About the Jinn
The Year from Jahannam references the Jinn in various places
What are the Jinn?
According to Islam, God created at least three intelligent species: Angels, Jinns, and Humans, of which the latter two have been granted free will to choose between good and evil. Iblees was a Jinn and a devoted servant of God. When God created Adam, he commanded that all the angels and the Jinn bowed down to Adam, as he was ‘the Best of God’s creation’.
All the angels did so but Iblees was too proud and arrogant and considered himself superior to Adam, since Adam was made from clay and Iblees from smokeless fire. For this act of disobedience, God cursed him to Jahannam for eternity, but gave him respite until the Day of Judgment, at Iblees’ request.
Iblees obtained permission from God and vowed that he would use this time to lead all human men and women astray so that they join him in Jahannam as a way of revenge against them. By refusing to obey God’s order he was thrown out of Jannah and thereafter he was called the Shaytan or the Devil. Although God granted the request, He also warned him that he would have no authority over his sincere devoted servants. In Islam it is the Devil and his followers, who whisper into the hearts of men and women, urging them to commit sin. This is where the desire to sin comes from, according to Islam.
The Qur'an says:
"Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire" - (Surah Al-Hijr 15:26-27)
Thus the Jinn were created before man. As for their physical origin, then the Prophet Mohammad PBUH has confirmed the above verse when he said: "The Angels were created from light and the Jinn from smokeless fire" It is this description of the Jinn which tells us so much about them. Because they were created from fire, their nature has generally been fiery and thus their relationship with man has been built upon this.
Where do they live?
The Jinn are physically invisible from man. They therefore live on Earth but in modern science-fiction parlance, they live in a parallel dimension.This invisibility is one of the reasons why some people have denied their existence. However the affect which the world of the Jinn has upon our world, is enough to refute this modem denial of one of God's creation. The origins of the Jinn can be traced from the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
They are thought to live in remote trees, areas, seas, mountains, and the air, in their own communities.
Are all the Jinn evil?
In many aspects of their world, the Jinn are very similar to us. They eat and drink, they marry, have children and they die. The life span however, is far greater then ours. Like us, they will also be subject to a Final Reckoning by God. They will be present with mankind on the Day of Judgement and will either go to Paradise or Hell.
Like humans, they too are required to worship God and follow Islam. Their purpose in life is exactly the same as ours, as God says in the Qur'an:
"I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me" - Surah Ad-Dhariyat 51:56)
Jinns can thus be Muslims or non-Muslims. However, due to their fiery nature the majority of them are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Jinns form a part of the army of the most famous Jinn, Iblees, the Shaytan. Consequently, these disbelieving Jinns are also called Shaytans (devils). As for the Jinns who become Muslims, then the first of them did so in the time of the Prophet Mohammad PBUH when a group of them were amazed by the recitation of the Qur'an. God orders the Prophet to tell the people of this event:
"Say (O' Muhammed): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said; 'Indeed we have heard a marvellous Qur'an. It guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our lord." (Surah Al-Jinn 72:1-2)
What powers do they have?
- Jinn have the power to travel large distances at extreme high speeds.
- Jinn have been given power to change their form and appear in front of human beings in various forms; such as an animal, a reptile, or even a human being. In a hadith from Abu Saeed Khudri, it is believed that a Jiinn came in the form of a gigantic serpent.
- Jinn are made of some kind of energy, which allows them to either move in the universe, or possess the Humans, and control their bodies and minds.
The Jinn can possess a human for various reasons, including:
- Revenge: a human can injure a Jinn inadvertently, by spilling hot water on it, sitting on it etc. A Jinn will possess a human out of revenge for harming it or its children.
- Magic: a human can use magic to cause the possession of a person. The person doing the magic could be someone who is paid to fulfill such an evil request, or could be out of jealousy or evil malice.
- Love: since the Jinn can see us, they may fall in love with those among mankind. Possession out of lust is commonplace and the Jinn may have no intention of harming the person but only seeks to be closer to the Human and guard him/her from any potential human spouse. They may also see someone who is lonely and will possess the human to console him/her.
- Evil: just like there are humans who commit crimes not out of necessity but pure evil, the same characteristics exist among the Jinn.
They can take the us through:
- Dreams: the Jinn will attempt to lead us astray through our dreams, or instill fear in the hearts of Muslims. There are many who claim to have seen a dream where some well-known person has told them to establish a new sect, or to worship some being. The Jinn can take the form of such persons in these dreams, thereby misleading them.
- Homes: the Jinn may live and eat between us when we don't pronounce the Name of Allah when entering our houses and eating our food.
- Birth: every person at birth is assigned with a Qareen, or Jinn companion, who will remain with us until death and continually try to lead us astray in every way possible. At times our Qareen will be so close to us he will be traveling in our blood, and at other times, whilst we are remembering Allah, he will be at a distance. The Prophet Mohammad PBUH has also said that "Satan pricks with his finger every new-born child of Adam's descendants. They all begin screaming Shaytan's jab, except Mary PBUH and her son Jesus PBUH." [Sahih Bukhari]
- Sickness: the Jinn will cause harm to humans by way of plague, vaginal bleeding, and other types of physical harm. Abdullah bin Mas'ud once saw a necklace tied around his wife's neck, and asked what it was. "It is a cord in which a spell has been placed to help me," she replied, upon which he snatched it from her neck and said "Surely, the family of Abdullah has no need for Shirk! I heard God's messenger say 'Verily, spells, talismans and charms are Shirk.'" His wife protested, saying her eye used to discharge, however upon using the spell it stopped. Abdullah replied "Verily, it was devil prodding it with his hand, so when you had it bewitched, he stopped."
- Death: the Jinn will attempt to place doubt and disbelief in the heart of the Muslim during their time of death. In this regard, the Prophet Mohammad PBUH used to seek refuge from fumbling during the time of death.
More Links on the Jinn
The World of the Jinn - The Religion of Islam