Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
It has not been established that the jinn used to guard the Prophet ﷺ against the wife of Abu Lahab. Rather, it has been reported that an angel concealed the Prophet ﷺ from her so that she could not see him. Allah Himself undertook to protect His Messenger ﷺ. One aspect of this protection was that He subjected angels to him in certain situations, as is also authentically established in the story of Abu Jahl when he intended to attack the Prophet ﷺ while he was praying.
The claim that the jinn protected the Prophet ﷺ from the wife of Abu Lahab requires evidence, and it is not established by the texts mentioned in the fatwa.
What has been reported is the protection of the Prophet ﷺ by angels, by the command of Allah.
Allah تعالى said to His Prophet ﷺ:
﴿And Allah will protect you from the people.﴾
[Al-Ma’idah: 67]
One aspect of Allah’s protection of His Prophet was that He prevented the harm of his enemies from reaching him through whatever means He willed.
It was narrated from Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما that when the words of Allah تعالى were revealed:
﴿Perish the hands of Abu Lahab, and perish he!﴾
[Al-Masad: 1]
the wife of Abu Lahab came while the Prophet ﷺ was sitting with Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه. Abu Bakr told the Prophet ﷺ that he feared she might harm him.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There will be a barrier between me and her.”
When she came, she spoke with Abu Bakr but did not see the Prophet ﷺ. After she had left, Abu Bakr asked him: “Did she not see you?”
He ﷺ replied:
“No. An angel continued to conceal me from her until she turned away.”
Narrated by al-Bazzar; al-Bazzar and Ibn Hajar considered its chain good.
According to this narration, the one who concealed the Prophet ﷺ from her was an angel, not one of the jinn.
It is narrated in the two Sahihs from Jundub ibn Sufyan رضي الله عنه that the Prophet ﷺ delayed his night prayer for two or three nights because of an illness. A woman came to him and said mockingly:
“O Muhammad, I hope that your devil has abandoned you.”
Then Allah تعالى revealed:
﴿By the morning brightness, and by the night when it covers with darkness, your Lord has neither forsaken you nor detested you.﴾
[Ad-Duha: 1–3]
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar mentioned that this woman was Umm Jamil bint Harb, the wife of Abu Lahab.
Another clear example of Allah protecting His Prophet ﷺ through the angels has also been authentically established.
Abu Jahl threatened the Prophet ﷺ that if he saw him praying at the Ka‘bah, he would step on his neck.
When he approached him while he was praying, he retreated backward, attempting to protect himself with his hands. When he was asked about this, he said that he had seen between himself and the Prophet ﷺ a trench of fire, terror, and wings.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“If he had come near me, the angels would have seized him limb by limb.”
Narrated by Muslim.
This is clear evidence that Allah تعالى was able to protect His Prophet ﷺ through the angels whenever He willed.
It is not established that the jinn used to guard the Prophet ﷺ against the wife of Abu Lahab. What is reported in the narration is that an angel concealed the Prophet ﷺ from her so that she could not see him. It is also authentically established in Sahih Muslim that the angels were ready to seize Abu Jahl when he attempted to attack the Prophet ﷺ while he was praying.
Thus, the protection of the Prophet ﷺ was from Allah تعالى, and He made the angels a means of this protection in some situations.
And Allah knows best.