THE QUR'AN-FATIR (THE ANGELS) 35.6
Surely, Shaitan (Satan) is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy. He only invites his followers that they may become the dwellers of the blazing fire.
THE QUR'AN-AS-SAAFFAT (THE RANKS) 37.158
And they assert a relationship between him and the djinn; and certainly the djinn do know that they shall surely be brought up.
THE QUR'AN-FUSSILAT (THE EXPLANATION) 41.25, 29
[41.25] And We have appointed for them comrades so they have made fair-seeming to them what is before them and what is behind them, and the word proved true against them-among the nations of the djinn and the men that have passed away before them-that they shall surely be losers.
[41.29] And those who disbelieve will say: Our Lord! show us those who led us astray from among the djinn and the men that we may trample them under our feet so that they may be of the lowest.
THE QUR'AN-AZ-ZUKHRUF (ORNAMENTS OF GOLD, LUXURY) 43.62
It is only Shaitan (Satan) that suggests to you the fear of his supporters and friends so fear them not, but fear me, if you are believers. And let not Shaitan hinder you, verily, he (Satan or Iblis) to you is a plain enemy.
THE QUR'AN-AL-AHQAF (THE DUNES) 46.18, 29
[46.18] These are they against whom the word has proved true among nations of the djinn and the men that have already passed away before them; surely they are losers.
[46.29] And when We turned towards you a party of the djinn who listened to the Qur'an; so when they came to it, they said: Be silent; then when it was finished, they turned back to their people warning them.
THE QUR'AN-AZ-DHARIYAT (THE WINDS) 51-56
And I (Allah) created not the djinn and humans except they should worship me alone.
THE QUR'AN-AR-RAHMAN (THE BENEFIT) 55.15, 33, 39, 56, 74
[55.15] And he created the djinn of a flame of fire.
[55.33] 0 assembly of the djinn and the men! If you are able to pass through the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass through; you cannot pass through but with authority.
[55.39] So on that day neither man nor djinni shall be asked about his sin.
[55.56] In them shall be those who restrained their eyes; before them neither man nor djinni shall have touched them.
[55.74] Man has not touched them before them nor djinn.
THE QUR'AN-AN-NAS (MANKIND) 114.4
From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws. Who whispers in the breasts of mankind, "Of djinn and men?"
Comments: Once again we see how evil, powerful djinn influence humans by whispering in the ears. This characteristic has been ascribed to many other kinds of spirits throughout history. For example, the ancient Greeks believed in daimones ("divine beings"), a type of intelligence or attending spirit. The daimones ranged from good to neutral to bad, and attempted to persuade people to various actions good and bad. Daimones appear in the works of numerous Greek philosophers. Socrates said he had a good daimon (an agathodaimon) who whispered in one ear and a bad daimon (a kakodaimon) who whispered in the other. Plutarch described the daimones as living for centuries, and possessing thoughts so intense in vibration that they could be heard by other spiritual beings and sensitive humans. Spirits whispering in the ear is one of the most common reported paranormal experiences today.
Hadith
As mentioned earlier, the Sahih al-Bukhari is one of the six canonical hadith collections of Sunni Islam, collected by the Muslim scholar Muhammad Ibn Ismail al-Bukhari (810-870). Most Sunni Muslims consider the Sahih al-Bukhari as the most authentic book after the Qur'an. The djinn are mentioned in these writings, and evil djinn are referred to as "devils." Other hadith are quoted as well, including the Al-Muwatta, Sahih Muslim, and the Sunan AbuDawud.
HADITH-SAHIH BUKHARI 4.533
The Prophet said, "Cover your utensils and tie your water skins, and close your doors and keep your children close to you at night, as the djinn spread out at such time and snatch things away. When you go to bed, put out your lights, for the mischief-doer may drag away the wick of the candle and burn the dwellers of the house."
HADITH-AL-MUWATTA 51.10
Yahya related to me from Malik that Yahya Ibn Said, "When the Messenger of Allah was taken on the night journey, and he saw an evil djinni seeking him with a torch of fire. Whenever the Messenger of Allah turned, he saw him. Jibril (the Archangel Gabriel) said to him, `Shall I teach you some words to say? When you say them, his torch will be put out and will fall from him.' The Messenger of Allah said, `Yes, indeed.' Jibril said, `Say, `I seek refuge with the Face of Allah and with the complete words of Allah which neither the good person nor the corrupt can exceed, from the evil of what descends from the sky and the evil of what ascends in it, and from the evil of what is created in the earth and the evil of what comes out of it, and from the trials of the night and day, and from the visitations of the night and day, except for one that knocks with good, 0 Merciful!"
