Ahmad b. Sulaymân al-Najjâd said in his Amâlî: … Abû Mu’âwiyah said, “I heard Al-A’mash say, ‘A jinni once came to us and I asked him: what is the favorite food amongst you?’ He replied, ‘Rice.’ So we gave some to them and I saw handfuls of rice being lifted and I couldn’t see anyone [picking them up]. I asked, ‘Do these false desires (bid’ah) that are amongst us exist amongst you?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ I asked, ‘How are the Râfidah amongst you?’ He replied, ‘The worst of us.’”

Ibn Kathîr said, ‘I presented this chain of narration to our Shaykh, Al-Hâfidh Abû Al-Hajjâj Al-Mizzî and he said, ‘This chain of narration is sahîh all the way to Al-A’mash.’’

More:

1. Reciting the Quran like a Song
2. Characterless
3. How the Salaf were (and weren’t) when hearing the Quran and Dhikr
4. Risking your religion through Argumentation
5. Guilty by Association

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi