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Jinn ( ar, , ') – also
romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as djinn or
anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
, depending on sources) – are
invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light in ...
creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in
Islamic mythology Islamic mythology is the body of myths associated with Islam and the Quran. Islam is a religion that is more concerned with social order and law than with religious ritual or myths. ''The Oxford Companion to World Mythology'' identifies a numbe ...
and
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds, can be either believers (''
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
'') or unbelievers (''
kafir Kafir ( ar, كافر '; plural ', ' or '; feminine '; feminine plural ' or ') is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, or denies his authority, or rejects ...
''); depending on whether they accept God's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and was able to adapt spirits from other religions during its expansion. Jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several
pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
beliefs integrated into Islam. To assert a strict
monotheism Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, an all-supreme being that is universally referred to as God. Cross, F.L.; Livingstone, E.A., eds. (1974). "Monotheism". The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (2 ed.). Oxford: Oxford ...
and the Islamic concept of ''
Tauhid Tawhid ( ar, , ', meaning "unification of God in Islam ( Allāh)"; also romanized as ''Tawheed'', ''Tawhid'', ''Tauheed'' or ''Tevhid'') is the indivisible oneness concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single m ...
'', Islam denies all affinities between the jinn and God, thus placing the jinn parallel to humans, also subject to God's judgment and afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practise of worshipping the jinn, or seeking protection from them. Although generally invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies (''ad̲j̲sām''), they can
change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...
at will. They would favor the form of
snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s, but also appear as
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
s,
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
s or as humans. They even might engage in sexual affairs with humans and produce offspring. If they get hurt by someone, they usually seek out revenge or possess the assailant's body, calling for an
exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
. Usually the jinn do not interfere with humans, but live in their own societies structured as tribes, similar to those of pre-Islamic Arabian tribal systems. Individual jinn appear on charms and talismans. They are called upon for protection or magical aid, often under the leadership of a king. Many people who believe in jinn wear amulets to protect themselves against the assaults of jinn, sent out by sorcerers and witches. A common belief holds that jinn could not hurt someone who wears something with the name of
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
(''
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
'') written upon it. While some Muslim scholars in the past had ambivalent attitudes towards sorcery, believing that good jinn do not require one to commit
sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
, most contemporary Muslim scholars associate dealing with jinn with
idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
.


Etymology

''Jinn'' is an Arabic
collective noun In linguistics, a collective noun is a word referring to a collection of things taken as a whole. Most collective nouns in everyday speech are not specific to one kind of thing. For example, the collective noun "group" can be applied to people (" ...
deriving from the
Semitic root The roots of verbs and most nouns in the Semitic languages are characterized as a sequence of consonants or " radicals" (hence the term consonantal root). Such abstract consonantal roots are used in the formation of actual words by adding the vowel ...
( ar, , ''jann''), whose primary meaning is 'to hide' or 'to adapt'. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, 'beings that are concealed from the senses'.
Cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
s include the Arabic ' ( ar, , label=none, 'possessed' or, generally, 'insane'), ' ( ar, , label=none, 'garden', 'eden' or 'heaven'), and ' ( ar, جَنِين, label=none, 'embryo'). ''Jinn'' is properly treated as a plural (however in
Classical Arabic Classical Arabic ( ar, links=no, ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْفُصْحَىٰ, al-ʿarabīyah al-fuṣḥā) or Quranic Arabic is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notab ...
, may also appear as ''jānn'', ar, جَانّ, label=none), with the singular being ''jinnī'' ( ar, جِنِّيّ, label=none).) term for singular, jānn also referred to jinn world – another plural, snakes / serpents and another type of jinn The origin of the word ''jinn'' remains uncertain. Some scholars relate the Arabic term ''jinn'' to the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''
genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
'' – a guardian spirit of people and places in
Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...
– as a result of
syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in t ...
during the reign of the Roman empire under
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
and
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
; however, this derivation is also disputed. Another suggestion holds that ''jinn'' may be derived from
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
''ginnaya'' ( syc, ܓܢܬܐ) with the meaning of '
tutelary deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...
' or 'guardian'. Others claim a
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
origin of the word, in the form of the
Avestic Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
''Jaini'', a wicked (female) spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even pre-Zoroastrian mythology of peoples of Iran. The
anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
form ''genie'' is a borrowing of the French ', also from the Latin ''genius''. It first appeared in 18th-century translations of the ''
Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'' from the French, where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense and further applies to benevolent intermediary spirits, in contrast to the malevolent spirits called '
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
' and 'heavenly angels', in literature. In
Assyrian art Assyrian sculpture is the sculpture of the ancient Assyrian states, especially the Neo-Assyrian Empire of 911 to 612 BC, which was centered around the city of Assur in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) which at its height, ruled over all of Mesopotam ...
, creatures ontologically between humans and divinities are also called ''genie''.