HADITH-AL-MUWATTA 54.33
The snake stirred on the end of the spear and the youth fell dead. No one knew which of them died first, the snake or the youth. That was mentioned to the Messenger of Allah said, "There are djinn in Madina who have become Muslim. When you see one of them, call out to it for three days. If it appears after that, then kill it, for it is a shaitan."
Comment: This is an interesting passage, for it says that there are good djinn and one should leave them alone and live in peace with them, but beware of the evil djinn. This passage gives instructions on how to tell them apart.
HADITH-AL-TIRMIDHI 350
Allah's Messenger said: Don't cleanse yourself with dung or with bones for that is the food of your brothers from amongst the djinn.
Comment: Once again, the djinn are called the "brothers" of mankind.
HADITH-AL-TIRMIDHI 358
Allah's Messenger said: The screen between the eyes of djinn and the private parts of the sons of Adam as one of them enters the privy is that he should say: In the name of Allah.
HADITH-SAHIH MUSLIM 39.6757
Allah's Apostle said: There is none amongst you with who is not an attache from amongst the djinn. They said: Allah's Apostle with you too? Thereupon he said: Yes, but Allah helps me against him and so I am safe from his hand and he does not command me but for good.
HADITH-SUNAN ABU-DAWUD 36.5236
Muhammad Ibn AbuYahya said that his father told that he and his companion went to AbuSa id al-Khudri to pay a sick visit to him. He said: Then we came out from him and met a companion of ours who wanted to go to him. We went ahead and sat in the mosque. He then came back and told us that he heard AbuSa id al-Khudri say: The Apostle of Allah said: Some snakes are djinn; so when anyone sees one of them in his house, he should give it a warning three times. If it return (after that), he should kill it, for it is a devil.
If Djinn Are Real, Why Are They Not Mentioned in the Bible?
This is a question that comes up over and over again. There are other types of beings mentioned in the Christian Bible who are not humans or angels. In several translated verses of the Old Persian Bible, the words jinn, jaann, and Iblis are mentioned as the names of the devil and demons. In Cornelius Van Allen Van Dyck's Arabic translation of the Bible, these specific words are mentioned in Leviticus 19:31 and 20:6, Matthew 4:1 and 12:22, Luke 4:5 and 8:12, and John 8:44.
More modern translations-there are dozens in use today-use different terminology. Here are the above verses in the King James Bible, the predominant text used until the mid-twentieth century, and the New American Standard translation made in 1995:
LEVITICUS 19:31
King James-"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God."
New American Standard-"Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God."
LEVITICUS 2o:6
King James-"And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whori
ng after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people."
New American Standard-"As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."
MATTHEW 4:I
King James-"Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."
New American Standard-"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."
MATTHEW I2:22
King James-"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw."
New American Standard-"Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw."
LUKE 4:5
King James-"And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, shewed [showed] unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time."
New American Standard-'And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time."
LUKE 8:I2
King James-"Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."
New American Standard-"Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved."
JOHN 8:44
King James-"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
New American Standard-"You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
So, it seems that the term jinn does appear indirectly in the Christian bible, but due to the many interpretations and translations over the years the words djinn, jinn, and Iblis were replaced by devils, demons, and familiar spirits. Perhaps the devils and demons of Christianity are really evil members of the ancient race of djinn.
T'S A DIFFICULT TASK To research and obtain information about a race of beings that prefers to remain hidden from us. For the most part, all we have are stories and legends that have been handed down through generations. Most of the information in this chapter comes from information obtained from Phil's trips to several Middle Eastern countries. Information he gathered was in the form of written legends, passages from the Qur'an, and stories from holy men and families he met. Later, we found additional data in a number of books and papers written by Muslim scholars. These references appear in the bibliography.
The djinn are much older than the human race but exactly how much older is unknown. However, if they were around before Adam, the time period from their creation to the present day could be millions of years. A being that could exist for hundreds of centuries could accumulate a great deal of knowledge about the universe and be very powerful. As you might expect, in their long life spans, they have developed a complex society and have evolved with a great deal of diversity.
When compared to a human, a djinni's life span is very long. A person in good health may live to be eighty years old. We consider this age quite elderly, but a djinni of this age is yet a toddler. In a person's life span, an individual learns at his or her own pace. This rhythm is determined not only by the individual's interest level, but also by his or her goals, spiritual development, and intelligence.
Just like their human counterparts, djinn are born with free will and have very little knowledge and power. Humans attend school to learn more about their world, how to function within it, and how to contribute to society. The djinn do the same. The big difference is that a human child may have sixteen years or so of direct schooling, while djinn juveniles may be in training for thousands of years before they can graduate to a higher level.
People mistakenly tend to place all djinn in a single category, assuming all act with a single purpose, controlled by one mentality. This is far from the case; each djinni is an individual, just as is a person. Although djinn are subject to the same laws and morals as humans operating within a social construct, there are renegades who choose to not follow rules. The information the human race has about the djinn not only comes from historical writings and stories, but from djinn who like to talk excessively, another way information about them filters through the dimensions.
