What Are The Jinn

The jinn are a world of their own, different from that of the humans or the angels . They do, however, possess some characteristics in common with humans, such as the ability to think and reflect. similarly, they also have the ability to chose between the path of good and the path of evil in the same manner as humans. they, though, differ from humans in other characteristics, including one very important characteristic: their origin.

They are called jinn because they are obscured from human sight, (INNA HOO YARLA KUM HOO WA WA qabeela hOO MIN HAISOO LAA TARAO NA HUM) " Lo ! He SeeS you , he and his tribe, from whence you seem not" (al-Araaf  2 7 ).

Their Origin

Allah has informed us that the jinn have been created from fire as He Says in the Quran, (a'al ja'aanna khalaqna hoo min qablu min'naari assamoo mi)'' And the jinn did we creat aforetime of essential fire" (al-hijr 27). in Surah al-Rahman (Verse 15), 

He says, ( Wa khalaqa alja'aanna min'ma tijinn min'na rin) "And the jinn He did creat of a smokeless flame of fire". According to Ibn Abbaas, Ikrimah, mujaahid, Al-Hasan and others the meaning of  marajin-min-nar, is "the extermity of the flame,''and in one narration it is described as the purist and best (of fire).' An-Nawawi said in this commentary to sahih muslim, "The smokeless flame of fire is that mixed with the blackness of the fire."

In a hadith recorded by Muslim on the authority of Aisha, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

( khuliqattil mala'eekatu min noor wa khuliqal jaanu min marjin min naar wa khuliqa adaamu mimma wusifa lakum) "The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from a smokeless flame of fire and adam was created from what has been described to you [ by Allah in the Quran]."

There is no doubt that the jinn were created before mankind, as Allah says, 
"Verily we created man of potter's clay of dark mud altered. And the jinn did we created aforetime of a flameless fire" (al-Hijr 26-27). This verse clearly states that the jinn we created before mankind. some of the earlier scholars were of the opinion that they were created a thousand year before mankind, but for that statement they have no proof in ether the Quran or the sunnah.

The names for the jinn in the Arabic language

Ibn Abdul Barr said, " The jinn according to the scholars of the language, are of different types:

1. If one is mentioning the jinn purely of themselves, they are called jinni
2. If one is mentioning the jinn that live among mankind, they are called aamar whoes plural is ammar whoes plural is ammar
3.If one is mentioning the ones that antagonize the young, they are called arwaah
4.If one is mentioning the evil ones that  antagonize humans they are called shaitaan for the singular [and shayateen for plural].
5. If they cause even more harm and become strong, they are called afreet.

Types of jinn

 The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said,

"There are three types of jinn: one that files through the air, one that are snakes and dogs, and one which stay in places and travel about."

There is no room for the denial of the existence of the jinn

A small number of people absolutely deny the existence of another being known as jinn. some of the polytheists cl aimed that the meaning of jinn was the souls of the planets.

some of the philosophers claim that the jinn are the evil inclinations in the souls of mankind in the same way that the angels are the inclination for good in the souls of mankind.

Some of the modern-day people allege that the jinn are the bacteria and microbes that modern science has recently discovered.

Muhammad al-Bahi, in his commentary on Surah al-jinn, says that the jinn are the angels. to him, the jinn and angels are one existence without any difference between them. His proof is that the angels also cannot be seen by mankind. Except that the includes among the jinn those who hide from the world of human beings concerning their belief or disbelief and their good or evil.

Not possessing knowledge concerning them is not a type of proof
The most that these deniers can say is that they have no knowledge concerning their existence. but not having any knowledge about them is not a proof that they do not exist.' they mind that denies everything that it does not know of certainly is blameworthy  In fact, that is a reason why Allah blames the unbelievers. Allah says in the Quran,''Say, but they denied that, the knowledge whereof they could not compass." ( yunus 39 ). 