Pre-Islamic era

The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear.
Belief in jinn in the pre-Islamic
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
religion is testified not only by the Quran, but also by pre-Islamic literature in the seventh century. Some scholars of the Middle East hold that they originated as malevolent spirits residing in deserts and unclean places, who often took the forms of animals; others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance. Since the term ''jinn'' seems not to be of
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
, but
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
origin, denoting demonized pagan deities, the jinn probably entered the Arabian belief in the late pre-Islamic period. Still, jinn had been worshipped by many Arabs during the Pre-Islamic period,
though, unlike gods, jinn were not regarded as
immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
.
Emilie Savage-Smith Emilie Savage-Smith (born 20 August 1941) is an American-British historian of science known for her work on science in the medieval Islamic world and medicine in the medieval Islamic world. Education and career Savage-Smith was born on 20 Augus ...
, who asserted that jinn are malevolent in contrast to benevolent gods, doesn't hold this distinction to be absolute, admitting jinn-worship in pre-Islamic Arabia.Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. In the regions north to the
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
,
Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
and
Baalbek Baalbek (; ar, بَعْلَبَكّ, Baʿlabakk, Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman ...
, the terms ''jinni'' and ''ilah'' were often used interchangeably.
Julius Wellhausen Julius Wellhausen (17 May 1844 – 7 January 1918) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist. In the course of his career, he moved from Old Testament research through Islamic studies to New Testament scholarship. Wellhausen contributed to t ...
likewise states that in pre-Islamic Arabia it was assumed there are friendly and helpful beings among the jinn. He asserts that the distinction between a god and a jinni is, the jinn are worshipped in private while the gods are worshipped in public. Although their mortality ranks them lower than gods, it seems that the veneration of jinn had played more importance in the everyday life of pre-Islamic Arabs than the gods themselves. According to common Arabian belief, soothsayers, pre-Islamic philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn. Their culture and society were analogous to that pre-Islamic Arabian culture, having tribal leaders, protecting their allies and avenging murder for any member of their tribe or allies. Although the powers of jinn exceed those of humans, it is conceivable a man could kill a jinni in single combat. Jinn were thought to shift into different shapes, but were feared especially in their invisible form, since then they could attack without being seen. Jinn were also feared because they had been thought to be responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses. Julius Wellhausen observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy, and dark places and that they were feared. One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult.
Al-Jahiz Abū ʿUthman ʿAmr ibn Baḥr al-Kinānī al-Baṣrī ( ar, أبو عثمان عمرو بن بحر الكناني البصري), commonly known as al-Jāḥiẓ ( ar, links=no, الجاحظ, ''The Bug Eyed'', born 776 – died December 868/Jan ...
credits the pre-Islamic Arabs with believing that the society of jinn constitutes several tribes and groups and some natural events were attributed to them, such as storms. They also thought jinn could protect, marry, kidnap, possess, and kill people. Despite that they were often feared or they inspired awe, the jinn were also pictured to have romantic feelings for humans. According to a famous pre-Islamic story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah, teaching her the arts of healing.Amira El Zein: ''The Evolution of the Concept of Jinn from Pre-Islam to Islam''. pp. 108–109. Some scholars argue that angels and devils were introduced by the
Prophet Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...
to Arabia and did not exist among the jinn. On the other hand, Amira el-Zein argues that angels were known to the pagan Arabs, but the term ''jinn'' was used for all kinds of supernatural entities among various religions and cults; thus,
Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic on ...
, Christian, and
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
angels and devils were conflated with ''jinn''.


Islamic beliefs


In scripture

Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
. In Islamic tradition,
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
was sent as a
prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
to both human and jinn communities, and that prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Traditionally, the 72nd surah, Al-Jinn, named after them, is held to tell about the revelation to jinn and several stories mention one of Muhammad's followers accompanied him, witnessing the revelation to the jinn. The Quran condemns pre-Islamic practise of worshipping jinn for means of protection (). The Quran reduced the status of jinn from that of tutelary deities to that of minor spirits, usually paralleling humans. They are, like humans, rational beings formed of nations (). Surah resumes that both jinn and humans were created to worship God. Surah states that God has sent messengers to both humans and jinn. Individuals among both communities are held accountable for their deeds, and will be punished or rewarded in the afterlife, in accordance with their deeds (, ). It is impossible for both jinn and humans to approach God both physically () and mentally (). Unlike humans, jinn are not vicegerents of the earth.
Al-Baqara Al-Baqara, alternatively transliterated Al-Baqarah ( ar, الْبَقَرَة, ; "The Heifer" or "The Cow"), is the second and longest chapter (''surah'') of the Quran. It consists of 286 verses ('' āyāt'') which begin with the " mysterio ...
only credits
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
as a successor (''khalifa''). However, some exegetes, like Tabari, argue that jinn inherited the world before, and that when angels complain about God creating humans who "will shed blood", they link humans to the jinn who ruled the earth before. In the story of
Solomon Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
, it is implied that the jinn live on the earth alongside humans. Solomon is granted dominion over humans, ants, birds and jinn. The jinn served him as soldiers and builders of the
First Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
. The Routledge Companion to the Qur'an. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. The jinn are also mentioned in collections of canonical hadiths. According to the reports of the hadiths, the jinn eat like humans, but instead of fresh food, they prefer rotten flesh and bones. Another hadith advises to close doors and keep children close at night for the jinn go around and snatch things away. One hadith divides them into three groups, with one type of jinn flying through the air; another that are snakes and dogs; and a third that moves from place to place like human. This account parallels the jinn to humans, similar to the Quran, as another hadith divides humans into three groups, with one kind which is like four-legged beast, who are said to remain ignorant of God's message; a second one which is under the protection of God; and a last one with the body of a human, but the soul of a devil (''shaitan'').


Exegesis

Belief in jinn is not included among the six articles of
Islamic faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...
, as belief in angels is, however many Muslim scholars believe it essential to the Islamic faith. Many scholars regard their existence and ability to enter human bodies as part of the ''
aqida ''Aqidah'' ( (), plural ''ʿaqāʾid'', also rendered ''ʿaqīda'', ''aqeeda'', etc.) is an Islamic term of Arabic origin that literally means " creed". It is also called Islamic creed and Islamic theology. ''Aqidah'' go beyond concise stat ...
'' (theological doctrines) in the tradition of
Ashari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the ...
. Islam, Migration and Jinn: Spiritual Medicine in Muslim Health Management. (2021). Deutschland: Springer International Publishing. In
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
ic interpretation, the term ''jinn'' can be used in two different ways: # as invisible beings, considered to be, along with humans, ''thaqalān'' (accountable for their deeds), created out of "fire and air" ( ar, مَارِجٍ مِن نَّار, ''mārijin min nār'').Teuma, E. (1984). More on Qur'anic jinn. ''Melita Theologica'', 35(1-2), 37-45. # as the opposite of ''al-Ins'' (something in shape) referring to any object that cannot be detected by human
sensory organs A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...
, including
angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
,
devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
s, and the interior of human beings.
Tabari ( ar, أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري), more commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Muslim historian and scholar from Amol, Tabaristan. Among the most prominent figures of the Islamic Golden Age, al-Tabari i ...
records from
ibn Abbas ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'an ...
yet another usage for the term ''jinn'', as reference to a tribe of angels created from the fires of ''
samūm Samūm ( ar, سموم also spelled ''Simoom'' or ''Semum''; from the root ''s-m-m'', "to poison") is a fire related to demons in Ancient Arabic lore and later Islamic beliefs. As a kind of fire, it is also the origin of some kinds of evil spir ...
'' ( ar, سَمُوم, links=no, 'poisonous fire'). They got their name from ''
jannah In Islam, Jannah ( ar, جَنّة, janna, pl. ''jannāt'',lit. "paradise, garden", is the final abode of the righteous. According to one count, the word appears 147 times in the Quran. Belief in the afterlife is one of the six articles of f ...
'' ("heaven" or "paradise"), instead. They would have waged war against the jinn before the creation of
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
. According to Tabari, the angels were created on Wednesday, the jinn on Thursday, and humans on Friday, though not in succession, but rather, more than 1000 years later, respectively. With the revelation of Islam, the jinn were given a new chance to access salvation. However, because of their prior creation, the jinn would attribute themselves to a superiority over humans and envy them for their place and rank on earth. The different jinn known in Islamic folklore are disregarded among most ''
mufassir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
s'' – authors of
tafsir Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
– Tabari being an exception (though he is not specific about them, probably due to lack of theological significance). Since Tabari is one of the earliest commentators, the several jinn have been known since the earliest stages of Islam. The ''
ulama In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' (scholars of Islamic law) discuss permissiblity of jinn marriage. Since the Quran talks about marriage with human women only, many regard it as prohibited. Some argue that someone who marries a jinn will lose fear in God.


