The Purpose of Jinn
Allah says in the Qur’an, Chapter 51: verse 56
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Adh-Dhariyat 56)
Jinn & Mankind both have one thing in common – ‘Free will’
Therefore, Jinn are responsible for their actions just like Humans are. Satan (Iblees) was given such a high status only for his ‘worship’ to Allah. For one who is obedient to Allah will have paradise in the hereafter. For those who rebel (Shaytaan) are cast into hell fire.
On the Day of Judgment, Allah will address both Human and the Jinn,
“O you assembly of jinn and humankind! Came there not unto you Messengers of your own who recounted unto you My tokens and warned you of this Day? They will say: We testify against ourselves. And the life of this world beguiled them. And they testify against themselves that they were disbelievers.” (al-Anam 130).
“Enter into the Fire among nations of the jinn and humankind who passed away before you.” (al-A’raaf 37)
“But the word from Me concerning evildoers took effect: that I will fill hell with the jinn and mankind together.” (as-Sajda 13)
They also have glad tidings revealed to them, in Surah ar-Rahmaan [Chapter 55], the Surah which is sent down for both Jinn and Mankind. I would recommend every brother to read it with translation.
“But for him (jinn/human) who fears the standing before his Lord there are two gardens(in paradise). Which is it, of the favors of your Lord, which you deny?”
(ar-Rahmaan 46-47)
Wisdom behind the creation of the Jinn
Some may say they have their independent world, irrelevant to our world, others may say they are created simply to mislead us. However we do not possess clear evidence for such statements. It is a matter of personal opinions so I would like to present my own opinion here.
We sometimes wonder, “Why would Allah the Most Merciful cast Satan (Iblees) out of heavens? Why for denying only ONE prostration? When we Muslims miss most of the prostrations to our Lord” (Allah forgive us)
In my earlier article about “Types & Categories of Jinn”, I mentioned a category by the name ‘Qareen’. Hadith from Sahih Muslim,
Prophet (saw) said, “Every one of you has been assigned a companion from the Jinn.” The companions asked: Even you O’ Messenger of Allah? And the Prophet replied: Even me, except that Allah has helped me against him and he has submitted.”
The Food and Drink of the Jinn
The jinn, and demons among them, eat and drink. In Sahih al-Bukhari it is recorded on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace be upon him) told him to get some stones in order for the Prophet (peace be upon him) to clean himself after defecation. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told Abu Hurayrah, “Do not bring me bones or dung.” Abu Hurayrah asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) why he specifically mentioned not to bring those two items. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told him, “They are food for the jinn. A delegation of Naseeb came to me, and what nice jinn they are, and asked me about their provisions. I supplicated to Allah for them that they would never pass by dung or bones except that they would find meat upon them”
And it is recorded in at-Tirmidhi, with a sahih chain, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Do not clean yourselves with dung or with bones for they are food for your brothers among the Jinn.” And in Sahih Muslim it is recorded from Ibn Masud that a messenger from the jinn came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he went with them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) read to them some Quranic verses. The Prophet (peace be upon him) showed the people the remains of their embers. They asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about their provisions and he told them, “Every bone on which the name of Allah has been mentioned will have meat on it for you. And the dung is fodder for your animals.” Then he said, “Do not clean yourselves with them as they are food for your brothers.”
In another hadith recorded in Musnad Ahamed,
“If the man enters his house and mentions the name of Allah upon entering it and upon eating therein, Satan says, ‘There are no lodging for you here and no meal here.’ But if the man enters his house and neglects to mention the name of Allah upon entering it, Satan says, ‘I have found lodging for you.’ And if he does not mention Allah’s name upon eating his meal, Satan says, ‘I have found lodging and a meal.’”
The Prophet also informed us that the devils/demons eat with their left hands and he ordered us to be different from them in this respect. Muslim recorded in his Sahih, on the authority of Ibn Umar, that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “If one of you eats, he should eat with his right hand. And if he drinks, he should drink with his right hand. Verily, Satan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand.”
This hadith was also recorded by Muslim. These hadith are clear texts that definitely prove that the devils eat and drink.
Ibn Qayyim concludes from the verse of the Quran,
“O you who believe, strong drink and games of chance and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan’s handiwork. Leave it aside in order that you might succeed” (al-Maida: 90),
that intoxicating liquors are the beverages of the demons/devils. And it is the drink that he orders his patrons to drink, and he participates with them in that action, in its drinking, its sin and its eventual punishment.
