What is a Djinn? by Chad Stambaugh

What is a Djinn

Awhile back, while at school,  I had an interesting discussion on the paranormal and spirits with a person who is of the Muslim faith.  That lead me to do some research on what we discussed.  Thought you might find that information interesting.  I was very intrigued by this dialogue and felt very honored to learn what I could.

You see I classify myself as a spiritual person, but not religous.  I believe in a higher power and that karma will bite you in the ass. I have spent a lot of time researching and learning about all religions so that I'm more educated on the topics. So having this discussion was a great treat for me.

What I learned:

1)  Muslims believe that Angels have no free will, therefore can NOT disobey God (Allah) under any circumstance.

2)  They also believe that humans and supernational creatures called Djinns (or Genies) do have free will.  Therefore, they believe that Satan was a Djinn and not a fallen angel.

3)  Also paranormal activity would fall into the Djinns category.

The following is an excerpt I copied from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie

Genie (Arabic: جني jinnī; variant spelling djinni) is a supernatural creature in Islamic teachings which (according to both mythology) occupies a parallel world to that of mankind, and together with humans and angels makes up the three sentient creations of Allah. According to the Qur’ān, there are two creations that have free will: humans and Djinn. Religious sources say little about them; however, the Qur’an mentions that Djinn are made of smokeless flame, with their form similar to humans if they choose to spiritually possess a human body. The Djinn also can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent.

The Djinn are mentioned frequently in the Qur’an, and there is a surah entitled Sūrat al-Jinn in the Qur'an. Some Islamic scholars[who?] have ruled that it is apostasy to disbelieve in one of Allah's creations. Some research by the American Jewish Committee has shown that the belief in Djinn has fallen compared to the belief in angels in other Abrahamic traditions.

Here is what I found during my research of the Djinn and talking to my friend of school.

The Qur’aanic View about the Djinn
Allah has enlightened us on the subject of Djinn through the seventy second (72nd) Surah Surah Al-Jinn, revealed late in Makkah and various other aayaat in the Holy Qur’aan.

The Holy Qur’aan reveals that Djinn are created from fire whereas the human beings are created from clay. Although they are invisible to human eyes, the Djinn can see us. Like human beings they are also entrusted with responsibilities (careers, family life, etc.). They too will be rewarded for their righteousness and will receive punishment for their wickedness.
“I created Djinn and mankind only that they may worship me.”  (Al Zariyat:56)
“Whosoever fears the standing before his Lord, for him there are two paradises.”
(Rahman:46)
“And among us ( the Djinns ) there are the righteous folk and among us there are far from that; we are sects having different rules.”  (Jinn:11)

Views from Ahadith
Ahadith enlighten us further and some of these are quoted below:
1.DJinn 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 Djinn came in the form of a gigantic serpent. It is narrated that:-
“A sahabi , returning from the battle of Khandaq saw his newly wed wife stood outside their house. He could not bear this sight and got extremely angry . He pointed the spear (at her), which he had in his hand , and asked her for an explanation. She asked him to go inside the house and see what was there before taking any further action against her. She was obviously scared by what she had seen. He entered the house and saw a huge python. He (thought he) killed the python but as he was returning, it suddenly attacked him and it was not known which of the two had died first.
Upon learning about the above incident, the Holy Prophet remarked, “Indeed you will find some inhabitants within your household, so whenever you come across any of these warn them three times, if they go away it is alright otherwise you may kill them.”  The serpent, it seems, was a jinn.
Shaytaan, who is also from the family of Jinn, came in the form of an old man on the day of the badr (the famous battle in the year 2 A.H.). He tried to uplift the morals of the kafir fighters but when he saw the army of the angels descending to aid the Muslims, he could not bear the sight of them and ran away.
2. It was the custom of Jahiliyyah to fear the Jinn. Throughout their journey whenever the mushrikeen would break the journey in a desert or in a jungle, They would seek the refuge of the Jinns in that area.  This would encourage the Jinn to cause a lot of disturbance and also increase their revolt.
3. Upon the advent of the Holy Prophet, many jinns accepted the mission and message of the Holy Prophet. They heard the Qur’aan read by the Noble Prophet while performing Fajr salaah in Ukaz and they also began to believe in the Prophet. As such, amongst the Jinns, there too are different religions, groups, sects and cults such as Christians, Jews, etc,. Among those who call themselves Muslims there are sects like Ahle Sunnah, Qadiani, Shiahs, etc,.
4. Human beings are superior to Jinns. The Jinns can never harm human beings if tackled in the right manner. When a jinn starts to like someone he follows him or her around. If he does something extraordinary and that person gets frightened, the Jinn will tease him more but if he reacts in a brave manner, the Jinn will disappear.
4.1 Mujahid, a student of Ibn Abbas says:-
“After Ibn Abbas’s death a shaytaan would constantly appear before me in the form of Ibn Abbas whenever I started salaah. This got so worse that at times I was forced to break my salaah. So I decided to confront him next time he appeared and so I hid a dagger in my pocket and started salaah. When he came in front of me, I took out the dagger and jumped on him. He disappeared instantly and therafter he never came back.”
4.2 Similarly, Hazrat Thanwi rahmatullahi alaihe has narrated that:-
“Once in the city of Kufa, in Iraq, a merchant arrived and was searching for a rented accommodation. All the properties were full and someone directed him to a house which was empty and believed to be haunted. He was so tired that he did not care and decided to rent the property. When he was retiring to bed a  huge black jinn came in front of him. He immediately started to recite the ‘Ayatul Kursi’. The jinn also followed his recitation and when he read the words, ‘Wala ya’uduhu hifzuhuma’ (‘And their ( the sky and the earth) safeguarding does not burden him’)  the Jinn could not follow and stopped. The person understood the consequences of the words and recited the same words again and again until the jinn faded away. The merchant went to sleep and in the morning when he got up he saw the burnt ashes in the place where the jinn appeared. He was burnt by the power of Allah.”

Actions & Precautionary Measures
5. As mentioned above human beings are superior to Djinn and as such can eliminate contact and any harm caused by them, if we adopt the ways taught to us by our Holy Prophet . These are:-
· Try not to stay ‘Naa paak’ (in the state of impurity) for a prolonged period.
· Perform salaah five times daily;
· Constant rememberance of Allah through zikr (the heart of a zakir is alive whereas a non -zakir’s heart is dead);
· If confronted by a Djinn then recite Auzu billah ......; Lahawla wa la quwwata..... and  the last two chapters of Qur'aan, Qul auzu birrabinas and Qul auzu birabil falaq;
· Recite daily a few pages of  Surah Baqara as shaytaan does not have the ability to enter a room in which Surah Baqara is read.

I hope that you all enjoyed this article.  As usual, let me know what you think.

Chad