This thought is a modern invention that no one should be obstinate enough to stick to. Is it permissible for man who has live hundreds of year to reject their possibility even if a trustworthy person informs him of it? Was our lack of hearing the sounds that go on throughout the world evidence that those sound did not exist until the radio was invented and gave us the ability to hear and confirm those sounds?

The truth of the matter

The correct position is that the jinn are a third type of being, apart from angels or humans. They are intelligent and understanding creatures; they are not philosophical accidents or germs and are not like the microorganisms. they are responsible for their actions and have been ordered by Allah to perform some deeds and to abstain from others.

1. Mutawatir [Undeniable agreement about their existence by different groups of people]

Ibn Taimiya says in majmu al- fatwa, None of the different groups of Muslims have differed about the existence of the jinn, nor in the fact that Allah sent Muhammad as a messenger to them also . The majority of the different group of the unbelievers  also confirm their existence. And the people of the book from among the jews and the christians also accept their existence in the same way as the Muslims do, even though one may find  some among them who will deny their existence, but in the same way one can find among the Muslims some who deny their existence like the jahamiyya and the mutazila.

But the majority of the sects and their leading scholars accept their existence.This is because the reports about their existence have come in a mutwaatir manner from the Prophets which necessitates automatic and certain knowledge. It is also known with certainty that they are alive, thinking and acting by choice. They have been ordered to do certain deeds and have been prohibited from certain other deeds. they are not attributes or characteristics of humans or other creatures, as some of the "atheists" claim. 

Since the matter of the jinn is something narrated in muawaatir from the Prophets, the scholars and masses know about them and no group that claims any relationship with a messenger may deny them.'

on page 13 he also wrote, All of the groups of the Muslims acknowledge the existence of the jinn, as do the majority of the people of the book (jews and christians), the polytheists among the Arabs and other from the children of ham ( the son of noah). similarly, the majority of canaanites and the Greek from the children of yaafith believe in them. Therefore, the majority of all people accept their existence.

2. Quranic and Hadith statements about them.

[There are numerous statements in the Quran and hadith that affirm the existence of the jinn.] For example, Allah says in quran,
"Say ( O Muhammad) : It is revealed unto me that a company of the jinn listened" (al-jinn 1). Allah also says,"And indeed (O Muhammad) individuals of mankind used to invoke the protection of individuals of the jinn, so that they increased them in revolt" (al-jinn 6). Infact, there exist many statements about them in the Quran and hadith, and we shall mention most of them in the rest of this work, Allah willing

3. Eyewitness Accounts.

Many people of our times and of the previous times have witnessed something of the jinn, even though many who had seen them or who had heard them were not aware that they were jinn. They thought that they were ghosts, spirits, invisible men, creatures from outer space and so forth.

Many trustworthy narrators, of the present day and previously, have narrated events concerning them. the famous scholar of hadith, al-Amash said, "A jinn appeared among us. i said to him, ' what is your favourite food?' He said,  'Rice.' we brought some to him and i would see the spoon go up and down but could not see any one. I said, 'Do you also have people of desires [and innovations] among you like what we have?' He said, 'yes' i said, 'what is the situation of the Rafidha [ extremeshia] among you.' He said, ' They are the worst of us."

Ibn Kathir wrote, after recording the above story, " I presented its chain to our teacher abu al-Hajjaj al-mizi. He said, ' the chain is authentic back to al-Amash.'Then he said, 'Ibn Asaakeer recorded in the biography of al-Abbas Ibn Ahmad al-Dimishqi that he said, 'I  heard some off the jinn recite, 'The hearts are in pain until they connect with their beloved and are with Him in any place, in the West or East; They are filled with the love of Allah, and Allah is their lord, they are connected to Allah and not to anything of his creation."

I [Dr. al-Ashqar] add: many trustworthy people have told me about their speaking with the jinn and their seeing them. Allah willing, some of these events will be mentioned later in this work where we will discuss the ability of the jinn to take on different forms.

