parallel dimension.
[Kelly Bulkeley, Kate Adams, Patricia M. Davis ''Dreaming in Christianity and Islam: Culture, Conflict, and Creativity'' Rutgers University Press 2009 page 144] Due to its ghostly nature, the Qareen is classified among 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 ...
-type creatures, although usually not actually a Jinni.
[Veena Das, Clara Han ''Living and Dying in the Contemporary World: A Compendium'' Univ of California Press 2015 page 145] The Qareen as an accompanying spirit should not be confused with the ''
Qarinah'', a female "childbed demon" in Middle Eastern traditions.
Qareen in Islam
Qareen are mentioned by name in the following Quran verses:
Sūrat az-Zukhruf
Az-Zukhruf ( ar, الزخرف, "Ornaments of Gold, Luxury") is the 43rd chapter (''surah''), of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. It contains 89 verses ('' ayat'').
Named after the golden ornaments recognized in verse 35 and aga ...
:
"And whosoever turns away from remembering and mentioning the Most Beneficent, we appoint for him a Satan to be a ''Qareen '' to him."
Sūrat as-Saffat:
"A speaker among them will say, 'Indeed, I had a Qareen.'"
Sūrat an-Nisa
An-Nisa' ( ar, ٱلنِّسَاء, ; The Women) is the fourth chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 176 verses ( āyāt). The title derives from the numerous references to women throughout the chapter, including verse 34 and verses 127-130.Hale ...
:
"And those who spend of their wealth to be seen by the people and believe not in Allah nor in the Last Day. And he to whom Satan is a Qareen - then evil is he as a Qareen."
Sūrat Qaf:
"And his Qareen, will say, 'This is what is with me, prepared.'"
Several opinions exist on the exact nature of the Qareen. According to one opinion, the Qareen is actually a
Shaitan
' (; ''devils'' or ''demons''), singular: (شَيْطَان) are evil spirits in Islam, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by "whispering" (وَسْوَسَة, “waswasah”) to their qalb, hearts (قَلْب ''qalb''). Folklore suggests that t ...
, who incites a human with ''waswās'' ("evil suggestions"), but can become ''good'' in accordance with the human’s good deeds. However it is uncertain whether or not a Qareen besides that of Muhammad can actually become ''good''.
Another opinion holds that Qareen refers to any type of spirit accompanying humans. Here, the Qareen refers to demons, who cast evil suggestions, but also to
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 incl ...
, who advise to do good deeds.
Further the Qareen is depicted as the other self: an integral spirit that is part of the person. A dissent between the inner Qareen and the behavior may cause the same symptoms as
Jinn-possession.
Other sources
The concept of a ''Qareen'' appears in pre-Islamic literature as well, and is reminiscent of the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
daimones and the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
guardian angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
. In Pre-Islamic Arabian the Qareen is said to be able to inspire poets for their works.
One of the seven
mu'allaqat
The Muʻallaqāt ( ar, المعلقات, ) is a group of seven long Arabic poems. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung in the Kaaba in Mecca, while scholars have also ...
—Arabic poems recognized as masterpieces during the pre-Islamic period—uses the word as a metaphor. To describe his tribe's excellence in battle, poet Amr bin Kulthum says that "every tribe has taken fear of us as a ''qarin'' (or 'constant companion')," meaning that their fear of Amr's tribe is always present. This goes further to show the origin of the word ''qareen'', as described in the Arabic dictionary as a "companion".
See also
*
Angel
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 ...
*
Bicameral mentality
Bicameral mentality is a hypothesis in psychology and neuroscience which argues that the human mind once operated in a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part ...
*
Dmuta
In Mandaeism, a dmuta ( myz, ࡃࡌࡅࡕࡀ, lit=image) or dmut is a spiritual counterpart or "mirror image" in the World of Light. People, spirits, and places are often considered to have both earthly and heavenly counterparts (''dmuta'') that ...
in Mandaeism
*
Doppelgänger
A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.
In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
*
Etiäinen
In Finnish folklore, all places and things, and also human beings, have a haltija (a genius, guardian spirit) of their own. One such haltija is called etiäinen—an image, doppelgänger, or just an impression that goes ahead of a person, doing ...
*
Familiar spirit
In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (sometimes referred to as familiar spirits) were believed to be supernatural entities that would assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic. According to re ...
*
Genii
*
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 ...
*
Shadow (psychology)
In analytical psychology, the shadow (also known as ego-dystonic complex, repressed id, shadow aspect, or shadow archetype) is an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego ideal, leading the ego to resist and ...
*
Tulpa
Tulpa is a concept in Theosophy, mysticism, and the paranormal, of an object or being that is created through spiritual or mental powers. Modern practitioners, who call themselves "tulpamancers", use the term to refer to a type of willed imaginary ...
*
Winged genie
Winged genie is the conventional term for a recurring motif in the iconography of Assyrian sculpture.
Winged genies are usually bearded male figures sporting birds' wings. The Genii are a reappearing trait in ancient Assyrian art, and are displa ...
References
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Arabian legendary creatures
Arabian mythology
Arabic words and phrases
Demons in Islam
Quranic figures
Counterparts