The Ability and Strength of the Jinn
Allah has given the jinn power and ability that He has not given humans. Allah has informed us of some of their ability, including great speed and strength, along with their ability to possess both living and nonliving bodies.
Strong & Fast Moving
They can move from place to place very fast; and can carry objects/people along with them. From Majmu-al-fatwa of Ibn Tamiyya, we find stories about people who used to travel from place to place through the air – they were all carried by the Jinn. More stories tell us about people who lived far away from each other. Yet they used to communicate with each other through messages, all exchanged by a Jinn. There are hundreds of other stories that confirm the same ability.
This ability is also confirmed from the Quran that when Solomon (as) asked his men whether there is anyone who will bring me the throne of Bilqis (Queen of Sheba – who was on her way to surrender to Solomon). An Efreet from among the Jinn promised Solomon (as) that he would be able to bring the throne of Sheba to Jerusalem in a period of time that was so short that a man would not be able to stand from his place of sitting. But one who had knowledge of the Book said, “I will bring it before your gaze returns to you” Allah has described this incident in the Quran with the following verses:
“A strong among the Jinn (efreet) said: I will bring it to you before you can rise from your place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. One whom had knowledge of the scripture said: I will bring it to you before your gaze returns to you. And when he saw it set in his presence, and he said, ‘This is from the bounties of my Lord’” (al-Naml: 39-40)
Builders & Divers
It is also known from the Quran that the Jinn used to build Castles for Solomon, those who would dive into the depths of Oceans and bring jewels and pearls from the depths below.
“”And (We gave him – Solomon) certain of the jinn who worked before him by permission of his Lord. And such of them as deviated from Our command, them We caused to taste the punishment of flaming fire. They made for him what he willed: Synagogues and statues, basins like wells and boilers built into the ground”” (Saba 12-13).
““So We made the wind subservient unto him (Solomon), setting fair by His command whatever he intended. And the devils, every builder and diver (made We subservient), and others linked together in chains.”” (Saud 36-38)
Another verse in the Quran implies that they made Solomon a Castle of Glass [Quartz].
In preparation for the arrival of Bilqis, Prophet Sulayman (A) had ordered a palace of glass to be built. Under the glass floors, there was a pool of water with various kinds of fish swimming in it. When Bilqis arrived, he took her to the palace. The Holy Qur’an says:
“She was told, “Enter the palace.”; but when she saw it she thought there was a pool of water and bared her legs. (Sulayman) said, “Indeed this is but a place of glass.” (She) said, “My Lord! verily I have been unjust to myself. I submit with Sulayman to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” (Quran 27:44)
Likewise, the Pyramids and the wonders of Petra are plausibly all the work of the Jinn. We find much affiliation between the pharaohs and the jinn of that time in Egypt. I will write about this in detail, soon Insha’Allah.
Defying gravity
We can expect this ability from the above two characteristics. The jinn used to go to the lowest heaven to eavesdrop on the inhabitants of the heavens in order to find out what event would occur in the future. When the Prophet (saw) was sent his message the number of ‘guards’ in the heavens were increased. Allah says in the Quran,
‘And we have sought [to reach] the heaven but found it filled with powerful guards and burning flames.’
‘And we used to sit therein in positions for hearing, but whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.’
‘And we do not know [therefore] whether evil is intended for those on earth or whether their Lord intends for them a right course.’ (Al-Jinn: 8-10)
The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself described how the jinn tried to steal the messages in the heaven. Abu-Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) informed him, “When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels move their wings in submission to His word which is like a chain on a smooth stone.
When their hearts are delivered from fear they say, ‘What did your Lord say?’ and receive the reply, ‘That which He said is the truth and He is the Most High and the Most Great.’ Then those who listen by stealth hear it (i.e., the jinn), and they are like this, some above others (and Sufyan a narrator, illustrated this point by turning his hand over and separating the fingers). Then one who hears the word passes it on to the one below him, and so forth until one of them passes it to the tongue of a soothsayer or diviner.
Often a flame catches him before he is able to pass it on. He then mixes with it one hundred lies. People then ask, ‘Isn.t it true that he not made such a statement on a specific date,’ and he is believed because of that one word which was heard from the heavens.” (Recorded by al-Bukhari in his Sahih)
However, from the Hadith about the types of jinn, not all jinn can fly.
