The Jinn

The Jinn - Based On The Qur'an

Allah SWT has enlightened us on the subject of Jinn through the seventy second Surah of the Holy Qur'an, Surah Al-Jinn, revealed late in Makkah as well as in various other verses of the Holy Qur'an.

The Holy Qur’an reveals that Jinnkind are created from fire whereas Humankind are created from clay. Although they are generally invisible to human eyes, the Jinn 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.

Allah SWT mentions in the Qur'an:

"I created jinnkind and mankind only that they may worship me." (Surah Al-Zariyat: Ayat 56)

And Allah SWT promises:

"Whosoever fears the standing before his Lord, for him there are two Paradises." (Surah Ar-Rahman: Ayat 46)

And Allah SWT mentions in the Qur'an:

"And among us ( the Jinnkind ) there are the righteous folk and among us there are (those who are) far from that; we are sects having different rules." (Surah Al-Jinn: Ayat 11)


The Jinn - Based On Ahadith

The Ahadith of Rasulullah SAW enlighten us further about the Jinnkind, and some of these are quoted below:

1. 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 Sa'eed Khudri RA, it is believed that a jinn came in the form of a gigantic serpent. It is narrated:

"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 (SAW) 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 Battle of Badr. 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 SAW, many jinns accepted the mission and message of the Holy Prophet SAW. They heard the Qur'an read by the Noble Prophet SAW while performing Fajr (Subuh) solat in a place called Ukaz and they also began to believe in the Prophet SAW. 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 also sects like Ahlus Sunnah, Qadianis, 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.

Mujahid, a student of Abdullah ibn Abbas RA says:

"After Ibn Abbas’s death, a shaytaan would constantly appear before me in the form of Ibn Abbas whenever I started solat. This got even worse that at times I was forced to break my solat. So I decided to confront him next time he appeared and so I hid a dagger in my pocket and started solat. 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."

Similarly, closer to modern times, the traditional scholar, Ashraf Ali Thanwi RA has narrated that:

“Once in the city of Kufah, 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

As mentioned above human beings are superior to Jinns and as such can eliminate contact and any harm caused by them, if we adopt the ways taught to us by our Holy Prophet SAW.

These are:

(a) To not stay in a state of impurity for a prolonged period.

(b) Perform solat five times daily.

(c) Constant rememberance of Allah through zikr (the heart of a zakir is alive whereas a non-zakir’s heart is dead).

(d) If confronted by a Jinn then recite "Auzu billah..." or "Lahawla wa la quwwata..." and the last two chapters of the Qur'an - Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Naas.

(e) Recite daily a few pages of Surah Al-Baqarah as shaytaan does not have the ability to enter a room in which Surah Al-Baqarah is read.