4. The source from which they were created.  

The messenger of Allah (peace be upon him ) has informed us that the angels were created from light and the jinn were crheated from fire. He made a distinction between their two sources. This refutes the claim of those who says that the jinn and the angels are nothing but one and the same being.

Donkey and Dogs see the jinn

even though we humans do not see the jinn, some animals, like dogs and donkeys, can see them. it is recorded in Musnad Ahmad and Sunan Abu Dawud with a sahih chain from Jabir that the Prophet said,

If you hear the bark of dogs or the braying of donkeys during the night, seek refuge in Allah from Satan, as they see what you do not see.'' This is not strange as many scientists have confirmed that animals are capable of many things that humans are not capable of. Bees can see ultraviolet light and can also see the sun on an overcast day. An owl can see a mouse running in a crowded corn patch on a dark night.

Satan and the jinn

satan, which Allah mentions to us many times in the Quran, is from the world of the jinn. He lived among the angels in the heavens. He entered paradise. But then he disobeyed Allah when he refused to prostrate to Adam  out of pride, arrogance and envy. Therefore Allah cast him out of from his mercy.
Satan, in the Arabic language, is a general term for any arrogant rabel. It is used, in general  for that one specific being because he was so arrogant and rebelled against his Lord. He is called taaghoot in al-Nisaa, verse 76,

"Those who believe do battle for the cause of Allah; and those who disbelieve do battle for the cause of taaghoot. So fight the minions of the devil. Lo, the devil's strategy is weak." Taaghoot is a word that is well-Known to many of the people of the earth, with exactly the same lettering, according to al-Aqaad in his book Iblees. He is called a taaghoot because he has transgressed the limits, rebelled against his Lord and tried to set him self up as a god to be worshipped. Satan has despaired of any chance of mercy from Allah and for that reason Allah has named him Iblees. Alabalas means he has no good in him. and ublis means despaired and lost. Many of the early scholars have mentioned that his name before he disobeyed his Lord was azaazeel. Allah knows best how correct that is.

Satan, the created

The one who studies the Quran and in the hadith knows that satan is one of Allah's creation and he has a mind, ability to understand, he moves and so forth. He is not like what some of the ignorant have claimed, "an evel spirit that takes the shape of the evil conscience animalistic part of man, who leads the person when it takes the place of the spiritual, good conscious in the heart."

His Origin

We have already stated that satan is a jinn. Some modern and past writers have disputed this point. They use as a proof the statement of Allah,
"And when we said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam  they fell prostrate, all save Iblees. He demurred through pride, and so became an unbeliever" (al-Baqara 34) . [They also quote] other similar verses in which Allah makes an exception from the angels of Iblees. and they argue that if he is being excepted from a group, it must have been that he was a member of that group as this is the customary mode of speech. 

in many books of Quran commentaries and book of history we find narrations from many scholars on this point. They mention that satan was among the angels and that he was the treasurer of paradise or of the lowest heaven. He was the most noble and honorable of the angels and so forth. Ibn katheer states in his commentary of the Quran,

These stories have been related from many of the early scholars. Most of them are from Jewish and Christian legends ( Ar., Zsraaeeliyaat) which must be investigated more closely. Allah alone knows the truth of most of these types of reports. Many of them are clearly false since they contradict the truth that we possess in our hands [that is, the Quran and the hadith of the prophet]. Whatever the Quran contains is sufficient and we need not delve in to the stories of the earlier peoples. Their reports have not been safe from changes, additions and deletions. They have fabricated many things in their reports. 

They did not have among them those trustworthy people who safeguarded their scriptures and reports from being contaminated by the extremists and others as this nation ( of Islam  has had. This nation has had scholars, experts, leaders, memorizers, preservers and pious people who recorded the hadith and scrutinized them, making clear which of them are authentic, acceptable, weak, rejected , fabricated,  false. They were familiar with who the forgers were and who were the unknown narrators  who should  not be considered fully trustworthy. All of that is due to the position of the Prophet Muhammad and the fact that he is the seal of all the Prophet and leader of mankind. Therefore forgeries and interpolations have not been able to be attributed to him and to be accepted by the scholars. concerning their proof that Allah excepted Iblees from the angels, it is not a definitely the case as Allah states that Iblees was one of the jinn. 

