A Jinn

[Juan Navarro]

Althoughusually invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies (Arabic: أَجْسَام, romanized: ajsām), and can change at will. They favor a cockroach, snake form, but can also choose to appear as scorpions, lizards, or as humans. They may even engage in sexual affairs with humans and produce offspring. If they are injured by someone, they usually seek revenge or possess the assailant's body, requiring exorcism. Jinn rarely meddle in human affairs, preferring to live with their own kind in tribes similar to those of pre-Islamic Arabia.

Individual jinn appear on charms and talismans. They are called upon for protection or magical aid, often under the leadership of a king. Many people who believe in jinn wear amulets to protect themselves against the assaults of the jinn, sent out by sorcerers and witches. A commonly held belief maintains that jinn cannot hurt someone who wears something with the name of God written upon it. While some Muslim scholars in the past had ambivalent attitudes towards jinn, contemporary Muslim scholarship increasingly associate jinn with idolatry.

Another suggestion holds that the word is of Persian origin and appeared in the form of the Avestic Jaini, a wicked (female) spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even pre-Zoroastrian mythology of peoples of Iran.[11][12] Wensick advocates a purely Arabic origin of the term, asserting that according to the common Semitic view psychic and bodily affections are caused by spirits. An object reacting upon such an affect would be an incarnation of said spirit. Since these spirits are covered from the sight of humans, they would have been called jinn.[13](p45)

The anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French gnie, also from the Latin genius.[14] It first appeared in 18th-century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the French,[15] where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense and further applies to benevolent intermediary spirits, in contrast to the malevolent spirits called 'demon' and 'heavenly angels', in literature.[16] In Assyrian art, creatures ontologically between humans and divinities are also called genie.[17]

Though not a precise fit, descriptive analogies that have been used for these beings in Western thought include demon, spirit, "sprite", and fairy, depending on source.[18][3](p22) In turn, the Arabic translation for the Greek Nymph ('arūsa) is also used for jinn by Middle Eastern sources.[13](p43) Although the term spirit is frequently used, it has been criticised for not capturing the corporeal nature of the jinn, and that the term genie should be used instead.[19]

When they shift into a human form however, they are said to stay partly animal and are not fully human.[3](p164)[30] Although the power of jinn usually exceed those of humans, it is conceivable a man could kill a jinni in single combat, but they are feared for attacking without being seen.[31] Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion.[32]

The Arabian poet al-Aʿshā (d. after 3/625) is said to got his inspiration for his poetry by a friend named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") and further calls him his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī").[33] Similarly, the poet Thābit (d. 54/674) who later converted to Islam and became known as "the poet of the prophet", referred to his jinni-friend as his "sharp-sighted brother from the jinn" ("wa-akhī min al-jinn al-baṣīr").[33] The relationship between jinn and humans can also be romantic in nature. According to one famous Arabian story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah. He is supposed to have taught her the arts of healing.[34]

The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different than that of a jinni and a soothsayer (kāhin). The soothsayer is presented as someone who is totally controlled by the jinni entering. The soothsayer was consulted to reveal hidden information or settle disputes, as it was believed, the jinn speaking through them reveal hidden knowledge.[35]

Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the Quran,[21](p21) exclusively in Meccan surahs.[36] The Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with the subject without elaborating on the jinn much further.[37] According to the Quran 51:56-56, Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both human and jinn communities, and prophets and messengers were sent to both communities.[38][39][40]

Throughout the Quran, humans and jinn (al-ins wa-l-jinn) appear frequently as a pair, designating their equal status in regards of their creation and rejecting that jinn share divinity with the Creator.[41](p181)[6] The term ins derives from anisa, which means "to be familiar with", and refers to recognisable familiar human beings. In contrast, the term jinn refers to foreign, invisible, or unknown anthropomorphic beings, which are nonetheless subject to the same considerations as the former.[10](p101) They were both created to worship God (51:56).[42][41](p182) Because they are supposed to worship God from free will, they are both able for good and evil deeds (7:179, 55:56).[42][41](p182) They are, like humans, rational beings formed of nations (7:38).[42][41](p182)