Classic theology

The notion that jinn could possess individuals is generally accepted by the majority of Muslim scholars, and considered part of the doctrines (''aqidah'') of the "people of the Sunnah" (''ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a'') in the tradition of
Ash'ari Ashʿarī theology or Ashʿarism (; ar, الأشعرية: ) is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Muslim scholar, Shāfiʿī jurist, reformer, and scholastic theologian Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī in the ...
. A minority of Muslim scholars, associated with the
Muʿtazila Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...
, denied that jinn could possess a human physically, asserting they could only influence humans by whispering to them, like the devils do. Some, like
ibn Sina Ibn Sina ( fa, ابن سینا; 980 – June 1037 CE), commonly known in the West as Avicenna (), was a Persian polymath who is regarded as one of the most significant physicians, astronomers, philosophers, and writers of the Islamic G ...
, even denied their existence altogether. Sceptics refused to believe in a literal reading on ''jinn'' in Islamic sacred texts, preferring to view them as "unruly men" or metaphorical. Other critics, such as Jahiz and
Mas'udi Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the "Herodotus ...
, explained jinn and demons as a merely psychological phenomena. Jahiz states in his ''
Kitāb al-Hayawān The ''Kitāb al-Ḥayawān'' ( ar, كتاب الحيوان, , ''LINA saadouni'') is an Arabic translation for hayawan (Arabic: , maqālāt). ''Historia Animalium'': treatises 1–10; '' De Partibus Animalium'': treatises 11–14; ''De Generatione ...
'' that loneliness induces humans to mind-games and wishful thinking, causing '' waswās'' ( ar, وَسْوَاس, 'demonic whisperings in the mind'), causing a fearful man to see things which are not real. These alleged appearances are told to other generations in bedtime stories and poems, and when they grow up, they remember these stories when they are alone or afraid, encouraging their imaginations and causing another alleged sighting of jinn. According to the Asharites, the existence of jinn and demons cannot be proven or falsified, because arguments concerning the existence of such entities are beyond human comprehension. Adepts of Ashʿari theology explain that jinn are invisible to humans because humans lack the appropriate sensory organs to envision them.
Hanbali The Hanbali school ( ar, ٱلْمَذْهَب ٱلْحَنۢبَلِي, al-maḏhab al-ḥanbalī) is one of the four major traditional Sunni schools (''madhahib'') of Islamic jurisprudence. It is named after the Arab scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal ...
scholar
ibn Taymiyya Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم ...
and
Zahiri The Ẓāhirī ( ar, ظاهري, otherwise transliterated as ''Dhāhirī'') ''madhhab'' or al-Ẓāhirīyyah ( ar, الظاهرية) is a Sunnī school of Islamic jurisprudence founded by Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī in the 9th century CE. It is chara ...
scholar
ibn Hazm Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ( ar, أبو محمد علي بن احمد بن سعيد بن حزم; also sometimes known as al-Andalusī aẓ-Ẓāhirī; 7 November 994 – 15 August 1064Ibn Hazm. ' (Preface). Tr ...
regarded denial of jinn as "unbelief" (''kufr''), since they are mentioned in Islamic sacred texts. They further point towards demons and spirits in other religions, such as Christianity, Zorastrianism and Judaism, as evidence for their existence. Ibn Taymiyya believed the jinn to be generally "ignorant, untruthful, oppressive, and treacherous". He held that the jinn account for much of the "magic" that is perceived by humans, cooperating with magicians to lift items in the air, delivering hidden truths to fortune tellers, and mimicking the voices of deceased humans during seances.
Ibn Taymiyyah Ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263 – September 26, 1328; ar, ابن تيمية), birth name Taqī ad-Dīn ʾAḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd al-Salām al-Numayrī al-Ḥarrānī ( ar, تقي الدين أحمد بن عبد الحليم ...
, ''al-Furqān bayna awliyā’ al-Raḥmān wa-awliyā’ al-Shayṭān'' ("Essay on the Jinn"), translated by Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips
Al-Maturidi Abū Manṣūr Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. Maḥmūd al-Ḥanafī al-Māturīdī al-Samarḳandī ( fa, أبو منصور محمد بن محمد بن محمود الماتریدي السمرقندي الحنفي; 853–944 CE), often referred t ...
relates the jinn to their depiction as former minor deities, writing that humans seek refuge among the jinn, but the jinn are actually weaker than humans. Not the jinn but human's own mind and attitude towards them are the sources of fear. By submitting to the jinn, humans allow the jinn to have power over them, humiliate themselves, increase their dependence on them, and commit '' shirk''. Abu l-Lait as-Samarqandi, a disciple of the Maturidi school of theology, is attributed to the opinion that, unlike angels and devils, humans and jinn are created with ''
fitra ''Fitra'' or ''fitrah'' (; ALA-LC: ) is either the state of purity and innocence in which Muslims believe all humans to be born, or the ability to choose or reject God's guidance, with which both humans and jinn are endowed. ''Fitra'' is an Arab ...
'', neither born as believers nor as unbelievers; their attitude depends on whether they accept God's guidance. Still, jinn were not perceived as necessarily evil or hostile beings. In the story of
Nasir Khusraw Abu Mo’in Hamid ad-Din Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiani or Nāsir Khusraw Qubādiyānī Balkhi ( fa, ناصر خسرو قبادیانی, Nasir Khusraw Qubadiani) also spelled as ''Nasir Khusrow'' and ''Naser Khosrow'' (1004 – after 1070 CE) w ...
's (1004 – after 1070 CE) burial, his brother is assisted by two jinn. They cut a rock and shape it into a tombstone.