Allah says in the Quran, "And remember when we said unto the angels; Fall prostrate before Adam  and they fell prostrate, all save Iblees. He was of the jinn, so he rebelled against his Lord's command'' (al-kahf 20) . Furthermore, it has also been confirmed from an authentic text that the jinn are not the same as the angels or as the humans. The prophet said, "The angels have been created from light, the jinn from fire and Adam was created from clay." (This was recorded in sahih muslim).

Al-Hasan al-Basri said, "Iblees was not from the angels even for the blinking of an eye." Ibn taimiya said, "Verily , satan was from the angels with respect to his appearance, but not with respect to his origin, and not with respect to him being of the same nature as them"

Was satan the origin of the jinn or was he just one of them ? We do not possess any clear text that states satan to have been the origin of all the jinn or that states that he was simply one of them. The latter is more apparent from the Quranic statement,

"Except Iblees and he was of the jinn" ( al-kahf50). Ibn Tamiya is of the opinion that satan was the origin of all the jinn in the same way that Adam is the origin of all mankind.

The food and Drink of the jinn

The jinn, and satan among them, eat and drink. in sahih al-Bukhari it is recorded on the authority of Abu huraira that the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him to get some stones in order for the prophet ( peace be upon him) to clean him self after defecation.

 The Prophet (peace be upon him) told Abu Huraira, "Do not bring me bones or dung." Abu Huraira asked the prophet (peace be upon him ) why he specifically mentioned not to bring those two items. "The Prophet ( peace be upon him ) told him, "They are food for the jinn. A delegation of Naseeb came to me, and what nice jinn they are, and asked me about their provision. I supplicated to Allah for them that they would never pass by dung or bones except that they would find meat upon them." and it is recorded in sunan at-Tirmidhi, with a sahih chain, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Do not clean your selves with dung or with bones for they are food for your brothers among the jinn" 

And in sahih Muslim it is recorded from Ibn Masud that a messenger from the jinn came to the prophet (peace be upon him) and he went with them. The Prophet (peace b upon him) read to them some Quranic verses. The prophet (peace be upon him) showed the people  the remains of their embers. They asked the prophet (peace be upon him) about their provisions and he told them, "Every bone on which the name of Allah has been mentioned will have meat on it for you. And the dung are fodder for your animals." 

Then he said, "Do not clean your selves with them as they are food for your brothers. The prophet also informed us that the devils eat with their left hands and he ordered us to be different from them in this respect. Muslim recorded in his sahih, on the authority of Ibn umar, that the Prophet ( peace be upon him) said,"If one of you eats, he should eat with his right hand. And if he drinks, he should drink with his right hand. verily, satan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand." In Musnad Ahmad, the following hadith is recorded,

The World of the Jinn and Devils

"whoever eats with his left hand, satan eats with him. And whoever drinks with his left hand, satan drinks with him." The following hadith is also recorded in Musnad Ahmad, "If the man enters his house and mentions the name of Allah upon entering it and upon eating therein, satan says, " I have found loading for you." And he does not mention Allah's name upon eating his meal, satan says, 'I have found  lodging and a meal. " This hadith was also recorded by muslim. these hadith are clear texts that definitely prove that the devils eat and drink. 

In the same manner that it is prohibited for man to eat any meat that has not had the name of Allah  pronounced over it, the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) permitted the believing jinn to eat any bone that has had the name of Allah pronounced over it. they are not permitted to eat meat over which Allah's name has not been mentioned. 

