In a narration reported from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), these words occur: He narrates: One of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encountered a jinn. The jinn challenged him to wrestle, and the human threw him down. The jinn said to the human: Wrestle with me again. He wrestled again, and the human threw him down once more. The human said to him: I see that you are a weak and frail one, and your forearms are like the forelegs of a dog. Are you jinn all like this? (The narrator has some doubt about the words here.) The jinn said: No! I am one of the strong ones among them. Wrestle with me a third time; if you throw me down, I will teach you something that will benefit you. He wrestled the man again, and the man threw the jinn down and then said: Now teach me. The jinn asked: Do you recite Ayat al-Kursi (or: do you know Ayat al-Kursi)? The man replied: Yes. The jinn said: In whatever house you recite it, Satan will leave that house, and he will leave passing wind as a donkey passes wind, and he (Satan) will not enter that house until morning. (The narrator says:) One of those present said: O Abu Abd al-Rahman! Who was that man from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? The narrator says: Sayyiduna Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) frowned, turned towards that man and said: Who could he be other than Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)?
Imam al-Tabarani recorded both these narrations with two chains. The narrators of the second narration are the narrators of the Sahih, except that Imam al-Sha'bi did not hear from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), though he lived in his time. The chain of the first narration contains a narrator, al-Mas'udi, who is thiqah (trustworthy) but suffered from ikhtilat (deterioration of memory); however, through al-Sha'bi's narration the soundness of al-Mas'udi's narration becomes clear to us. And Allah knows best.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب المناقب / 14445
Hadith Gradingمحدثین:إسنادہ صحیح
Hadith Takhrij«اخرجه الطبراني فى المعجم الكبير (8826)»