Throughout history humankind has been attracted to the supernatural. Spirits, ghosts and many other strange creatures have filled our minds and captured our imaginations. Strange and beguiling spectres have at times lead people to commit the greatest of all sins – Shirk.[1] So are these spirits real? Are they more than just figments of our imagination, or shadows moulded from smoke and illusion? Well, according to Muslims they are very real. Spirits, ghosts, banshees, poltergeists and phantoms can all be explained when one understands the Islamic concept of spirits – the world of the Jinn.
Jinn, is a word not completely unheard of by English speakers. Notice the similarity between Jinn and Geni. TV and the movies have all played their part in depicting genies as playful creatures able to fulfill all of humankind’s wishes. The geni in the television series “I Dream of Jeanie” was a young woman who always managed to create playful mischief, and in Disney animated film “Aladdin”, the genie was depicted as loveable rouge. Despite this the jinn are not part of a harmless fairy story; they are very real and can pose a very real threat to humankind.
However God, the Most Wise, has not left us defenceless. He explained the nature of the jinn very clearly. We know their methods and motives because God has revealed these things to us in the Quran and in the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him. He has given us the “weapons” to protect ourselves and the means to resist his persuasion. First however, we must be clear about just exactly what jinn are.
The Arabic word Jinn is from the verb ‘Janna’ and means to hide or conceal. The Jinn are so called because they conceal themselves from people’s sight. The words janeen (foetus) and mijann (shield) come from the same root.[2] Jinn, as the name suggests, are normally invisible to humans. The jinn are part of God’s creation. They were created from fire before the creation of Adam and humankind.
And indeed, We created man from dried (sounding) clay of altered mud. And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire. (Quran 15:26-27)
According to the traditions of Prophet Muhammad the angels were created from light, the jinn from fire and humankind from “what has been described to you”. (meaning clay)[3] God created the angels, jinn and humankind for no other purpose then to worship Him.
“I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Quran 51:56)
Jinn exist in our world but they live on their own. Jinn have their own distinct nature and features and they generally remain hidden from humankind. Jinn and humans do have some common traits, the most important of which is free will and with it the ability to choose between good and evil, right and wrong. The jinn eat and drink, they marry, have children and die.
Islamic scholar Ibn Abd al Barr said the jinn have several names and are of various types. In general, they are called jinn; a jinn who lives among people (a haunter or dweller) is called Aamir, and if it is the type of jinn that attaches itself to a child it is called Arwaah. An evil jinn is often called Shaytaan (devil), when they are more than evil, demonic, they are called Maarid, and the most evil and strong jinn are called Ifreet (plural afaareet).[4] In the traditions of Prophet Muhammad the jinn are divided into three classes; those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, and those who travel about endlessly.[5]
Among the jinn are those who believe in God and the message of all the Prophets of God and there are those who do not. There are also those who will abandon their evil ways and become true believers, faithful and patient.
“Say (O’ Muhammad): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said; ‘Indeed we have heard a marvelous Quran. It guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our Lord.” (Quran 72: 1-2)
The jinn are accountable to God and subject to His commands and prohibitions. They will be called to account and will enter either Paradise or Hell. The jinn will be present with humankind on the Day of Resurrection and God will address them both.
“O you assembly of jinn and humankind! “Did not there come to you Messengers from amongst you, reciting unto you My Verses and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?” They will say, “We bear witness against ourselves.” (Quran 6:130)
So far we have learned that supernatural beings do exist. We are not alone. They are creatures that live with us, yet apart from us. Their existence offers an explanation for many strange and unsettling occurrences. We know that jinn are both good and evil, although the mischief makers and evildoers far outnumber the believers.
The concept of Shaytaan being a fallen angel is from the doctrines of Christianity, but according to Islam Shaytaan is a jinn, not an angel. God speaks about Shaytaan a great deal in the Quran.
Angels don't have free will but Jinns and Human do.
Footnotes:
[1] Shirk – is the sin of idolatry or polytheism. Islam teaches that there is One God, Alone, without partners, offspring or intermediaries.
[2] Ibn Aqeel Aakaam al Mirjaan fi Ahkaam al Jaan. P7.
