to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—who said, “That is a ghoul. Listen to her; when you hear her forcing her way in”—the narrator explained: meaning the thud of her entry—“say: bi-smi Allāh, ajib Rasūl Allāh (in the name of Allah, answer the Messenger of Allah).” So he did so.

She thereupon said, “O Usayd, if you let me go I shall go to the Prophet of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and I will give you a pledge before Allah Most High that I will never come to your house again, will not steal your fruit, and will teach you a verse: recite it over your household and no harmful creature will intrude upon your family; recite it over your vessel and its cover will never be removed.”

He accepted from her the pledge with which he was satisfied, and the verse she indicated was Āyat al-Kursī—the Throne Verse.

Then she turned away, loosened her hind-quarters, and broke wind loudly.

He went to the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and related her whole story, mentioning how she left while breaking wind. He said, “She has told the truth, though she is an inveterate liar.”