Surah al-jinn is about the revelation to jinn.[43] The same Surah mentions righteous jinn on one hand, and malicious jinn on the other.[41](p181) The jinn can neither harm nor benefit humans, for they are occupied with looking after themselves and their own place in the cosmos.[41](p185) This is in notable contrast to demons and devils in the Judeo-Christian tradition.[41](p181, 185) The Quran does not condemn the jinn as a source of harm, but by mistaking them for beings deserving cultic veneration (72:6).[42][13](p41)[41](p185) Jinn and humans are blamed for ascribing divine attributes to another creature (i.e. jinn); jinn to themselves and humans to the jinn.[13](p41)[10](p102)

In the Quranic account, despite their similarities, there are important differences between the two species. Whereas humans are made from "clay" or "dirt", jinn were created from "smokeless fire" (Quran 15:27, Quran 55:15),[41](p182) which is possibly the reason why they are credited with some extraordinary abilities, such as invisibility, transformation, and ascending into the air like devils (Quran 72:8).[41](p182) Despite some superhuman powers, the jinn occupy no fundamentally different position in the Quran than humans. Like humans, the jinn have no knowledge of the future.[41](p182) Like humanity, jinn face epistemic limitations regarding "the hidden/occult", have to rely on God's messengers, and face eschatological judgement.[41](p182)[44][42]

Al-Māturīdī focuses on the dynamics between jinn and humans based on Quran 72:6. He states that seeking refuge among the jinn increases fear and anxiety, however, not because of the jinn, but due to the psychological dependence of the individual towards external powers. By that, he refers to seeking refuge among the jinn as a form of širk, due to the reliance on a created thing instead of God.[47](p23)

Although jinn frequently appear in hagiographic Sufi literature and their existence is never doubted, they do not play any major role in Sufi cosmology. Because of their similarities to humans, they function neither as a model to follow (like angels) nor tempters of the lower self (like Satan) and mostly feature in poetic anecdotes.[54]

Since both creations must perform the required prayers (salah), Muslim jurists debated if one is allowed to perform the prayer behind a jinni. Shibli cites two Hanbalite scholars who regard this as permissible without hesitation. Since Muhammad was sent to jinn and humans, both are mukallāf and subject to the command to pray.[d]

Although there are recorded cases between human-jinn relationships[e] most Muslim jurists agree that such a relationship is not permissible.[57] Even those scholars who allowed such relationships, still considered them undesirable (makruh).[56] Offspring of human-jinn relationships are nonetheless, usually considered to be gifted and talented people with special abilities.[28]

The Quran does not consider foreign mythological beings to be devils, but entities erroneously ascribed divine power to. Therefore, jinn were considered a third class of invisible beings, often neutral or morally ambiguous, not consequently equated with devils.[59] Islam allowed to integrate local beliefs about spirits and deities from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India, into a monotheistic framework without demonizing them.[60] An example of this can be seen in the writings of Syed Sultan who treated Shiva and Parvati as "created beings" and casts the Suras and Asuras into the roles of the jinn in Islamic haggadic tradition.[61] Besides local deities, the existence of purely malevolent spirits is also acknowleged. Thus, jinn exist alongside other mythological entities, such as demons (Dēw) and fairies (parī).[62]

The moral attitude of the jinn is usually associated with their religion. Good jinn are usually considered Muslim jinn or jinn Islam, whereas unbelieving jinn were tempted by the devils (shayatin) and are called kāfir jinn or jinn kāfir.[63] Besides Islam, they could also practise Christianity and Judaism.[64] Good jinn might teach people moral lessons and might be benevolent,[65] or aid spiritual persons, such as shamans (kam) in Central Asia, or spiritual healers in Senegal.[66][67] Mediha Esenel's studies in 1940 Anatolia mentions the belief that spiritually gifted people can act as intermediaries between humans and jinn.[68]

Most of the time, jinn are believed not to interfere with humans and live mostly in desolate or abandoned places.[69][70] This is, for example, evident from the Turkish phrase İn Cin top oynuyor.[71] It is only when they are angered or disturbed, for example, if their children are trodden upon or hot water is thrown on them,[72] that they take revenge on humans. For this reason, Muslims utter "destur" (permission), before doing something which might accidentally hurt jinn, such as sprinkling hot water on public grounds or into bushes, so present jinn are advised to leave the place.[69][73][21](p149)

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