The World of the Jinn

Throughout history man has always had a deep attraction for the
supernatural and the unseen. The existence of a world parallel to our
own has always fascinated people. This world is commonly referred to
as the spirit world, and almost every set of people have some concept
of one. With some people, these spirits are no more then the souls of
dead people- or ghosts. With others, spirits are either the forces of
good or the forces of evil - both battling against one another to gain
influence over humanity. However, both of these explanations are more
in tune with folk tales and fantasy. The true explanation of such a
world comes from Islam. Like every other way, Islam also claims to
explain this realm of the unseen. It is from this realm that Islam
explains to us about the world of the Jinn. The Islamic explanation of
the Jinn provides us with so many answers to modem day mysteries.
Without the knowledge of this world, the Muslims would become like the
non-Muslims and be running around looking for any old answer to come
their way. So, who or what are the Jinn?

Existence

The Jinn are beings created with free will, living on earth in a world
parallel to mankind. The Arabic word Jinn is from the verb 'Janna'
which means to hide or conceal. Thus, they are physically invisible
from man as their description suggests. This invisibility is one of
the reasons why some people have denied their existence. However, (as
will be seen) the affect which the world of the Jinn has upon our
world, is enough to refute this modern denial of one of Allah's
creation. The origins of the Jinn can be traced from the Qur'an and
the Sunnah. Allah 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"

(Surah Al-Hijr 15:26-27)

Thus the Jinn were created before man. As for their physical origin,
then the Prophet (saws) has confirmed the above verse when he said:
"The Angels were created from light and the Jinn from smokeless
fire" [1]. 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
built upon this. Like humans, they too are required to worship Allah
and follow Islam. Their purpose in life is exactly the same as ours,
as Allah says:

"I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me"

(Surah Ad-Dhariyat 51:56)

Jinns 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 the most famous Jinn, Iblis- the
Shaytan[2]. Consequently, these disbelieving Jinns are also called
Shaytans (devils). As for the Jinns who become Muslims, then the first
of them did so in the time of the Prophet (saws) when a group of them
were amazed by the recitation of the Qur'an. Allah orders the Prophet
to tell the people of this event:

"Say (O' Muhammed): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn
listened and said; 'Indeed we have heard a marvellous Qur'an. It
guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never
make partners with our lord'"

(Surah Al-Jinn 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 then ours. Like us, they will also be subject
to a Final Reckoning by Allah the Most High. They will be present with
mankind on the Day of Judgement and will either go to Paradise or
Hell.

Abilities

That which clearly distinguishes the Jinn from mankind, are their
powers and abilities. Allah has given them these 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. Over
the last few years the interest in the subject of aliens and UFO's has
become heightened. Programmes such as the X-files and the Outer limits
have increased the popularity of the theory that aliens exist.
Thousands of people have sighted strange looking creatures all over
the world. These sightings however, have still not proven
substantially that aliens exist. Rather - and it seems more plausible
all the sightings of such creatures were just Jinns parading in
different forms. So the next time you see something that looks like
E.T, its most probably just a wicked Jinn trying to scare and confuse
you!

The ability to possess and take over the minds and bodies of other
creatures is also a power which the Jinn have utilised greatly over
the centuries. This however, is something which has been prohibited to
them as it is a great oppression to possess another being. Human
possession is something which has always brought about great
attention. But the true knowledge of this subject is rare amongst the
people. Over the last 3 decades the subject of possession has become
very commercialised. During the 70's films such as The Exorcist and
Rosemary's Baby were used to educate people about possession. However,
because such institutions (the film industry) were heavily influenced
by Christianity, knowledge of the subject was non-existent. Rather
then educate people about Jinn possession, films such as The Exorcist
just tended to scare the living daylights out of us![3] Only through
Islam can we understand such a phenomena. We know as Muslims, that
Jinns possess people for many reasons. Sometimes it is because the
Jinn 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 told by the Prophet (saws) not to loiter in
those places where the Jinns reside, e.g. graveyards, ruins, deserts,
market places etc. We have also been commanded to recite the Qur'an
frequently in our houses as the Prophet (saws) said: "Indeed, the
shaytan flees from the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah (the 2nd
chapter of the Qur'an) is recited" [4].

If a person does become possessed, then the name of Allah has to be
used in expelling the Jinn. If we look at the practice of the Prophet
and his companions, we find many duas (supplications) to exorcise the
Jinn. All these duas invoke Allah to help the possessed person. How
contrary this is to many modern-day exorcists. Many exorcists, Muslim
and non-Muslim, often invoke the names of others besides Allah to
exorcise the Jinn[5]. When the Jinn does leave, these people believe
that their way was successful. However, this is a ploy of the Jinn, as
it knows that if it obeys the exorcist, then it has succeeded in
making him worship others besides Allah i.e. commit shirk. The Jinn
often returns when the exorcist leaves, as it knows that nothing
except the words of Allah can stop it from oppressing others.