[3] Saheeh Muslim
[4] Aakaam al Jaan. 8.
[5] At Tabarani, Al Hakim & Al Bayhaqi
Who is Shaytaan?
Is Satan (Shaytaan) one of the jinn?[1] Satan, Shaytaan, the devil, Iblees, the personification of evil, Lucifer, is known by many names. The Christians usually call him Satan; to Muslims he is known as Shaytaan. He is first introduced to us in the story of Adam and Eve and although the Christian and Islamic traditions have much in common there are certain glaring differences.
The story of Adam and Eve is well known. Both the Quran and the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, in no way indicate that Satan came to Adam and Eve in the form of a snake or serpent. Nor do they indicate that Eve was the weaker of the two who tempted Adam to disobey God. The reality was that Adam and Eve had no experience of the whispering and ploys of -Satan and their dealings with him remain a vital lesson for all of humankind.
Satan became jealous of Adam and refused to obey the command of God to prostrate before him. God tells us of this in the Quran:
“ So the angels prostrated - all of them entirely. Except Iblees, he refused to be with those who prostrated. [ Allah ] said, O Iblees, what is [the matter] with you that you are not with those who prostrate?"
He said, "Never would I prostrate to a human whom You created out of clay from an altered black mud."
[ Allah ] said, "Then get out of it, for indeed, you are expelled.
And indeed, upon you is the curse until the Day of Recompense." (Quran 15:30-35)
Satan was arrogant then and he is arrogant now. His vow from that moment on was to misguide and deceive Adam, Eve and their descendants. When he was expelled from Paradise, Satan made a promise to God that if he would be kept alive until the Day of Judgment that he would work his utmost to mislead humankind. Satan is crafty and cunning, but ultimately understands the weaknesses of human beings; he recognises their loves and desires and employs all manner of tricks and deception to lead them away from the path of righteousness. He started to make sin attractive to humankind and tempted them with evil things and immoral actions.
“Now, indeed, Iblees (Satan) did prove that his opinion of them had been right: for [when he called them,] they followed him - all but some of the believers [among them].” (Quran 34:20)
In Arabic, the word shaytaan can refer to any arrogant or insolent creature and it is applied to this particular creature because of his insolence and rebellion towards God. Satan (Shaytaan) is a jinn, a creature who can think, reason and has free will. He is full of despair because he understands the full significance of being denied God’s mercy. Satan has vowed not to inhabit the depths of Hell alone; his wish is to take as many human beings with him as he can.
“Satan said: “See this one whom You have honoured above me, if You keep me alive to the Day of Resurrection, I shall most certainly cause his descendants-all but a few-to obey me blindly (Quran17:62)
God warns us against the enmity of Satan throughout the Quran. He is able to deceive, misguide and trick people with ease. He is able to make sin look like a gateway to Paradise and unless each person is careful they can be easily mislead. God, Almighty, says:
“O children of Adam. Let not Satan deceive you.” (Quran 7:27)
“Surely Satan is an enemy to you so take him as an enemy.” (Quran 35:6)
“And whoever takes Satan as a protector or helper instead of God, has surely suffered a manifest loss.” (Quran4:119)
As discussed, the ultimate aim of Satan is to lead people away from Paradise, but he also has short term goals. He tries to lead people into idolatry and polytheism. He entices them to commit sins and acts of disobedience. It is correct to say that every act of disobedience that is hated by God is loved by Satan, he loves immorality and sin. He whispers into the ears of the believers, he disrupts the prayer and remembrance of God and fills our minds with unimportant matters. Ibn ul Qayyim said, “One of his plots is that he always bewitches people’s minds until they are deceived, he makes attractive to the mind that which will harm it”.
If you spend wealth in charity you will become poor he says, migrating for the sake of God will lead to loneliness, he whispers. Satan sows enmity between the people, instills doubt in people’s minds and causes rifts between husband and wife. He has wide-ranging experience in the field of deception. He has tricks and temptations, his words are smooth and enticing and he has troops of helpers both mankind and jinn. There are believers among the jinn, but the vast majority are mischief makers or evil doers. They work willingly and happily with Satan to scare, trick and ultimately destroy the true believers in God.
