From the benefits of our Shaikh Abu Mu’adh Hussain al-Hateeby (may Allah preserve him):
“Who is the Judge of the Jinn? And why is he called that?
It is Muhammad bin Abdullah bin ‘Ulaatha (may Allah have mercy upon him).
Hafidh Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy upon him) said in at-Taqreeb (no. 6040): “Muhammad bin Abdullah bin ‘Ulaatha al-Jazari, al-Harrani,al-Qaadi. He was called the Judge of the Jinn”. [Taqreeb at-Tahtheeb no. 489]
The reason why he is called this was mentioned by Hafidh Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy upon him) in Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah:
“Ibn ‘Ulaatha was called the Judge of the Jinn because there was well wherein anyone who took anything from it (of water) became possessed. So he said: “O Jinn, we will judge between us. You have the night and we will have the day”. So whoever took something (of water) from the well in the daytime, they were not possessed with anything”. [Al-Bidayah wan-Nihayah (13/539)]
Note:
This story is also mentioned by Hafidh al-Mizzi (may Allah have mercy upon him) in at-Tahtheeb al-Kamaal (25/528):
“Ali bin Saraaj al-Misri said: Muhammad bin Abdullah bin ‘Ulaatha used to be called the Judge of the Jinn. That was due to a well which used to be between Harran and the castle of Maslamah [bin Abdil-Malik]. Whoever drank from it, the Jinn would address him . So he (Muhammad) stood in from it and said: “O Jinn, verily we will judge between you and mankind. For them (mankind) is the daytime and for you is the night”. He said: If a man took water from there during the daytime nothing would afflict him!”
Imam Khateeb al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy upon him) also narrated it in Tareekh al-Baghdad (5/389-390), also Hafidh Ibn ‘Asaakir in Tareekh ad-Damashq (53/400-401), Imam adh-Dhahabi (May Allah have mercy upon him) mentioned it in Siyar ‘Alaam an-Nubala (7/309), and others.
Translated by
Faisal bin Abdul Qaadir bin Hassan
Abu Sulaymaan
