Asalaamu aleykum,

Belief in the Jinn
© "Al-Jumu`ah" magazine
by Abu'l-Hasan
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Last time, we talked about the unseen world of angels, and
mentioned that having the correct belief in the angels is a
requirement of faith. This time, we are going to discuss
another unseen world; that of the jinn. Some people are
skeptical of the existence of the jinn, while others resort
to far-fetched, distorted interpretations of these
creatures in order to suit their whims and personal
fancies, such as claiming that the jinn are microbes. In
this country, a certain heretical group teaches that the
white man is the devil (evil jinn). This preposterous idea
would imply either that the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu
`alayhe wa-sallam was black, or that he was a devil (Allah
forbid!). Both of these conclusions are clear blasphemy,
for they contradict conclusive historical facts and common
sense.

What are the jinn?
The reality, which it is obligatory to affirm, is that the
jinn are an established world, unseen to us. They eat,
drink and procreate, and among them are both righteous and
wicked individuals. The word jinn itself comes the Arabic
root meaning "something hidden which cannot be seen."

The existence of the jinn is firmly corroborated by the
Qur'an, authentic sunnah and consensus of scholars (Ijma`),and thus one who denies their existence is outside the paleof Islam. Suffice it to say that the word jinn and its
derivatives occur at least 29 times in the Qur'an, and the
word shaytaan and its plural shayaateen together occur more
than 80 times. In fact, there is an entire surah called
Surat al-Jinn (72), which speaks in clear, explicit terms
about the jinn.

Their Creation
Ibn `Abbas radiallahu `anhu said, "Two thousand years
before [mankind] was created, there were jinn on [the
earth], and they caused corruption on the earth and shed
blood. Then, Allah sent against them a troop of angels who
beat them and then cast them away to the islands in the
seas. So, when Allah said, (translated), "'I am placing a
viceregent upon the earth,' they said, 'Will You place
therein one who will cause corruption therein and shed
blood,'" [2 (Al-Baqarah), 30] i.e. just as those jinn did?
Then, Allah said, (translated), "I know that which you do
not know." (Related by Al-Hakim.) Thus, jinn were created
before mankind, as attested to clearly by the Qur'an also.
Their origin is from fire. "And verily, We created
mankind . . and the jinn We had created before from
smokeless fire." [15 (Al- Hijr), 26-27] They are the
descendants of Iblees, who disobeyed Allah's command to
prostrate to Adam, and became known as the Satan (Shaytaan).

We cannot ordinarily see them, unless they materialize.
When they materialize, it is usually in an unpleasant or
ugly form, such as a snake or a black dog, as opposed to
angels (who materialize into pleasant and handsome forms).
In the battle of Badr, Iblees materialized into the form of
a man named Suraqah ibn Malik, and urged on the
disbelievers, saying, "There is none who can overcome you
today," [8 (Al-Anfaal), 48] Then, Allah sent the angel
Jibreel (Gabriel) against him, and when Iblees saw him he
cried out to the disbelievers, "I have nothing to do with
you! I see that which you do not see! I fear Allah, and
Allah is severe in retribution," and then he fled.

Their Lifestyle
They are accountable, just as human beings are. "I created
jinn and mankind only in order that they might worship Me."
[51 (Adh-Dhaariyaat), 56] There are believers amongst them,
who will be rewarded, and disbelievers, who will be
punished. "And indeed, there are amongst us Muslims and
amongst us wrongdoers. As for those who accept Islam, they
have sought out the right path. And, as for the wrongdoers,
they will be firewood for Jahannam." [72 (Al-Jinn), 14-15]
Whenever Allah sent a prophet to mankind, the jinn of that
time could also receive his message. Thus, some of them
received the message of Prophet Moses `alayhis-salam. Some
jinn came to the Prophet Muhammad sallallahu `alayhe wa-
sallam one night, and he went with them, recited Qur'an to
them, and taught them about Islam. (Related by Muslim.)

They eat and drink, and have fiqh regulations similar to
ours. Just as we eat meat of animals over whose slaughter
the name of Allah was recited, the jinn are allowed to eat
bones of such animals, and therefore the Prophet sallallahu
`alayhe wa-sallam has instructed us not use these for
istinjaa'. On the authority of `Abdullah ibn `Umar : the
Messenger of Allah sallallahu `alayhe wa-sallam said, "When
one of you eats, he should eat with his right hand, and
when one of you drinks, he should drink with his right
hand, for Satan eats with his left hand and drinks with his
left hand." (Related by Muslim.) Satan also partakes of our
food if we neglect to mention the name of Allah before
eating.

