The jinn used to listen in on the divine revelation. They would catch a word and add ten of their own to it, so that what they had heard was true while what they added was false. Before that, shooting stars were not hurled at them.When the Prophet ﷺ was sent, none of them could take his eavesdropping post without a flame being hurled at him that burned whatever it struck. They complained about this to Iblis, who said, "This can only be the result of something that has happened."So he sent his troops out, and they found the Prophet ﷺ praying between the two mountains of Nakhlah. They came back and informed him, and he said, "This is the event that has occurred on earth."
حدثنا أبو أحمد حدثنا إسرائيل عن أبي إسحاق عن سعيد بن جبير
كان الجن يسمعون الوحي فيستمعون الكلمة فيزيدون فيها عشرا فيكون ما سمعوا حقا وما زادوه باطلا وكانت النجوم لا يرمى بها قبل ذلك فلما بعث النبي ﷺ كان أحدهم لا يأتي مقعده إلا رمي بشهاب يحرق ما أصاب فشكوا ذلك إلى إبليس فقال ما هذا إلا من أمر قد حدث فبث جنوده فإذا هم بالنبي ﷺ يصلي بين جبلي نخلة فأتوه فأخبروه فقال هذا الحدث الذي حدث في الأرض
Its isnad is sahih. Ibn Kathir mentioned it in his Tafsir 7:475, and said, "Tirmidhi and Nasai both narrated it in the books of tafsir from their two Sunans, from the hadith of Israil," through the same route. Tirmidhi said, "Hasan sahih." It is found in Tirmidhi 4:208. The hadith appears in abridged form at 2271. See also 2431.