I came across a paragraph in the book, Commentary on the Creed of at-Tahawi (p.473): "Opinions differ regarding these people. Some scholars deny outright the existence of invisible beings... Other scholars testify to their existence... A third section... thinks, however, that both groups receive help from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)..."

Kindly explain this.

As I suspected, the translation is not very accurate. In the Arabic edition (2/766), the word hizb is used in all three instances, which means group or party.

Therefore, the paragraph does not indicate that there is any difference on this issue between the scholars of the Sunnah. Rather, their position as presented by Ibn Abil-‘Izz immediately after the above is that:

“The truth is that these so-called awliyaa’ are followers of devils, and the invisible beings are none other than jinns. Jinns are called rijaal in the verse,

“There are persons (rijaal) among mankind who took shelter with persons (rijaal) among the jinns. But they increased them in folly” [1]

Had they been men they would have been visible. True, men are sometimes not seen, but they are not invisible.

Those who think that the rijaal-ul-ghayb are human beings, are wrong. The reason people [not scholars] have differed regarding their identity is that they are not able to distinguish between the friends of Satan and the friends of Allah.”

And Allaah knows best

Reference:

[1] Surah al-Jinn, 72:6