Modern theology

Many
modernists Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
tried to reconcile the traditional perspective on jinn with modern sciences.
Muhammad Abduh ; "The Theology of Unity") , alma_mater = Al-Azhar University , office1 = Grand Mufti of Egypt , term1 = 1899 – 1905 , Sufi_order = Shadhiliyya , disciple_of = , awards = , infl ...
understood references to ''jinn'' in the Quran to denote anything invisible, be it an indefined force or a simple inclination towards ''good'' or ''evil''. He further asserted that ''jinn'' might be an ancient description of
germ Germ or germs may refer to: Science * Germ (microorganism), an informal word for a pathogen * Germ cell, cell that gives rise to the gametes of an organism that reproduces sexually * Germ layer, a primary layer of cells that forms during embry ...
s, since both are associated with diseases and cannot be perceived by the human eye alone, an idea adapted by the Ahmadi sect. On the other hand,
Salafism The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islah, reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three g ...
rejects a metaphorical reinterpretation of ''jinn'' or to identify them with microorganisms, advocating a literal belief in jinn. Furthermore, they reject protection and healing rituals common across Islamic culture used to ward off jinn or to prevent possession. It takes up the position that this is a form of idolatry (''shirk''), associating the jinn with devils. Many modern preachers substituted (evil) jinn by devils. For that reason,
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, following the
Wahhabism Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...
tradition of Salafism, imposes a
death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
for dealing with jinn to prevent
sorcery Sorcery may refer to: * Magic (supernatural), the application of beliefs, rituals or actions employed to subdue or manipulate natural or supernatural beings and forces ** Witchcraft, the practice of magical skills and abilities * Magic in fiction, ...
and
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
. The importance of belief in jinn to Islamic belief in contemporary Muslim society was underscored by the judgment of
apostasy Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
by an Egyptian
Sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
court in 1995 against liberal theologian
Nasr Abu Zayd Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd ( ar, نصر حامد أبو زيد, ; also Abu Zaid or Abu Zeid; July 10, 1943 – July 5, 2010) was an Egyptian Quranic thinker, author, academic and one of the leading liberal theologians in Islam. He is famous for his proj ...
.
Zayd Zaid (also transliterated as Zayd, ar, زيد) is an Arabic given name and surname. Zaid *Zaid Abbas Jordanian basketball player * Zaid Abdul-Aziz (born 1946), American basketball player * Zaid Al-Harb (1887–1972), Kuwaiti poet *Zaid al-Rifai ...
was declared an unbeliever of Islam for – among other things – arguing that the reason for the presence of jinn in the Quran was that they (jinn) were part of Arab culture at the time of the Quran's revelation, rather than that they were part of God's creation. Death threats led to
Zayd Zaid (also transliterated as Zayd, ar, زيد) is an Arabic given name and surname. Zaid *Zaid Abbas Jordanian basketball player * Zaid Abdul-Aziz (born 1946), American basketball player * Zaid Al-Harb (1887–1972), Kuwaiti poet *Zaid al-Rifai ...
leaving Egypt several weeks later. In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Süleyman Ateş Süleyman Ateş (born 3 January 1933) is a Turkish theologian, philosopher, and writer. He was 12th Director of religious affairs of Turkey. He graduated at Ankara University and passed out the highest degree. He attended an assistant program ...
's Quran commentary describes the jinn as hostile beings to whom the pagans made sacrifices in order to please them. They would have erroneously assumed that the jinn (and angels) were independent deities and thus fell into '' širk''. By that, humans would associate partners with God and humiliate themselves towards the jinn spiritually.


