Jann ( ar, جان, ''Jānn'', plural ar, جِنَّان, Jinnān or ) are the ancestor of the
jinn
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also Romanization of Arabic, romanized as djinn or Anglicization, anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are Invisibility, invisible creatures in early Arabian mytho ...
in
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
-related beliefs. They are said to have inhabited the earth before Adam, ruled by a king called ''Jann ibn Jann''. In folklore however, many consider them to be punished and turned into the weakest class of jinn, comparable to the way in which
apes
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...
are seen as transformed humans.
[Patrick Hughes, Thomas Patrick Hughes ''Dictionary of Islam'' Asian Educational Services 1995 page 134] The father of the jinn is also called ''Abu Al-Jann''.
Etymology and in the Quran
''Jann'' 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 ...
is an
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 ...
term, whose primary meaning is "to hide" and can also refer to an agile snake. It is a neuter singular for jinn, while Jinni and Jinniyya(h) are either adjectives, or masculine and feminine singulars or both. 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, ...
this term appears in Surah 15:27 and Surah 27:10 to designate a
supernatural creature or a serpent. Many ''
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'' regard ''jann'' as the ancestors of the jinn, in contrast the ''jinn'' applying to a wide range of supernatural creatures, and came later into existence. Some consider Jann to be the first of the jinn only, and likewise identify him with
Iblis
Iblis ( ar, إِبْلِيس, translit=Iblīs), alternatively known as Eblīs, is the leader of the devils () in Islam. According to the Quran, Iblis was thrown out of heaven, after he refused to prostrate himself before Adam. Regarding the o ...
or
Azazil, created from the fires of ''
samum''.
[ However, the majority distinguishes between Iblis, the father of devils and Jann the father of jinn.
]
Canonical hadiths
Sahih Muslim
Sahih Muslim ( ar, صحيح مسلم, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), group=note is a 9th-century ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj (815–875). It is one of the most valued bo ...
describes ''Al-Jann'' as being created out of a mixture of fire, contrasted with the angels created from light and humans created from clay-mud. Another hadith, mentioned in the collection of Al-Tirmidhi
Abū ʿĪsā Muḥammad ibn ʿĪsā as-Sulamī aḍ-Ḍarīr al-Būghī at-Tirmidhī ( ar, أبو عيسى محمد بن عيسى السلمي الضرير البوغي الترمذي; fa, , ''Termezī''; 824 – 9 October 892 CE / 209 - 2 ...
, reports that 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 ...
sought refuge in 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 ...
from ''Al-Jann'', the father of jinn, until Surah Al-Nas
Al-Nās or Mankind ( ar, الناس, ''an-nās'') is the 114th and last chapter (''sūrah'') of the Qur'an. It is a short six- verse invocation.
: Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,
: The Sovereign of mankind.
: The God of manki ...
and Surah Al-Falaq
Al-Falaq or The Daybreak ( ar, اَلْفَلَق, ''al-falaq'') is the 113th chapter ('' sūrah'') of the Qur'an. It is a brief five ayat (verse) surah, asking God for protection from the evil:
: Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of daybrea ...
had been revealed.
Pre-Adamite Era
In Persian Islamic legends, the world was ruled by Jann ibn Jann (''Son of Jann''), two thousand years before 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 " ...
was created. They were similar to humans in many ways and in many legends, God sent prophets to them, just as prophets were sent to humans. Jann ibn Jann offended the heavens, whereupon God sent Al-Harith (Iblis) with an army of angels to chastise him. But Jann ibn Jann refused to submit to the angels and a war ensued. At the end, Jann ibn Jann was overthrown by Al-Harith and the angels, who reigned the world onwards instead. Many Arabic legends regard the Pyramids of Giza
The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
as remains of the works done under the rule of Jann ibn Jann.
In Ibn Arabi's cosmology
The Medieval Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
mystic Ibn Arabi
Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...
, famous for his teachings of Unity of Existence, describes ''Jann'', the father of jinn, as the origin of animal power. Accordingly, God created Jann as the interior of human being, the animal soul hidden from the senses. Among the strongest powers of the animal power is the power of illusion, which is materialized in Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
, interpreted metaphorically
A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared with ...
as one of the descendants of Jann in Ibn Arabis' metaphysics.[Amira El Zein: The Evolution of the Concept of Jinn from Pre-Islam to Islam'. p. 247]
See also
* Dev (mythology)
Div or dev ( Persian: ': ) (with the broader meaning of demons or fiends) are monstrous creatures within Middle Eastern lore. Most of their depictions derive from Persian mythology, integrated to Islam and spread to surrounding cultures includi ...
* Tannin (monster)
Tannin ( he, תַּנִּין ''tannīn''; syr, ܬܢܝܢܐ ''tannīnā'' plural: ''tannīnē''; ar, التنين ', ultimately from Akkadian 𒆗𒉌𒈾 ''dannina'') or Tunnanu (Ugaritic: 𐎚𐎐𐎐 ''tnn'', likely vocalized ''tunnanu'') wa ...
References
{{reflist
Jinn
Islamic terminology
Quranic figures