This excerpt is taken from Sheikh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah's book Al-Jawab al-Bahir fi Zuwar al-Maqabir, translated by Sheikh Ataullah Saqib.
Every visitation, these jinn and devils in human form:
Wherever a grave is being worshipped, there is the abode of Satan who communicates with the polytheists in human form. The famous saying of Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما is:
فى كل صنم شيطان يتراءى للسدنة ويكلمهم
"Inside every idol there is a devil who talks to the worshippers."
Reference: (Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur: 2/639)
Abi bin Ka'b رضي الله عنه says: "There is definitely a jinn near every idol."
Reference: (Tafsir Ibn Abi Hatim: 3/1067)
It is also narrated that Anath refers to inanimate things. Hasan رحمه الله said: "Every thing that does not have a soul is called Anath, such as wood, stone, etc." Al-Zajjaj said that the news of inanimate objects is brought in the feminine form, such as:
لا حجارة تعجبني الدارهم تنفعك
This rule is not specific to inanimate things only, but every word except Allah can have a plural form in the feminine, such as from Malik to Al-Mala'ikah, etc.
