Abdiwahab Rashid

The Jinn are beings created with free will, living on earth in a world parallel to mankind. They are physically invisible from man and this is the reason why some people have denied their existence. The origins of the Jinn can be traced from the Qur'an and the Sunnah.

Allah, the Exalted, says: "Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire." Qur'an 15:26-27

Thus the Jinn were created before man. As for their physical origin, then the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has confirmed the above verse when he said: "The Angels were created from light and the Jinn from somokeless fire." (Saheeh Muslim).

It is this description of the Jinn which tells us so much about them. Because they were created from fire, their nature has generally been fiery and thus their relationship with man has been upon this. Like humans, they too are required to worship God and follow Islam. Their purpose in life is exaclty the same as ours.

Allah, the Exalted, says: "I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me." Qur'an 51:56

Jinn can thus be Muslims or non-Muslims. However; due to their fiery nature the majority of them are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Jinns form a part of the army of famous Jinn, Satan. Consequently, these disbelieving Jinn are also called devils. Jinn also become Muslims, as they did in the time of the Prophet when a group of them were amazed by the recitation of the Qur'an. God orders the Prophet to tell the people of this event.

Allah, the Exalted, says: "Say (O Muhammad): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said: 'Indeed we have heard a marvelous Qur'an. It quides unto righeousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our lord'." Qur'an 72:1-2

In many aspects of their world, the Jinn are very similar to us. They eat and drink, they marry, have children and they die. The life span, however, is far greater than ours. Like us, they will also be subject to Final Reckoning by God the Most High. They will be present with mankind on the Day of Judgement and will enter to Paradise or Hell. God has given the Jinn powers as a test for them. If they oppress others with them, then they will be held accountable. By knowing of their powers, we can often make sense of much of the mysteries which go on around us. One of the powers of the Jinn is that they are able to take on any physical form they like. Thus, they can appear as humans, animals, trees and anything else. The ability to possess and take over the minds and bodies of other creatures is also a power which the Jinn have utilized greatly over centuries. This however, is something which has been prohibited to them as it is a great oppression to possess another beings.

Only through Islam can we understand such a phenomena. We know as Muslims, the Jinns possess people for many reasons. Sometimes it is because theJinn or its family has been hurt accidentally. It could be because the Jinn has fallen in love with the person. However, most of the time possession occurs because the Jinn is simply malicious and wicked. For this reason we have been commanded to recite the Qur'an frequently in our houses as the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said: "Indeed, Satan flees from the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited." (Al-Tirmidhi)

If a person does become possessed, then the name of God has to be used in expelling the Jinn. If we look at the practice of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) and his companions, we find many invocations to exorcise the Jinn, All of them invoke God to help the possessed person. How contrary this is to many modern day many exorcists often invoke the names of others besides God to exorcise the Jinn. When the Jinn does leave, these people believe that their way was successful. However,this is a ploy of the Jinn, as it know that if it obeys the exorcist, then it has succeeded in making him worship others besides God. The Jinn often returns when the exorcist leaves, as it knows that nothing except the words of God can stop it from oppressing others. Through their powers of flying and invisibility, the Jinn are the chief component in occult activities. Voodoo, Black magic, Poltergeists, Watchcraft and Mediums can all be explained through the world of the Jinn. Likewise, so can the illusions and feats of magicians. Because the Jinn can traverse huge distances over a matter of seconds, their value to magicians is great, in return for helping them in their magic, the Jinns often ask the magicians to worship them and Satan. Thus the magicians take the Jinn and Satan as lord besides God, (Subhana-Allah).

One of the most frequent activities associate with theJinn, is fortune telling. Fortune-teller operate through the Qareen. The Qareen is the Jinn companion which is assigned to every human being. It is this Jinn which whispers to our base desires and constantly tries to divert us from the righteousness. The Prophet ( Peace Be Upon Him) said: "Everyone of us has been assigned a companion from the Jinn. The companions asked: Even you O' Messenger of God? And the Prophet replied: Even me, except that God has helpled me against him and he has become a Muslim. Now he only tells me to do good." (Saheeh Muslim).

Because the Qareen is with a person all his life, it knows all that has happened to the person form the cradle to the grave. By making contact with the Qareen, the fortune-teller is thus able to make out that is he who knows about the person.

Allah, the Exalted, says: "Say, 'If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Qur'an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.' " Qur'an 17:88

The severity of going to a fortune-teller is such that the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said: "The prayer, of one who approaches to a tortune-teller and asks him about anything, will not be accepted for forty days or nights." The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said: " Whoever approaches a fortune-teller and believes in what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad." (Saheeh Muslim).

The Jinn can see us while we cannot see them, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) taught us many ways to protect ourselves from their harm, such as seeking refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan, reciting chapters 113 and 114 of the Holy Qur'an, and reciting the words taught by God in the Qur'an:

Allah, the Exalted, says: "Say: 'My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions) of Satan (devils). And I seek refuge with You, my Lord, lest they may attend (or come near) me.'"

Qur'an 23:97-98

Say Bismillah (in the Name of Allah) before entering one's house, before eating, drinking etc, mentioning the name of Allah before entering toilet or taking off one's clothes will prevent the Jinn from seeing a person's private parts or harming him, as the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said. Strength of faith and religion in general will also prevent the Jinn from harming a person. Reciting Al-Kursi verse in Arabic (Qur'an 2:255) provides also a strong protection against the Jinn, as we learned from the strory of Abu Hurairah [one of the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) companions] with a devil. Also the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) said: "Do not make your houses like graves, for Satan runs away from a house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited." (Narrated by Saheeh Muslim).

Islam teaches us how to deal with all of God's creation - and not just the Jinn. A true Muslim should not fear Satan or the Jinn, because Islam taught us about them and how to get protection from their harm. The world of the Jinn is one which is both sinister and intriguing. By knowing of this world we can explain many of the mysteries and issues which bother us. By doing this we can avoid the extremes which the people have gone to; nothing being more extreme then worshipping others besides God. By learning the monotheism of God, we defend ourselves from these hidden allies of Satan:

Allah, the Exalted, says: "Indeed he (Satan) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them." Qur'an 7:27

Allah has created different types of jinn. Among them are some who can take on different forms such as dogs and snakes; some who are like flying winds with wings; and some who can travel and rest

Allah, the Exalted, says: "And there were gathered before Sulaiman (Solomon) his hosts of jinn amd men, and birds, and they all were set in battle order (marching forward)."

Qur'an 27:17