We are Not Alone
We are not alone! This statement sounds a little like an ad for a science fiction movie. It could be just that, but it is not. We really are not alone here on earth. We are God’s creatures but we are not God’s only creatures. We established that they were created by God, before the creation of humankind, from smokeless fire. We also established that the jinn are both male and female, good and bad, believers and non believers.
Jinn exist in our world yet they are separate from it. Shaytaan is from the jinn and his followers are from both the jinn and humankind. Now that we understand that we are not alone, it becomes necessary to recognise signs indicating the presence of the jinn and know how to protect ourselves from their mischief and evil doing.
“And indeed, We created man from clay of altered mud. And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire.” (Quran 15:26-27)
“I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Quran 51:56)
Because the jinn share this world with us we should know their dwelling places. Jinn tend to gather together, sometimes in great numbers, in ruins and deserted places. They tend to gather in places of filth, garbage dumps and graveyards. Jinn at times congregate in places where it is easy for them to cause mischief and mayhem, such as market places.
In the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, we find that some of the companions advised people not to be the first to enter or the last to leave market places because they were the battle grounds for the devils and mischief makers.[1]
If a Shaytaan chooses a human dwelling as its own place of stay, we are given the “weapons” through which we can expel them from the homes. These include saying Bismillah (I begin with the name of God), remembering God frequently and reciting any words from the Quran but especially Chapters two and three. The jinn also flee whenever they hear the call to prayer.
Prophet Muhammad explained that jinn congregate in great numbers and spread out as darkness falls. He commanded us to keep our children inside at dusk for this reason.[2]
Sometimes, animals that belong to humankind are associated with the jinn. For instance, many of the jinn are able to take on the form of snakes and Prophet Muhammad referred to black dogs as devils. He also said, “Do not pray in camels’ pens for devils dwell therein.”[3] He associated camels with jinn due to their aggressive nature.
There are many ways that we can protect ourselves and our families from the mischief caused by the jinn. The most important is to turn to God and seek his protection; we do this by adhering to the words of Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Seeking refuge in God will protect us from the jinn and devils. We should seek His protection when we enter the bathroom[4], when we become angry[5], before sexual intercourse[6], and resting on a journey or travelling into a valley[7]. It is also important to seek refuge with God when reading Quran.
“So when you want to recite the Quran, seek refuge with God from Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one). Verily! He has no power over those who believe and put their trust only in their Lord.” (Quran 16:98-99)
Understanding the nature of the jinn makes it possible to understand some of the strange phenomena that occur in our world today. People turn to fortune tellers and psychics to see into the future or the unknown. Men and women on the television and internet claim to speak to dead people and relay secrets and mysterious information. Islam teaches us that this is not possible. Soothsayers and astrologists allege that they can predict the future and read personalities by the alignment of the stars and other heavenly bodies. Islam teaches us that this too is not possible.
However, in the ancient past the jinn were able to ascend into the heavens. At that time they were able to eavesdrop and find out about events before they happened. During the time of Prophet Muhammad heavenly protection was increased and remains so still. The jinn are no long able to eavesdrop on conversations in the heavenly realm.
The jinn are able to take a grain of truth and mix it with lies to confuse and confound people. Strange phenomena though disconcerting and sometimes scary are nothing more than evil mischief making designed to tear people away from God. Sometimes the jinn and human devils will team up to trick the believers into committing the sin of shirk –associating partners with God.
Sometimes in this strange and wonderful world we are confronted with trials and tribulations that often seem to weigh us down. Dealing with the mischief making and evil intentions of the jinn seems to be an even bigger test. However it is comforting to know that God is the source of all strength and power and that nothing happens without his permission.
Prophet Muhammad told us that the best words with which to seek God’s protection from the evil of mankind and jinn are the last three chapters of the Quran. We may at times have to face the evil doing of the jinn but God is our safe haven, turning to Him is our rescue. There is no protection except the protection of God, it is Him alone that we worship and it is to Him alone that we turn to for help.
Footnotes:
[1] Saheeh Muslim
[2] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim
[3] Abu Dawood.
[4] Ibid
[5] Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim
[6] Ibid
[7] Ibn Majah.