Belief in jinn


Folklore

The jinn are of pre-Islamic Arabian origin. Since the Quran affirms their existence, when Islam spread outside of Arabia jinn belief was adopted by later
Islamic culture Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...
. The Quran reduced the status of the jinn from that of tutelary deities to something parallel to humans, subject to the judgement of the supreme deity of Islam. By that, the jinn were considered a third class of invisible beings, not consequently equated with devils, and Islam was able to integrate local beliefs about spirits and
deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India, into a monotheistic framework. The jinn are believed to live in societies resembling those of humans, practicing religion (including Islam, Christianity and Judaism), having emotions, needing to eat and drink, and can procreate and raise families. Muslim jinn are usually thought to be benign, Christian and Jewish jinn indifferent unless angered, and pagan jinn evil. Other common characteristics include fear of iron and wolves, generally appearing in desolate or abandoned places, and being stronger and faster than humans. Night is considered a particularly dangerous time, because the jinn would then leave their hiding places. Since the jinn share the earth with humans, Muslims are often cautious not to accidentally hurt an innocent jinn. Jinn are often believed to be able to take control over a human's body. Although this is a strong belief among many Muslims, some authors argue that since the Quran doesn't explicitly attribute possession to the jinn, it derives from pre-Islamic beliefs.
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, especially, has many possession traditions, including exorcism rituals, However, jinn can not enter a person whenever the jinni wants; rather, the victim must be predisposed for possession in a state of ''dha'iyfah'' (
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: ضَعِيفَة, "weakness"). Feelings of insecurity, mental instability, unhappy love and depression (being "tired from the soul") are forms of ''dha'iyfah''. Javanese Muslims hold similar beliefs about the jinn as inhabiting lonely and haunted places, and the ability to possess or scare people who trample their homes or accidentally kill a related jinni. In some cases, jinn might even take revenge by inflicting physical damage. Muslims avoid hurting jinn by uttering "destur" (permission), before sprinkling hot water, so the jinn might leave the place. Some jinn guard graves and cause illness to people, who intent to disturb the graves. Benevolent jinn are called ''jinn Islam'', and they are pious and faithful, the other are called ''jinn kafir''. While good jinn might even help a Muslim to do hard work and produce magical acts, evil jinn follow the influence of devils (''shayatin''). In
Artas ARTAS (ATM suRveillance Tracker And Server) is a system designed by Eurocontrol to operationally support Aerial surveillance and Air traffic control by establishing an accurate Air Situation Picture of all traffic over a pre-defined geographical a ...
(Bethlehem), benevolent jinn might support humans and teach them moral lessons. The evil jinn frequently ascend to the surface, causing sickness to children, snatching food, and taking revenge when humans mistreat them. In later Albanian lore too, jinn ( Xhindi) live either on earth or under the surface rather than in the air, and may possess people who have insulted them, for example if their children are trodden upon or hot water is thrown on them. Among
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
, jinn ( tr, Cin) often appear along with other demonic entities, such as the ''divs'' as within Azerbaijani mythology. The ''divs'' are from
Persian mythology Persian mythology or Iranian mythology (Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the origi ...
. Some early
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
translations of the Quran translated ''jinn'' either as ''
peri In Persian mythology, peris (singular: peri; from fa, پَری, translit=parī, , plural , ; borrowed in European languages through ota, پَری, translit=peri) are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. Peris were later ado ...
s'' or ''divs'', causing confusion between those entities. In other instances, the jinn are known as '' cor'' and ''
chort A chort (Russian: чёрт, Belarusian and Ukrainian: чорт, Serbo-Croatian ''čort'' or ''črt'', Polish: ''czort'' and ''czart'', Czech and Slovak: ''čert'', Slovene: ''črt'') is an anthropomorphic malign spirit or demon in Slavic folk ...
'', distinguished from '' iye''. While the ''iye'' is bound to a specific place,Türk Söylence Sözlüğü, Deniz Karakurt, Türkiye, 2011 Turkish sources too, describe jinn as mobile creatures causing illnesses and mental disorders, but with a physical body, which only remains invisible until they die.


In folk literature

The ''jinn'' can be found in various stories of the ''
One Thousand and One Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...
'', including in: * "
The Fisherman and the Jinni "The Fisherman and the Jinni" is the second top-level story told by Sheherazade in the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. Synopsis There is an old, poor fisherman who casts his net exactly four times a day. One day he goes to the shore and casts ...
";The fisherman and the Jinni
at About.com Classic Literature
* " Ma‘ruf the Cobbler": more than three different types of jinn are described; * " Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp": two jinn help young
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
; and * " Tale of Núr al-Dín Alí and his Son Badr ad-Dīn Ḥasan": Ḥasan Badr al-Dīn weeps over the grave of his father until sleep overcomes him, and he is awoken by a large group of sympathetic jinn. In some stories, the ''jinn'' are credited with the ability of instantaneous travel (from China to Morocco in a single instant); in others, they need to fly from one place to another, though quite fast (from Baghdad to Cairo in a few hours).


Modern and post-modern era


Prevalence of belief

Though discouraged by some teachings of modern Islam, cultural beliefs about jinn remain popular among Muslim societies and their understanding of cosmology and anthropology. Affirmation on the existence of jinn as sapient creatures living along with humans is still widespread in the Middle Eastern world, and mental illnesses are still often attributed to jinn possession. According to a survey undertaken by the
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
in 2012, at least 86% of Muslims in Morocco, 84% in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
, 63% in Turkey, 55% in Iraq, 53% in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, 47% in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and 15% elsewhere in Central Asia, affirm a belief in the existence of jinn. The low rate in Central Asia might be influenced by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
religious oppression. 36% of Muslims in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
believe in jinn, which is higher than the European average (30%), although only 21% believe in sorcery and 13% would wear talisman for protection against jinn. 12% support offerings and appeal given to the jinn.
Sleep paralysis Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which one is conscious but is completely paralyzed. During an episode, one may hallucinate (hear, feel, or see things that are not there), which often results in fear. Episodes ...
is understood as a "jinn attack" by many sleep paralysis sufferers in Egypt, as discovered by a
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
neuroscience study Jalal, Simons-Rudolph, Jalal, & Hinton (2013). The study found that as many as 48% of those who experience sleep paralysis in Egypt believe it to be an assault by the jinn. Almost all of these sleep paralysis sufferers (95%) would recite verses from the
Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
during sleep paralysis to prevent future "jinn attacks". In addition, some (9%) would increase their daily Islamic prayer (
salah (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba wit ...
) to get rid of these assaults by jinn. Sleep paralysis is generally associated with great fear in Egypt, especially if believed to be supernatural in origin. However, despite belief in jinn being prevalent in Iran's folklore, especially among more observant believers of Islam, some phenomena such as sleep paralysis were traditionally attributed to other supernatural beings; in the case of sleep paralysis, it was ''bakhtak'' (night hag). But at least in some areas of Iran, an epileptic seizure was thought to be a jinn attack or jinn possession, and people would try to exorcise the jinn by citing the name of God and using iron blades to draw protective circles around the victim. Telling jinn stories and recounting alleged encounters with them were a common pastime in parts of the Muslim world, similar to telling ghost stories in western cultures, until a couple of decades ago when these stories fell out of fashion, thanks to the increasing penetration of digital entertainments and modern recording equipment which undermined their credibility.