Possessing Bodies
Other than the above, Allah has given Jinn the ability to Possess matter in our 3D world. They have the power to possess parts of the human body, from possessing an organ to possessing the whole body/mind. They can possess a bird/animal and speak through its tongue, even possess stones and trees likewise. But they, however, cannot possess every human. I will discuss Jinn possession in detail soon Insha’Allah.
Visions & Illusions
Another of their abilities is controlling the Thoughts and Visions of a Human. Hallucination, Bad dreams are nothing but the work of Jinn – if not psychological.
Hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari:
“If one of you sees a dream that he likes, it is from Allah. He should praise Allah for it and he should relate it to others. If he sees what he dislikes, it is from Satan. He should seek refuge in Allah from it and not mention it to anyone. Thereby, it will not harm him.”
People have witnessed solid statues moving and speaking to them. However, they might appear static to others at the same time. From Surah Taha in the Quran, we come to know of the reality of such deceptions, those which the magicians display with the help of Jinn.
“[Moses] said, ‘No, you throw!’ Then lo! their cords and their staves, by their magic, appeared to him as though they ran” (at-Taha: 66)
Strong sense of Smell
Every human has a different composition of sweat, having a unique scent. Jinn are capable of following that. Magicians usually keep a piece of cloth/garment, belonging to the victim, with the CHARM/KEY. The Charm/Key acts as a portal & purpose for the jinn, and with it – the cloth/garment with the scent acts as an identity of the victim.
Jinn Possession
Jinn Possession. God has given Jinn the power to possess matter in our world. They can possess any part of a human, from an organ to possessing the whole body (or mind). They can possess birds/animals likewise. Such happenings are confirmed by many scholars and we find most of them in the majmo-al fatwa of Sheikh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taimiya.
Abdullah, the son of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said,
I said to my father, ‘Some people say that the jinn does not enter the body of the possessed’
He said, ‘Oh my son, they are lying. It is that which speaks by his tongue…’
Ibn Taimiya said,
‘What he [Ahmad] said is well-known. The possessed person speaks a language that he himself does not understand. And his body may be struck with a ferocious beating, such that it would leave a great mark on a camel. The possessed person does not perceive the strike nor does he perceive the words that he is speaking. The possessed may lift others heavier than him. He may pull out the carpet he is sitting upon… and other such things that have been witnessed and reported by reliable sources. He speaks with the tongue of the human and he moves with that body but he is a specie other than a human.’
And ibn Taimiya also wrote, ‘None of the leaders of the Muslims reject the notion that the jinn enters into the body of the possessed and others. Those who reject it and claim that the Islamic law states it to be false are stating a lie concerning Islamic law, as there is no proof therein that denies its occurrence.’
The Causes of being Possessed
“Lo! He [devils] has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. His [devils] power is only over those who make a friend of him, and those who ascribe partners unto him” (al-Nahl: 99-100)”
A best example of the above is a ‘Witch’. Witches rarely have children. Because of their agreement with the devil, the jinn will kill the fetus inside the witch’s body instantly. They have their souls bartered to the devil in return for their favors. Those who hope for children has to let go off their agreement. And Allah protects those who seek refuge with Him Alone.
Ibn Taimiya explained,
‘Possession of the human by the jinn can occur from desires, lusts, passions and zealousness in the same way that a human is in accord with another human…And it also occurs, and this is the majority case, due to hatred and revenge.’
He further adds
‘For example, one of the human harms a jinn or the jinn thinks that the human was trying to harm them by urinating on some jinn or throwing hot water on them or a human might kill a jinn, even though the human may not have realized that. Among the jinn is ignorance and wrongdoing and, therefore, they get revenge from humans above and beyond what is just. And it could occur from the horseplay or simply evil acts of the jinn in the same way the evil is done by the foolish of the humans.’
Other than this, if we look at the articles from the category of BlackMagic & Witchcraft, we find another major cause of possession – that is through Witchcraft. A witch may send a jinn to possess his/her victim, by force. It is however agonizing for the jinn to possess a human, yet he might be forced to do so by the Witches (Allah’s curse be upon them).
“Keep to forgiveness and enjoin kindness, and turn away from the ignorant. And if a slander from the devil wounds you, then seek refuge in Allah. Lo! He is Hearer, Knower”” (al-Araaf 199-200).
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