All that has been eaten without having the name of Allah mentioned over it Provides food  for the non-believing jinn who are the devils. In other words, the devils seek as permissible all the food  that has not had the name of Allah mentioned over it. This is why many scholars are of the opinion that carrion that have died by themselves are food for the devils because the name of Allah was not mentioned over them. Ibn Qayyim concludes from the verse of the Quran,

"o" you who believe  strong drink and games of chance and idols and divinning arrows are only an infamy of satan's handiwork. Leave it aside in order that you might succeed' ( al- Maaidah 90), that intoxicating liquros are the beverages of the devils. And it is the drink that he orders his patrons to drink, and he participates with them in that action, in its drinking, its din and its eventual punishment.

Do the jinn marry and procreate  
   
It is apparent that the jinn do have saxual intercourse. to prove this, some of the scholars refer to the description of the spouses in paradise. Allah says concerning them, " Therein are those of modest gaze, whom neither man nor jinn will have touched before them"  (al-rahmaan 60 ). the author of Lawaami al-Anwaar al-Bahiya mentions a hadith which deserves a closer look to see at its chain to see whether it is authentic or not . the hadith states, "The jinn have children in the same way that the sons of Adam have children, but theirs are more in number.' This was related by ibn Abu Haatim and Abu al-shaikh in al-udhma on the authority of Qataada. ' Regardless of whether or not this hadith is authentic, the verse above is clear that the jinn have intercourse and that satisfies us as proof.Some people allege that the jinn do no eat, drink or have sex, but that claim is falseas we have shown in our clear proofs from the quran and the sunnah.

Some scholars are of the opinion that there are different types of jinn and some of them do eat or drink while others do not. wahb Ibn Munabih said, "The jinn are of different kinds. One is a pure jinn, and that is like a wind that does not eat or drink, nor does it die or procreate  And there is a class of them that does eat, drink, procreate and has sex and dies. And those are those female demons and desert demons and similar others." This was recorded by ibn Jarir at Tabair but what wahb said is itself in need of evidence and cannot be considered a proof on its own .

Many scholars have delved into the nature of their eating: is it similar to that of the humans, do they swallow or is it by sniffing and so forth. It is a mistake and not allowed to delve into such matters  and we are not required to know about such things. neither Allah or his Messenger ( peace be upon him) have informed us of such matters.
                   
 Marriage between the jinn and humans 

one still hears about some man marrying a jinn or some woman marrying one of the jinn or a woman being proposed to by one of the jinn. Al-Suyooti mentioned many such reports from the early generations and scholars pointing to the existence of marriages between humans and jinn.Ibn Taimiya said,

"Humans and jinn have gotten married and have had children, this has happend often and is well-known" Assuming it is possible, many of the scholars showed a dislike for such a marriage. Scholars such as al-Hasan, Qutaada, al- Hukum and Ishaaq were known to have shown a dislike for it. Imam Malik  could not find any text that would prohibit it but he himself did not like for it to occur and he gave his reasons for saying so, " I hate that it would b the case that we  would find a woman who is pregnant and we ask her, 'who is your husband ?' and she replies, 'One of the jinn.' Much evil would be the result of that.''

A group of people are of the opinion that it is not permitted to marry from the jinn. From the blessings of Allah is that he created for man kind spouses of their own spices. Allah save in the Quran. "And of his signs is this:  He created for y mates from yourselves that you might find rest in them, and He ordained between you love and mercy" (al-Room21 ). 

If it could occur, it would not be possible to have that companionship and love between the spouses due to their different spices. The goal and wisdom of marriage would not be attainable since the tranquillity and love mentioned by Allah in the Quran would be impossible In any case, although people claim that such marriages occur presently and have occurred in the past, if such does occur  it is rare and strange. 

Furthermore, the one who performs it must seek the Islamic ruling concerning it. it could be the case that the one who does it is, in a sense, overpowered and has no to escape that situation. And what points to the possibility of marriage between the two species is the mention of the female companions in paradise. Allah says about them,

"Whom neither man nor jinn have touched before them" (al-Rahmaan 56). And this verse point to both the jinn and mankind being equally suitable for them.