It is not only humans which are possessed, but also animals, trees and
other objects. By doing this, the evil Jinn hope to make people
worship others besides Allah. The possession of idols is one way to do
this. Not so long ago the world-wide phenomenon of Hindu idols
drinking milk, shocked the world. From Bombay to London, Delhi to
California, countless idols were lapping up milk. Ganesh[6] the
elephant god, Hanuman the monkey god and even Shiva lingam, the male
private organ(!), all seemed to guzzle down the milk as if there was
no tomorrow! Unfortunately people were taken in by this (including
Muslims) and many flocked to feed (?) the Hindu gods. Anyone who knows
about Jinn possession, will undoubtedly know that this is a classic
attempt to make people commit shirk. And it worked, as many people
started to worship these lifeless pieces of wood and marble. Anyone
with half a brain would say to themselves, 'why on earth does a god
need to be fed?!! Surely if Ganesh, Hanuman or Shiva were divine then
they wouldn't need feeding?' However, such common sense seemed to be
lacking as the Jinns played havoc with these gullible people.

The Occult

Through their powers of flying and invisibility, the Jinn are the
chief component in occult activities. Voodoo, Black magic,
Poltergeists, Witchcraft 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 for the magicians to sell
their souls to them and even to Iblis. Thus the magicians take the
Jinn and Iblis as lords besides Allah. In our day, some of the feats
performed by magicians and entertainers are without doubt from the
assistance of the Jinn. Making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying
across the Grand Canyon and retrieving a ship from the Bermuda Triangle
[7], have all been done by the Jewish magician David Copperfield.
There is NO way that a man could do such things without the assistance
of the Jinn. It would not be surprising therefore, if David
Copperfield had sold his soul to Iblis himself. Because of their
involvement with the Jinn, and its result in shirk, the Prophet (saws)
said: "The prescribed punishment for the magician is that he be
executed by the sword" [8]. Some may argue that this is barbaric, but
if, the likes of David Copperfield truly had powers, then they could
just put their heads back on again!!

One of the most frequent activities associated with the Jinn, is
fortune telling. Before the advent of the Prophet (saws) fortune-
tellers and soothsayers were wide spread. These people would use their
associates from the Jinn to find out about the future. The Jinns would
go to the lowest heaven and listen to the Angels conversing amongst
themselves about events of the Future which they heard from Allah. The
Jinns would then inform the fortune-tellers. This is why before the
time of the Prophet (saws) many fortune-tellers were very accurate in
their predictions. However, upon the Prophet's arrival the heavens
were guarded intensely by the Angels, and any Jinn who tried to listen
was attacked by meteors (shooting stars):

"And We have guarded it (the heavens) from every accursed devil,
except one who is able to snatch a hearing and he is pursued by a
brightly burning flame"

(Surah Al-Hijr 15:18)

The Prophet (saws) also said: "They (the Jinn) would pass the
information back down until it reaches the lips of a magician or
forrtune-teller Sometimes a meteor would overtake them before they
could pass it on. If they passed it on before being struck, they would
add to it a hundred lies" [9]. Thus, it is clear from this as to how
fortune-tellers get predictions of the future right. It is also
evident as to why they get so many wrong. Men like Nostradamus[10] are
an example, as some of his predictions of the future were correct
whilst many were completely wrong. Unfortunately, the amount of
fortune telling which occurs amongst the Muslims is also increasing.
By visiting Muslim lands such as Morocco, one is able to see as to how
much inter Jinn-fortune-teller activity there really is. If you look
up at the sky on a clear night in Morocco, you will see the heavens
ablaze with shooting stars! A clear display of the devils being chased
away from the heavens.

Fortune-tellers also 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 righteousness. The Prophet (saws) said: "Everyone of you has been
assigned a companion from the Jinn. The companions asked: Even you O'
Messenger of Allah? And the Prophet replied: Even me, except that
Allah has helped me against him and he has submitted. Now he only
tells me to do good" [11]. Because the Qareen is with a person all his
life, it knows all that has happened to the person from the cradle to
the grave. By making contact with the Qareen, the fortune-teller is
thus able to make out that it is he who knows about the person. He
looks in his crystal ball or the palm of a person and proceeds to
amaze him with knowledge which no one else knows[12]. The severity of
going to a fortune-teller is such that the Prophet (saws) said: "The
prayer of one who approaches a fortune-teller and asks him about
anything, will not be accepted for forty days or nights" [13] and:
"Whosoever approaches a fortune-teller and believes in what he says,
has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammed" [14]

The effects of the Jinn are not just limited to fortune-tellers. Other
activities such as oujia boards and seances, which are used to contact
the dead, are manipulated by the Jinn. 'Are you there Charlie? Speak
to us Charlie!!' are the sort of words spoken by anxious relatives
(names are obviously different!) seeking to make contact with their
loved ones. And it is when the Jinn starts to talk and communicate as
'Charlie', that the people are truly fooled[15].