Post-modern literature and movies

Jinn feature in the magical realism genre, introduced into Turkish literature by Tekin (1983), who uses magical elements known from pre-Islamic and Islamic Anatolian lore. Since the 1980s, this genre has become prominent in Turkish literature. A story by Tekin combines elements of folkloric and religious belief with a rationalized society. The protagonist is a girl who befriends inanimate objects and several spirits, such as jinn and ''
peri In Persian mythology, peris (singular: peri; from fa, پَری, translit=parī, , plural , ; borrowed in European languages through ota, پَری, translit=peri) are exquisite, winged spirits renowned for their beauty. Peris were later ado ...
'' (fairy). While the existence of jinn is generally accepted by the people within the novel, when her family moves from rural Anatolia into the city, the jinn do not appear anymore. Jinn are still accepted as real by Muslims in the novel's urban setting, but play no part in modern life. The existence of jinn is accepted throughout the novel, but when the setting changes to the city, they cease to have any importance, symbolizing the replacement of tradition by modernization for Anatolian immigrants. Contrary to the neutral to positive depiction of jinn in Tekin's novels, jinn became a common trope in Middle Eastern horror movies. In Turkish horror, jinn have been popular since 2004. Out of 89 films, 59 have direct references to jinn as the antagonist, 12 use other sorts of demons, while other types of horror, such as the impending apocalypse, hauntings, or ghosts, constitute only 14 films. Unlike other Horror elements, such as ghosts and zombies, the existence of jinn is affirmed by the Quran, and thus accepted by a majority of Muslims.Sengul, Ali. "Cinema, Horror and the Wrath of God: Turkish Islam’s Claims in the Kurdish East." Nübihar Akademi 4.14: 11-28. The presentation of jinn usually combines Quranic with oral and cultural beliefs about jinn. The jinn are presented as inactive inhabitants of the earth, only interfering with human affairs when summoned by a sorcerer or witch. Although the jinn, often summoned by pagan rituals or sorcery, appear to pose a challange to Islam, the films assure that Islamic law protects Muslims from their presence. It is the one who summoned them in the first place who gets punished or suffers from the presence of jinn. Similarly, jinn appear in Iranian horror movies despite a belittling of the popular understanding of jinn by an increasing number of Islamic fundamentalistic reformists. In the post-Iranian revolution
psychological horror Psychological horror is a genre, subgenre of horror fiction, horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and Mental state, psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequent ...
movie ''
Under the Shadow ''Under the Shadow'' ( fa, زیر سایه‎, Zeer-e sāye) is a 2016 Persian-language psychological horror film written and directed by Iranian-born Babak Anvari as his directorial debut. A mother and daughter are haunted by a mysterious evil i ...
'' the protagonist is afraid the jinn, who are completely veiled and concealed and intrude into her life frequently. In the end, however, she is forced by the Iranian guards to take on a
Chador A chādor (Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Ira ...
, and thus becomes like the jinn she feared. The jinn symbolize the Islamic regime and their intrusion into private life, criticises the Islamic regime and
patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...
structures.


Physicality and relationships with humans

Jinn are not supernatural in the sense of being purely spiritual and transcendent to nature; while they are believed to be invisible (or often invisible) they also eat, drink, sleep, breed with the opposite sex, and produce offspring that resemble their parents. Intercourse is not limited to other jinn alone, but is also possible between human and jinn. Despite being invisible, jinn are usually thought to have bodies (''ad̲j̲sām'').
Zakariya al-Qazwini Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ar, أبو يحيى زكرياء بن محمد بن محمود القزويني), also known as Qazvini ( fa, قزوینی), born in Qazvin (Iran) and died 1283, was a Persian cosmographer and geographer of Arab ances ...
includes the ''jinn'' (angels, jinn, and devils all created from different parts of fire) among
animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
, along with humans, burdened beasts (like
horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
),
cattles Cattles Limited was a British consumer finance company based in Batley, West Yorkshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a former constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company entered liquidation in September 2016. Histor ...
, wild beasts, birds, and finally insects and reptiles. The Qanoon-e-Islam, written 1832 by Sharif Ja'far, writing about jinn-belief in India, states that their bodies are constituted of 90% spirit and 10% flesh. They resemble humans in many regards, their subtle matter being the only main difference. But it is this very nature that enables them to change their shape, move quickly, fly, and, entering human bodies, cause epilepsy and illness, hence the temptation for humans to make them allies by means of magical practices. Jinn are further known as gifted shapeshifters, often assuming the form of an animal. In Islamic culture, many narratives concern a serpent who is actually a jinni. Other chthonic animals regarded as forms of jinn include
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
s and
lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
s. Both scorpions and serpents have been venerated in the ancient Near East. Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion. When they shift into a human form, however they are said to stay partly animal and are not fully human. Individual jinn are thus often depicted as monstrous and anthropomorphized creatures with body parts from different animals or human with animal traits. Certain ''hadith'', though ones considered Mawḍūʻ, fabricated (''maudhu'') by some Muhaddith, hadith scholars (''muhaddith''), support the belief in human-jinn relationships: Among those scholars that hold to these beliefs, marriage is considered permissible between a jinn and a human, it is undesirable (''makruh'') while others strongly forbid it. Offspring of human-jinn relationships are often considered to be gifted and talented people with special abilities, and some historical persons were considered to have jinnic ancestry. In a study of exorcism culture in the Yemeni province of Hadramawt, love was one of the most frequent cited causes of relationships between humans and jinn.


Visual art

Although there are very few visual representations of jinn in Islamic art, when they do appear, it is usually related to a specific event or individual jinn. Visual representations of jinn appear in manuscripts and their existence is often implied in works of architecture by the presence of Apotropaic magic, apotropaic devices like serpents, which were intended to ward off evil spirits. Lastly, King Solomon is illustrated very often with jinn as the commander of an army that included them.


The seven jinn kings

In the ''Kitab al-Bulhan'' (or the ''Book of Surprises'') compiled in the 14th century by Abd al-Hasan Al-Isfahani, there are illustrations of 'The seven jinn kings'. In general, each 'King of the Jinn' was represented alongside his helpers and alongside the corresponding Talismanic object, talismanic symbols. For instance, the 'Red King of Tuesday' was depicted in the ''Kitab al-Bulhan'' as a sinister form astride a lion. In the same illustration, he holds a severed head and a sword. This was because the 'Red King of Tuesday' was aligned with Mars (mythology), Mars, the god of war. Alongside that, there were illustrations of the 'Gold King' and the 'White King'. Aside from the seven 'Kings of the Jinn', the ''Kitab al-Bulhan'' included an illustration of ''Huma'', or the 'Fever'. ''Huma'' was depicted as three-headed and as embracing the room around him, in order to capture someone and bring on a fever in them.


