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Jinn

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For other uses, see Jinn (disambiguation).
Three illustrations of Djinn from the 16th century

In Arabic, a Djinn (also jinn, genie, from Arabic جني jinnī) is a supernatural creature which occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah. Possessing free will, a djinn can be either good or evil.[1]

The Djinn are mentioned frequently in the Qur'an, and there is a Surah entitled Al-Jinn. While Christianity maintains that Lucifer was an angel that rebelled against God's orders, Islam maintains that Iblis was a Djinn who had been granted special privilege to live amongst angels prior to his rebellion.[2]


Etymology and definitions

The Majlis al Jinn cave in Oman, literally "Meetingplace of the Jinn".

The word genie derives from Latin genius, which meant a sort of tutelary or guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at their birth. English borrowed the French descendent of this word, génie; its earliest written attestation in English, in 1655, is a plural spelled genyes. The French translators of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights used génie as a translation of jinnī because it was similar to the Arabic word in sound and in meaning. This use was also adopted in English and has since become dominant.

The Arabic root JNN means "hidden, concealed", as in the verb janna "to hide, to conceal". (This is not to be confused with the Arabic word jannat, which means "paradise").[3][4][5] Arabic lexicons, such as William Lane's lexicon provide the rendered meaning of jinn not only for spirits, but also for anything concealed through time, status, and even physical darkness.[6] In Arabic, the word jinn is plural; jinnī is the singular (and adjective). The feminine form is jinnīyah.

In other cultures, as in the Mythology Guanche (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain), also existed the belief in beings that qualify as genies, such as the so-called Gods paredros or Maxios (domestic spirits and nature), the Tibicenas (evil genies) and also demon Guayota (aboriginal god of evil) that, like the Arabic Iblis, is sometimes identified with a genie. The Guanches were of Berber origin in northern Africa which further strengthens this hypothesis.[7]

Djinn in the pre-Islamic era

Amongst archaeologists dealing with ancient Middle Eastern cultures, any spirit lesser than angels is often referred to as a djinn, especially when describing stone carvings or other forms of art.

The pre-Islamic Zoroastrian culture of ancient Persia believed in jaini/jahi, evil female spirits thought to spread diseases to people. However, Zoroaster himself did not believe in the existence of such evil female spirits.

Inscriptions found in Northwestern Arabia seem to indicate the worship of djinn, or at least their tributary status. For instance, an inscription from Beth Fasi'el near Palmyra pays tribute to the "Ginnaye", the "good and rewarding gods"[8] providing a sharp resemblance to the Latin Genius and Juno: The Guardian Spirits.

Types of djinn include the Shaitan, the Ghul, the Marid, the Ifrit and the Djinn. According to the information in The Arabian Nights, Ifrit seem to be the strongest form of djinn, followed by Marid, and then the rest of the djinn forms.

Jinn in Islam

In Islamic theology jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made from 'smokeless fire' by Allah in the same way humans were made of earth.[9] According to the Qur'an, Djinn have free will, and Iblis used this freedom in front of Allah by refusing to bow to Adam when Allah told Iblis to do so. By disobeying Allah, he was thrown out of Paradise and called “Shaitan”. Djinn are frequently mentioned in the Qur'an, Sura 72 of the Qur'an (named Al-Jinn) is entirely about them. Another Sura (Al-Nas) mentions Djinn in the last verse.[10] The Qur’an also mentions that Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both “humanity and the Djinn”.[11][12]

Similar to humans, jinn have free will allowing them to follow any religion they choose. They are usually invisible to humans and humans do not appear clear to them. However, jinn often harass and even possess humans, for various reasons, such as romantic infatuation, revenge, or because of a deal made with a practitioner of black magic. Jinns have the power to travel large distances extremely quickly and live in remote areas, mountains, seas, trees, and the air, in their own communities. Like humans, jinns will also be judged on the Day of Judgment and will be sent to Heaven or Hell according to their deeds.[13]

Qareen

Every person is assigned a special "jinn" to them, also called a qareen, the jinns that whisper into your soul and tell you to give in to your evil desires.[14][15][16] However, the notion of a qareen is not universally accepted amongst all Muslims. But it is generally accepted that shaitan whispers in Human being's minds, and he is assigned to each human being.[17]

Classifications and characteristics

Makhan in an enchanted garden, embraced by an efreeti. Illustration from an illuminated manuscript of Khamse, a poem by Nezami.