DO the Devil die?

There is no doubt that the jinn, and the devils among them, do die. the following Quranic verse applies to them, "Everyone that is therein will pass away; There remains but the countenance of your Lord of Might and Glory. Which is it, of  the favours of your Lord, that you deny?" (al-Rahmaan 26-28). 

In sahih al-Bukhari it is reported from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet used to say, "I seek refuge, by your Glory, the One, whom there is no other god but you, the one who does not die, and mankind do die." Concerning the length of their lives, we do not know much except what Allah has said concerning the accursed satan who has been given respite and life until the Day of judgement. 

Allah says, "He said: Reprieve me till the day when they are raised (from the dead). He said: Lo! you are of those reprieved" (Al-Asaaf 14-15). concerning other jinn or devils, we do not know their lifespans. But we do know that their lifespans are longer than that of the humans. Further evidence that they do die is the report that Khaalid ibn Waleed killed the devil of al-Uza ( atree that the arabs used to worship). And a companion killed a jinn that took the shape of a serpant, as shall be discussed later.

The residence of the jinn and their places and the times that they can b found

The jinn live upon the same earth as humans do. Most of them can be found among the ruins and dilapidated areas, as well as the places where there are many impure things, such as, bathrooms, hashish dens, the places of the camels, cemteries. For that reason, as Ibn Taimiya said, those people who are close to satan usually inhibit such areas. There are hadith that say that one should not pray in bathrooms due to the impurities present and because it is the abode of setan, or in cemeteries as the leads to polytheism and it is also a home for the devils.

Many of them are in the places which may b sources of evil, such as the marketplaces. The prophet( peace be upon him) gave the following advice to one of his companions, "If you can, do not be the first one to enter the marketplace. And do not be the last to leave it. For they are the places of satan and there in he raises his banner." This hadith was recorded in sahih Muslims.

The devils live in the same houses in which people live. One can stop them from entering or repel them from such houses by mentioning Allah upon entering those houses, by remembering or mentioning Allah (Ar., dhikr), reciting the quran, in particular, surah al-baqara and "The verse of the Throne" ( verse 255 of that surah ). 

The prophet ( peace be upon him) stated that the devils spread out and roam about increasingly when the dark first comes, and, therefore, he has advised Muslim to bring in their children during that period of time. This is stated in a hadith that was recorded by both Al-Bukhari and muslim.

 And the devils run away from the call to prayer and cannot stand listening to it. And in the month of Ramahdaan they are chained.

The places where the devil sit or gather

The devils love to sit between the shade and the sunlight. For this reason the prophet (peace be upon him) forbade the Muslims to sit in such places.This hadith was recorded in the books of sunan and other works and it is sahih.

The animals of the jinn

In the hadith of Ibn Masud, recorded in sahih muslim, the jinn asked the prophet about their provisions. He told them, " Every bone on which the name of Allah is recited is your provision. The time it will fall in your hand it would be covered with flesh. And the dung of ( the camels) is fodder for your animals.'' Thus the prophet ( peace be upon him) has informed us that they possess animals and that the fodder for their animals is the dung of the animals of mankind.

Specific animals that the devils accompany

The devils accompany some animals. Such as camels. The prophet (peace be upon him) said, " verily the camel has been created from devils. And behind every camel is a devil.'' For this reasons, the prophet ( peace be upon him) has prohibited us from praying in the pastures of the animals. It is recorded in Musnad Ahmad and Sunan Abu Dawud that the prophet  ( peace be upon him) said, "Do not pray in the pasture of the camels, for they are from the devils. But pray in the fields of the sheep, for they are blessed ," Ibn majah recorded in his Sunan, with a sahih chain, "Do not pray in resting places' of the camels [that they go to after being] watered, for they have been created from the devils.''

These hadith refute the claims of those who state that the reason it is forbidden to pray in the places of the camels is that their urine and dung are impure. Actually, the urine and the dung of any animals that is permissible to eat is not considered impure.