Individual djinn react differently to human presence. There are djinn who are harmless and feel indifference toward us and there are djinn who interact with humans, but benignly. Many of the younger djinn are just as curious about us as we are about them and it is in this type of encounter in which a juvenile djinni will take on a different form, such as an animal, fairy, or other type of entity that would surely get our attention and at the same time, conceal its true nature. Shapeshifting appears to be the only way these "youngsters" can get close enough to study us. On a similar note, younger djinn seem to be more attracted to children than adults and will often appear before them in one of the forms mentioned above. They may also stay invisible and communicate using only a disembodied voice. We use the term "youngster" here, but please realize that although the human child may be six years old, the djinn child is most likely thousands of years old.
Some of the very old and powerful djinn have interacted with humans in the past, but they seem to have their own agendas for the most part. A few of these powerful djinn have been sealed in prisons by angels, and in some cases, by King Solomon himself. Although these djinn are not necessarily evil, they have acquired dangerous amounts of power and are unpredictable. They have the free will to act out and may some day pose a threat to humanity. In old Arabian stories, it is this type of djinni that is freed from imprisonment. As the story often goes, the djinni is so grateful that it (usually a "he") grants its human liberator three wishes. After the three wishes are fulfilled the djinni goes on his way, completely free. However, the story doesn't always turn out well for the people involved. The centuries-long imprisonment often makes the djinni resentful, angry, and even psychotic. When finally released from his prison, the djinni sometimes takes his anger out on the human who set him free and then continues to exact revenge on all creatures he blames for his long period of captivity-the human race being enemy number one.
The Thief of Baghdad was a popular movie made in 1940 that features a bitter, angry djinni.l The hero of the film is a boy named Abu who finds a strange bottle washed ashore on a beach. The bottle is old, made of brass and glass, and the top is sealed.2 Abu breaks the seal and out of the neck of the bottle shoots thick black smoke. The smoke takes the form of a powerful, giant djinni who has been imprisoned in the bottle for more than two thousand years. Recognizing the figure as a djinni, the boy commands him to do his bidding. The djinni answers him with a thundering "NO!" Abu reminds the djinni that he set him free, and according to the will of the king who imprisoned him (King Solomon), the djinni must grant him three wishes. The djinni replies, "For two thousand years I have been in the bottle, imprisoned by the great Solomon himself, master of all djinn. For the first thousand, I vowed that I would serve in gratitude and grant three wishes to any man who freed me, but in the second thousand years, I became angry at all men and vowed to destroy he who set me free to appease my anger, so prepare to die!"
The djinni attempts to crush Abu with his giant foot, and right before he squishes him, the boy calls out to him, saying he is a liar. The djinni pauses and answers, "What do you mean? Take care what you say to me!" Abu says that he doesn't believe the djinni came from the bottle since it is so small and he is so large. They argue, and the djinni proves he was
in the bottle by turning himself back into smoke and reentering it, promising that after he proves his point, he will kill Abu. When the djinni is completely in the bottle, Abu quickly reseals the bottle and raises his arm to throw it back out to sea. The djinni pleads with the young man to set him free again. From inside the bottle, he promises not to kill him and will indeed grant him three wishes. He gives his word in the name of the most powerful (Allah), so Abu cautiously opens the bottle. The djinni resumes his giant form and bows down before the boy.
The rest of the story revolves around the three wishes, two of which Abu blunders. After the third wish is granted, the djinni lets out a thunderous roar, "FREE AT LAST!" and flies up into the sky to rejoin his clan in the djinn world.
Though the above film was created for the silver screen, Middle Eastern lore also has many stories of fishermen who dredge up mysterious sealed bottles in their nets. The fishermen usually quickly throw the bottles back into the water without opening them, since they fear that bottles may be prisons confining nasty djinn.
Organization
Now that we have a basic introduction to the djinn psyche, let's explore their society.
Djinn Families
Djinn have families much like humans; however, their immediate family unit is small-usually one child for each set of djinn parents. According to what we discovered, the djinn are able to procreate only once in their lifetime, and male and female djinn can produce only one offspring. As a result, their population is slowly dwindling, and their numbers will diminish. Although this may seem unfair, Islamic teachers will tell you it is the will of Allah and that humans and djinn may not understand this grand plan, but it most likely is the way things are meant to unfold.
It is clear in the Qur'an and some written works of Persian origin that mankind is the second race in the universe, the successors of the djinn. We discussed djinn life spans earlier, and want to relate those points here to progeny: since human life spans are relatively short and prone to disease, we need to have multiple offspring in order to survive as a species.
The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies Page 7