The social organization of the jinn community resembles that of humans - such as they have kings, courts of law, weddings, and mourning rituals.[18] Muhammad reportedly divided jinn into three classes: those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, and those who travel about ceaselessly.[19] Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (d. 652), who was accompanying Muhammad when the jinn came to hear his recitation of the Quran, described them as creatures of different forms; some resembling vultures and snakes, others tall men in white garbs.[20] They may even appear as dragons, onagers, or a number of other animals.[21] In addition to their animal forms, the jinn occasionally assume human form to mislead and destroy their human victims. One such jinni who had assumed the form of a beautiful woman was identified because of her beastly feet by her human victim, who killed her by throwing a rope around her neck and dragging her behind his camel.[22] This type of jinn is called mardāzmā, (tester of men) among the Baluch people.[23] Muhammad is also said to have told the jinn that they may subsist on bones, which will grow flesh again as soon as they touch them, and that their animals may live on dung, which will revert back to grain or grass for the use of the jinn flocks.[24]

Ibn Taymiyyah believed the Jinn were generally "ignorant, untruthful, oppressive and treacherous".[25]

Muslims believe that the Jinn account for much of the "magic" perceived by humans, cooperating with magicians to lift items in the air unseen, delivering hidden truths to fortune tellers, and mimicking the voices of deceased humans during seances.[25]

Islamic concept of King Solomon and Djinn

Main article Islamic view of Solomon

The Quran states that King Solomon (Sulayman) is said to have compelled the Djinn into his service and given them dominion over 25 parasangs of his realm.[26] In his court, the Djinn stood behind the learned humans, who in turn, sat behind the prophets. Solomon’s wife, the Queen of Sheba, was reportedly born of the marriage between a Djinn and a human, some sources suggesting a Djinn named Rayḥāna was her mother. It was this connection to the Djinn that made people apprehensive about Solomon’s marriage to her. They feared that if their master Solomon married a half-Djinn, they would be forced to remain in the service of the offspring of that marriage forever. Thus, to make Solomon fall out of love with her, they told him that she was insane, and that her feet were hairy and resembled those of a donkey.[27]

The Djinn remained in the service of Solomon, who had placed them in bondage, and had ordered their king, Zūba’a, to perform a number of tasks throughout his life. Upon Solomon’s death, however, Zūbaa went to the places where his subjects were toiling, and called out to them to stop working. They happily obeyed, and one of them carved a message in stone, enumerating what they had built during their servitude.[28]

Esoteric theories

In 1998, Pakistani nuclear scientist Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood proposed in a Wall Street Journal interview that djinni (described in the Kur'an as beings made of fire) could be tapped to solve the energy crisis. "I think that if we develop our souls, we can develop communication with them. ... Every new idea has its opponents, but there is no reason for this controversy over Islam and science because there is no conflict between Islam and science. [29]