Architectural representation

In addition to these representations of jinn in vicinity to kingship, there were also architectural references to jinn throughout the Islamic world. In the Citadel of Aleppo, the entrance gate Bab al-Hayyat made reference to jinn in the stone relief carvings of serpents; likewise, the water gate at Ayyubid Harran housed two copper sculptures of jinn, serving as talismans to ward off both snakes and evil jinn in the form of snakes. Alongside these depictions of the jinn found at the Aleppo Citadel, depictions of the jinn can be found in the Rūm Seljuk palace. There are a phenomenal range of creatures that can be found on the eight-pointed tiles of the Seal of Solomon, Seal of Sulaymān device. Among these were the jinn, that belonged among Solomon's army and as Solomon claimed to have control over the jinn, so did the Rūm Seljuk sultan that claimed to be the Sulaymān of his time. In fact, one of the most common representations of jinn are alongside or in association with King Solomon. It was thought that King Solomon had very close ties to the jinn, and even had control over many of them. The concept that a great and just ruler has the ability to command jinn was one that extended far past only King Solomon– it was also thought that emperors, such as Alexander the Great, could control an army of jinn in a similar way. Given this association, Jinn were often seen with Solomon in a princely or kingly context, such as the small, animal-like jinn sitting beside King Solomon on his throne illustrated in an illuminated manuscript of ''ʿAjā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt, The Wonders of Creation and the Oddities of Existence'' by Zakariya al-Qazwini, Zakariyya al-Qazwini, written in the 13th century.


Talismanic representation

The jinn had an indirect impact on Islamic art through the creation of talismans that were alleged to guard the bearer from the jinn and were enclosed in leather and included Qur'anic verses. It was not unusual for those talismans to be inscribed with separated Arabic letters, because the separation of those letters was thought to positively affect the potency of the talisman overall. An object that was inscribed with the word of ''Allah'' was thought to have the power to ward off evil from the person who obtained the object, though many of these objects also had astrological signs, depictions of prophets, or religious narratives.


In witchcraft and magical literature

Witchcraft in Islam, Witchcraft ( ar, سِحْر, ''sihr'', which is also used to mean 'Magic (supernatural), magic, Wizard (paranormal), wizardry') is often associated with jinn and Ifrit, afarit around the Middle East. Therefore, a sorcerer may summon a jinn and force him to perform orders. Summoned jinn may be sent to the chosen victim to cause demonic possession. Such summonings were done by invocation, by aid of talismans or by satisfying the jinn, thus to make a contract. Jinn are also regarded as assistants of soothsayers. Soothsayers reveal information from the past and present; the jinn can be a source of this information because their lifespans exceed those of humans.Morrow, John Andrew (27 November 2013) ''Islamic Images and Ideas: Essays on sacred symbolism'', McFarland, , page 73 Another way to subjugate them is by inserting a needle to their skin or dress. Since jinn are afraid of iron, they are unable to remove it with their own power. Ibn al-Nadim, Muslim scholar of his ''Kitāb al-Fihrist'', describes a book that lists 70 jinn led by Fuqṭus ( ar, فقْطس, links=no), including several jinn appointed over each day of the week.Bayard Dodge, ed. and trans. ''The Fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth-Century Survey of Muslim Culture.'' New York: Columbia University Press, 1970. pp. 727–8. Bayard Dodge, who translated ''al-Fihrist'' into English, notes that most of these names appear in the Testament of Solomon. A collection of late 14th- or early 15th-century magico-medical manuscripts from Ocaña, Spain describes a different set of 72 jinn (termed "Tayaliq") again under Fuqtus (here named "Fayqayțūš" or Fiqitush), blaming them for various ailments. According to these manuscripts, each jinni was brought before King Solomon and ordered to divulge their "corruption" and "residence" while the Jinn King Fiqitush gave Solomon a recipe for curing the ailments associated with each jinni as they confessed their transgressions. A disseminated treatise on the Occultism (Islam), occult, written by Abu al-Fadl Muhammad al Tabasi, al-Ṭabasī, called al-Shāmil fī al-baḥr al-kāmil, Shāmil, deals with subjugating devils and jinn by incantations, charms and the combination of written and recited formulae and to obtain supernatural powers through their aid. Al-Ṭabasī distinguished between licit and illicit magic, the latter founded on disbelief, while the first on purity. Allegedly, he was able to demonstrate to Abu Hamed Mohammad ibn Mohammad Ghazali, Mohammad Ghazali the jinn. He would have appeared to him as "a shadow on the wall." Seven kings of the Jinn are traditionally associated with days of the week. They are also attested in the Book of Wonders. Although many passages are damaged, they remain in Ottoman copies. These jinn-kings (sometimes ''afarit'' instead) are invoked to legitimate spells performed by amulets. }, ''junūn'') and parts of the body attacked ! rowspan="2" , Remarks , - !Common name !Known other names , - , Sun , Sunday , Ruqya'il ( ar, روقيائيل, label=none); Raphael (archangel), Raphael (רפאל) , Al-Mudhdhahab/ Al-Mudhhib/ Al-Mudhhab ( ar, المذهب, label=none; The Golden One) , Abu 'Abdallah Sa'id , , the name "''Al-Mudh·dhahab''" refers to the jinn's skin tone. , - , Moon , Monday , Jibril ( ar, جبريل, label=none); Gabriel (גבריאל) , Al-Abyaḍ ( ar, الابيض, label=none; The White One) , Murrah al-Abyad Abu al-Harith; Abu an-Nur , Whole body , the name "''Al-Abyaḍ''" refers to the jinn's skin tone, however he is portrayed as a "dark black, charcoal" figure. The possible connection of this name is with another name ''"Abū an-Nūr"'' ("Father of Light"); his names are the same as whose applied to ''Iblis, Iblīs''. , - , Mars , Tuesday , Samsama'il ( ar, سمسمائيل, label=none); Samael (סמאל) , Al-Aḥmar ( ar, الاحمر, label=none; The Red One) , Abu Mihriz; Abu Ya'qub , Head, uterus , the name "''Al-Aḥmar''" refers to the jinn's skin tone. , - , Mercury , Wednesday , Mikail ( ar, ميكائيل, label=none); Michael (archangel), Michael (מיכאל) , Būrqān/ Borqaan ( ar, بورقان, label=none; Two Thunders) , Abu al-'Adja'yb; Al-Aswad , Back , , - , Jupiter , Thursday , Sarfya'il ( ar, صرفيائيل, label=none); Zadkiel (צדקיאל) , Shamhuresh (شمهورش) , Abu al-Walid; At-Tayyar , Belly , , - , Venus , Friday , 'Anya'il ( ar, عنيائيل, label=none); Anael (ענאל) , Zawba'ah ( ar, زوبعة, label=none; Cyclone, Whirlwind) , Abu Hassan , , It is said the "whirlwind" (''zawba'ah''), to be caused by an evil jinn which travels inside it. , - , Saturn , Saturday , Kasfa'il ( ar, كسفيائيل, label=none); Cassiel (קפציאל) , Maymun ( ar, ميمون, label=none; Prosperous) , Abu Nuh , Feet , His name means "monkey" During the Rwandan genocide, both Hutus and Tutsis avoided searching local Islam in Rwanda, Rwandan Muslim neighborhoods because they widely believed the myth that local
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s and mosques were protected by the power of Islamic magic and the efficacious jinn. In the Rwandan city of Cyangugu, arsonists ran away instead of destroying the mosque because they feared the wrath of the jinn, whom they believed were guarding the mosque.