One of the biggest manipulations of the Jinn is through visions.
Through these visions the Jinns are more likely to lead people away
from the worship of Allah then any other way. When a person sees a
vision in front of his eyes it is something which is very hard to
explain away. Only by having knowledge of the world of the Jinn and
conviction in Allah, can a person fight such a trial. The countless
numbers of visions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary over the
centuries has been a popular choice for the devils. It almost seems as
if leading Christians astray is the most easiest trick for the Jinns!
Not only are Christians fooled by these visions, but often the Jinns
possess and begin to talk from their voices. To the Christians this is
known as the tongues of the Angels and thus a proof for their faith.
However, the amount of unintelligible nonsense and rubbish which is
heard is a clear proof that this is in fact the tongues of the devils!
For other people, visions of their parents or relatives are
commonplace. By taking on the form of peoples parents, the Jinns can
convince people that the souls of dead people still mix with the
people of the earth. This is why so many people believe in ghosts.

The onslaught of satanic visions has also hit the Muslims. Many
Muslims claim to have seen visions of the Prophet Muhammed (saws) and
even Allah! By doing this, Shaytan is able to lead astray the weak
Muslims. Through such visions, Muslims are often told that the
commands of Islam are not applicable to them. The Jinns tell them that
Prayer, Fasting, Hajj etc. are not obligatory for them. It is a great
deception and unfortunately one which has been very effective. The
extent of satanic visions still continues to this day. The recent
death of Diana Princess of Wales sparked off great love and adoration
for this woman. In fact the grief of the British people was such, that
it was as if Diana was something divine. No sooner had the mourning of
Diana reached its peak, that visions of her were already being seen at
Hampton Court Palace! If these visions did occur, the desire of Iblis
and his army of Jinn to capitalise on this event, was evident. Such
visions are clear attempts by Iblis to lead mankind away from the path
of Allah [16].

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 Allah. By learning the Tawheed of Allah, we defend
ourselves from these hidden allies of Iblis:

"Indeed he (Iblis) and his tribe watch you from a position where you
cannot see them"

(Surah Al-A'raf 7:27)

Maybe there is a Jinn sitting in the corner of your room right now, or
even one behind you. If so, then how will you deal with this creation
of Allah? Learn Islam properly and you will be able to deal with all
of Allah's creation - and not just the Jinn. By becoming true Muslims
and followers of Islam, the fear of Iblis, Jinns and anything else
will leave us - nothing will touch the Believer unless Allah wills.

Footnotes

1 Reported by Muslim - Eng. Trans. Vol. 4, p.1540, No.7134

2 It must be remembered that Iblis is a Jinn and not an Angel. The
concept of the Devil being a fallen Angel is from Christianity and not
Islam.

3 In fact when The Exorcist was first shown on cinema, it was so scary
that many people fainted and one even died!

4 Authentic - Reported by Tirmidhee

5 Whilst Christians invoke the name of Jesus, many Muslims invoke the
name of pious Muslim saints! The rituals which are conducted by many
Muslims are more akin to voodoo then the exorcism practised by the
Prophet and his companions!!

6 Ganesh, the elephant headed deity, seemed to be the biggest drinker!
In fact it didn't just stop at milk. At the time of these occurrences,
a woman in India decided to see if Ganesh would drink anything else -
so she offered him whiskey!! And Lo and behold Ganesh drank the
Whiskey!!! Suffice to say, the woman was kicked out of India.

7 The ship which was recovered was more then 50 years old. It
subsequently caught alight and was conveniently destroyed.

8 Authentic - Reported by Tirmidhee

9 Reported by Bukhari - Eng. Trans. Vol.7, p.439, No.657

10 Michel de Nostradamus was a famous French soothsayer of the

     sixteen 16th century.

11 Reported by Muslim - Eng. Trans. Vol.4, p.1472, No.6757

12 The classic example of how fortune tellers can be wrong is the case
of Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed. Both went to see a fortune
teller who told Diana that she would live a long and happy life. A few
weeks later, on August 31st 1997, Diana and Dodi Fayed were dead.
After this the fortune tellers flew for cover, as their evil art
showed its decadence.

13 Reported by Muslim - Eng. Trans. Vol.4, p.1211, No.5540

14 Authentic - Reported by Ahmed

15 Ouija boards are so misleading, that people have even managed to
get in touch with the spirit of Jack the Ripper!!

16 An informative book on the world of the Jinn is Ibn Taymeeyah's
Essay on the Jinn translated by Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips
http://www.missionislam.com/knowledge/worldjinn.html