See also

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Notes

  1. ^ El-Zein, Amira. "Jinn," 420-421, in Meri, Joseph W., Medieval Islamic Civilization - An Encyclopaedia.
  2. ^ Quran 7:11–12
  3. ^ "GaN - Garden," Ancient Hebrew Lexicon.
  4. ^ Arnold Yasin Mol. "Jinn As Found In The Quran" 19.org
  5. ^ The World of the Jinn
  6. ^ Edward William Lane’s Arabic Lexicon
  7. ^ Guanche Religion
  8. ^ Hoyland, R. G., Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam.
  9. ^ Quran 55:14–15
  10. ^ Quran 116:4–4
  11. ^ Quran 51:56–56
  12. ^ Ṭabarī, Toḥfat al-ḡārāeb, I, pp. 68; Abu’l-Fotūḥ Rāzī, Rawż al-jenān wa rawḥ al-janān. pp. 193, 341
  13. ^ Tafsīr; Baḵš-ī az tafsīr-ī kohan, p. 181; Loeffler, p. 46
  14. ^ Quran 72:1–2
  15. ^ Quran 15:18–18
  16. ^ Sahih Muslim, No. 2714
  17. ^ Is it permissible to pray that my qareen becomes Muslim
  18. ^ Ṭūsī, p. 484; Fozūnī, p. 527
  19. ^ Fozūnī, p. 526
  20. ^ Fozūnī, pp. 525-26
  21. ^ Kolaynī, I, p. 396; Solṭān-Moḥammad, p. 62
  22. ^ Fozūnī, p. 527
  23. ^ Mīhandūst, p. 44
  24. ^ Abu’l-Fotūḥ, XVII, pp. 280-81
  25. ^ a b Ibn Taymiyyah, Al-Furqaan Bayna Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan ("Essay on the Jinn"), translated by Abu Ammenah Bilal Phillips
  26. ^ Quran 27:17–17
  27. ^ Abu’l-Fotūḥ, 15, 21-22, 29-32, 40-42, 45, 47-50, XVI; Ṭūsī, pp. 486, 495
  28. ^ Quran 34:14–14
  29. ^ Pakistani Atomic Expert, Arrested Last Week, Had Strong Pro-Taliban Views, New York Times, 2 November 2001.

References

  • Al-Ashqar, Dr. Umar Sulaiman (1998). The World of the Jinn and Devils. Boulder, CO: Al-Basheer Company for Publications and Translations.
  • Barnhart, Robert K. The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology. 1995.
  • “Genie”. The Oxford English Dictionary. Second edition, 1989.
  • Abu’l-Fotūḥ Rāzī, Rawż al-jenān wa rawḥ al-janān IX-XVII (pub. so far), Tehran, 1988.
  • Moḥammad Ayyūb Ṭabarī, Toḥfat al-ḡārāeb, ed. J. Matīnī, Tehran, 1971.
  • A. Aarne and S. Thompson, The Types of the Folktale, 2nd rev. ed., Folklore Fellows Communications 184, Helsinky, 1973.
  • Abu’l-Moayyad Balḵī, Ajāeb al-donyā, ed. L. P. Smynova, Moscow, 1993.
  • A. Christensen, Essai sur la Demonologie Iranien, Det. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, Historisk-filologiske Meddelelser, 1941.
  • R. Dozy, Supplément aux Dictionnaries Arabes, 3rd ed., Leyden, 1967.
  • H. El-Shamy, Folk Traditions of the Arab World: A Guide to Motif Classification, 2 vols., Bloomington, 1995.
  • Abū Bakr Moṭahhar Jamālī Yazdī, Farroḵ-nāma, ed. Ī. Afšār, Tehran, 1967.
  • Abū Jaʿfar Moḥammad Kolaynī, Ketāb al-kāfī, ed. A. Ḡaffārī, 8 vols., Tehran, 1988.
  • W. Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon, Beirut, 1968.
  • L. Loeffler, Islam in Practice: Religious Beliefs in a Persian Village, New York, 1988.
  • U. Marzolph, Typologie des persischen Volksmärchens, Beirut, 1984. Massé, Croyances.
  • M. Mīhandūst, Padīdahā-ye wahmī-e dīrsāl dar janūb-e Ḵorāsān, Honar o mordom, 1976, pp. 44-51.
  • T. Nöldeke “Arabs (Ancient),” in J. Hastings, ed., Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics I, Edinburgh, 1913, pp. 659-73.
  • S. Thompson, Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, rev. ed., 6 vols., Bloomington, 1955.
  • S. Thompson and W. Roberts, Types of Indic Oral Tales, Folklore Fellows Communications 180, Helsinki, 1960.
  • Solṭān-Moḥammad b. Tāj-al-Dīn Ḥasan Esterābādī, Toḥfat al-majāles, Tehran,
  • Moḥammad b. Maḥmūd Ṭūsī, Ajāyeb al-maḵlūqāt wa ḡārāb al-mawjūdāt, ed. M. Sotūda, Tehran, 1966.
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