Comparative mythology


Ancient Mesopotamian religion

Beliefs in entities similar to the jinn are found throughout pre-Islamic Middle Eastern cultures. The ancient Sumerians believed in Pazuzu, a wind demon, who was shown with "a rather canine face with abnormally bulging eyes, a scaly body, a snake-headed penis, the talons of a bird and usually wings." The ancient Babylonians believed in ''utukku'', a class of demons which were believed to haunt remote wildernesses, graveyards, mountains, and the sea, all locations where jinn were later thought to reside. The Babylonians also believed in the Rabisu, a vampire, vampiric demon believed to leap out and attack travelers at unfrequented locations, similar to the post-Islamic ''ghoul, ghūl'', a specific kind of jinn whose name is etymologically related to that of the Sumerian ''gallu, galla'', a class of Ancient Mesopotamian Underworld, Underworld demon. Lamashtu, also known as Labartu, was a divine demoness said to devour human infants. Lamassu, also known as Shedu, were guardian spirits, sometimes with evil propensities. The Assyrians believed in the Alû, sometimes described as a wind demon residing in desolate ruins who would sneak into people's houses at night and steal their sleep. In the ancient Syrian city of
Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second ...
, entities similar to jinn were known as ''ginnayê'', an
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
name which may be etymologically derived from the name of the ''Genius (mythology), genii'' from Roman mythology. Like jinn among modern-day Bedouin, ''ginnayê'' were thought to resemble humans. They protected caravans, cattle, and villages in the desert and Tutelary deity, tutelary shrines were kept in their honor. They were frequently invoked in pairs.


Judaism

The description of jinn is almost identical with that of the shedim from Jewish mythology. As with the jinn, some of whom follow the law brought by Muhammad, some of the shedim are believed to be followers of the law of Moses and consequently good. Both are said to be invisible to human eyes but are nevertheless subject to bodily desires, like procreating and the need to eat. Some Jewish sources agree with the Islamic notion that jinn inhabited the world before humans. Asmodeus appears both as an individual of the jinn or shedim, as an antagonist of Solomon.


Buddhism

As in Islam, the idea of spiritual entities converting to one's own religion can be found in Buddhism. According to lore, Buddha preached to Deva (Buddhism), Devas and Asura (Buddhism), Asura, spiritual entities who, like humans, are subject to the cycle of life, and who resemble the Islamic notion of jinn, who are also ontologically placed among humans in regard to Eschatology, eschatological destiny.


Christianity

Cornelius Van Allen Van Dyck, Van Dyck's Arabic translation of the Old Testament uses the alternative collective plural "jann" (Arab:الجان); translation:al-jānn) to render the Hebrew word usually translated into English as "familiar spirit" (אוב, Strong's Concordance, Strong #0178) in several places (Leviticus Leviticus 19, 19:31, Leviticus 20, 20:6; 1 Samuel 28:3,7,9; 1 Chronicles 10:13). Some scholars evaluated whether the jinn might be compared to fallen angels in Christian traditions. Comparable to Augustine's descriptions of fallen angels as ethereal, jinn seem to be considered as the same substance. Although the concept of fallen angels is not absent in the Quran, the jinn nevertheless differ in their major characteristics from that of fallen angels: While fallen angels fell from heaven, the jinn did not, but try to climb up to it in order to receive the news of the angels. Jinn are closer to daemons.


See also

* Al-Baqara 255 * ''The Case of the Animals versus Man'' * Daeva * Daemon (classical mythology) * Demonology * Fairy * Genius loci * Genius (mythology) * Ifrit * Jann (legendary creature), ''Abu Jann'' and ''Jann ibn Jann'' * Marid * Mimi (folklore) * Nasnas * Qareen * Qutrub * Rig-e Jenn * Shadow People * Superstitions in Muslim societies * Theriocephaly * ''Three Thousand Years of Longing'', a 2022 film starring Idris Elba as a djinn. * Uthra * Will of the wisp * Wish * Yazata * Yōkai


References


Notes


Citations


Sources

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External links


Etymology of ''genie''
{{Authority control Jinn, Arabian legendary creatures Egyptian folklore Iranian folklore Islamic legendary creatures Malaysian mythology Indian folklore Occultism (Islam) Quranic figures Paranormal terminology Supernatural Supernatural legends Shapeshifting Turkish folklore Albanian mythology Islamic terminology