Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
tabarani:9077 – Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-Ṣāʾigh > Saʿīd b. Manṣūr > Hushaym > Mughīrah > Ibrāhīm

[Machine] About Abdullah's saying, "{Those are the ones who invoke, seeking means to their Lord.}" He said, "There were people who used to be worshiped. So those who used to worship them embraced Islam, while those who used to worship them did not know (the truth) about them. Thus, Allah criticized them for that." Then he said, "{Those are the ones who invoke, seeking means to their Lord.}"  

الطبراني:٩٠٧٧ – حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الصَّائِغُ ثنا سَعِيدُ بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ ثنا هُشَيْمٌ أَنَا مُغِيرَةُ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ {أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ} قَالَ «كَانَ نَاسٌ يَعْبُدُونَهُمْ فَأَسْلَمَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَهُمْ وَلَا يَعْلَمُ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَهُمْ فَعَيَّرَهُمُ اللهُ ﷻ بِذَلِكَ» فَقَالَ {أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ}  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Muslim, Nasāʾī's Kubrá
muslim:3030a – Abū Bakr b. Abū Shaybah > ʿAbdullāh b. Idrīs > al-Aʿmash > Ibrāhīm > Abū Maʿmar

" Those to whom they call upon, themselves seek the means or access to their Lord as to whoever of them becomes nearest" (xvii. 57) that it related to a party of Jinn who were being worshipped and they embraced Islam but those who worshipped them kept on worshipping them (though the Jinn whom the misguided people worshipped had become Muslims). It was then that this verse was revealed.  

مسلم:٣٠٣٠a – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِي مَعْمَرٍ

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ فِي قَوْلِهِ ﷻ { أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ} قَالَ كَانَ نَفَرٌ مِنَ الْجِنِّ أَسْلَمُوا وَكَانُوا يُعْبَدُونَ فَبَقِيَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَ عَلَى عِبَادَتِهِمْ وَقَدْ أَسْلَمَ النَّفَرُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ  

قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: {قُلِ ادْعُوا الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ، فَلَا يَمْلِكُونَ كَشْفَ الضُّرِّ عَنْكُمْ وَلَا تَحْوِيلًا} [الإسراء: 56]

nasai-kubra:11224 – Muḥammad b. al-ʿAlāʾ > Ibn Idrīs > al-Aʿmash > Ibrāhīm > Abū Maʿmar

[Machine] Abdullah narrated that there was a group of humans who worshipped a group of jinn. Then the humans accepted Islam, but those who used to worship the jinn continued in their worship. So Allah revealed the verse "Those whom they invoke seek means of access to their Lord" [Al-Isra 57].  

الكبرى للنسائي:١١٢٢٤ – أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلَاءِ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ إِدْرِيسَ عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ أَبِي مَعْمَرٍ

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ {أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ} [الإسراء 57] قَالَ كَانَ قَوْمٌ مِنَ الْإِنْسِ يَعْبُدُونَ قَوْمًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَأَسْلَمُوا وَبَقِيَ الَّذِينَ كَانُوا يَعْبُدُونَهُمْ عَلَى عِبَادَتِهِمْ فَقَالَ {أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ} [الإسراء 57]