A verse of the Qur'an indicates that they have conjugal
relations. "Therein [in Heaven] are [women] of modest gaze,
whom neither human being nor jinn have touched before." [55
(Al- Rahman), 56] Another verse establishes that they beget
children. "Will you then take [Iblees] and his offspring as
protectors in preference to Me, although they are an enemy
to you?" [18 (Al- Kahf), 50]

Although the jinn tend to have longer lifespans than ours,
they also die and pass away, as evidenced by the Qur'an [7
(Al- A`raaf), 38] Iblees, however, has been given respite
upto the Day of Arising. "[Allah] said, You are, then,
among those given respite, upto the day of the time known
[and appointed]" [38 (Saad), 81-82]

The shayaateen (devils)
The shayaateen (devils; the singular is shaytaan) are the
disbelieving jinn, but the word shaytaan is also used for
those disbelieving human beings who are active in
corruption and fighting Islam. "Thus have We made, for
every Prophet, an enemy, the shayaateen of mankind and
jinn, inspiring one another with flowery discourses by way
of deception." [6 (Al-An`aam), 112] As for those jinn who
are prominent in mischief-making, they are referred to as
mareed (plural: maradah), meaning froward or
rebellious. "Among mankind is he who disputes about
Allah&127; without knowledge, and follows every froward
shaytaan." [22 (Al- Hajj),3]

Iblees has his throne in the sea, and he sends out his
dispatchments who aggravate people. The greatest of them
before him is the one who has caused the most fitnah. One
of his workers comes and tells him, "I did not leave [my
victim] until I brought about separation between him and
his wife." Iblees draws him near, and says to him, "Yes!
You (are the best!)" (Related by Muslim.)

Eavesdropping on the heavens
The shayaateen go up into the heavens, trying to eavesdrop
on the angels. `A'ishah radiallahu `anha said that she
asked the Prophet sallallahu `alayhe wa-sallam about how it
is that the fortune-tellers sometimes foretell something
which turns out true. He replied that that is the word of
truth which the jinn manages to catch, and so he comes and
whispers it in the ear of the fortune-teller, and to one
truth he adds a hundred lies. (Related by Bukhari and
Muslim.) Allah sends meteorites against these eavesdropping
shayaateen, but sometimes one of them might pass on what he
has heard to another jinn.

Their effect on humans
Every human being is always accompanied by a jinn, who
tries to incite him to evil, but the Prophet sallallahu
`alayhe wa-sallam 's jinn was unable to harm him. On the
authority of Ibn Mas`ud : The Messenger of Allah (may Allah
bless him and grant him peace) said, "there is not any one
of you except that he has been assigned his companion from
among the jinn and his companion from among the angels."
They said, "Even you, O Messenger of Allah?" He
replied, "Even me, except that Allah has helped me against
him, so that I am unharmed (or, so that he has accepted
Islam), and so he orders me to do nothing but good."
(Related by Muslim.) Thus, terrible thoughts may sometimes
occur to us, but we are not responsible for these
promptings provided we neither allow them to take root
within us, nor act upon them. The fact that we recognize
them as evil is itself a sign of our faith.

Satan runs through the children of Adam with the running of
blood. It is possible for jinn to enter human beings and
possess them. "Those who consume interest (ribaa) do not
arise except as he arises whom Satan has driven to madness
by his touch." [2 (Al- Baqarah), 275]

Protection from the shayaateen
In the authentic hadith related by Bukhari and Muslim, the
Prophet sallallahu `alayhe wa-sallam has instructed us to
recite the following supplication before having intercourse
with our wives. "Bismillaah. Allaahumma jannibnash-
shaytaana wa-jannibish- shaytaana maa razaqtanaa." (In the
name of Allah. O Allah! Spare us from Satan, and repel
Satan from that wherewith You have provided us.) Then, if a
child is conceived, Satan will never&127; harm him.

The shayaateen like to frequent filthy areas such as
restrooms. Thus, we should ensure that we recite the sunnah
supplication (narrated by Bukhari and Muslim) before
entering the restroom, "Allaahumma innee a`oodhu bika minal-
khubuthi wal-khabaa'ith." (O Allah! I seek refuge with You
from male and female devils.)

Reciting Ayat al-kursiyy [2 (Al-Baqarah), 255] at bedtime
ensures that no devil will come close to you until the
morning. (Related by Bukhari.) Saying "Laa ilaaha
illallaahu wahdahoo laa shareeka lahoo lahul-mulku wa lahul-
hamdu wa-huwa `alaa kulli shay'in qadeer" (There is no god
but Allah, alone, without any partner, His is the kingdom,
and His is praise, and He has power over all things) 100
times in the morning provides protection from Satan till
the evening. (Related by Bukhari and Muslim)

In general, frequent remebrance of Allah and obedience to
Him provides immunity from the shayaateen. "Whoever
withdraws himself from the rembrance of [Allah] Most
Gracious, We assign to him a shaytaan, to be his comrade."
[43 (Az-Zukhruf), 36] "[Satan] has no authority over those
who believe and place trust in their Lord." [16 (An-Nahl),
99]