The usual approach of paranormal groups is to bring in a psychic or a priest who declares that the house is haunted by a demon or an elemental, a type of low-level spirit that exists in nature. Religious exorcism rituals, blessings and prayers are performed. The paranormal activity diminishes or ceases-but not for long. Eventually it returns. Weeks, months, even years may pass before it does. Meanwhile, if the house changes ownership, the sensitivity to the phenomena varies. Some people are more vulnerable than others.
Some of these cases may indeed be caused by infesting demons, but in persistent cases, the occupying entity may be a djinni. The house may sit in a portal area, which is not likely to close, especially upon the religious commands of people. Dealing with djinn has little to do with "good" people versus "evil" spirits. Rather, the conflict is racial: humans versus djinn.
In Closing
We believe there are many places all over the planet where djinn have a strong presence. We are re-evaluating cases in our files, and we find many that fit a djinn profile. In some cases, djinn may create mild haunting phenomena, and in others, they may make life quite miserable for humans. Conventional exorcisms against demons, "elementals" and ghosts will not work on them, for they are far more powerful than humans. If they retreat, it is at their own volition. For example, a djinni can masquerade as a demon or any other kind of entity and pretend to be exorcized-just to go into hiding and reappear at a later time. Perhaps this might explain some of the more resistant possession cases.
Some djinn are not interested in peaceful coexistence. As an analogy, if your home is invaded by ants or rodents, you do not care how "nice" the invaders think they are, or that they want to share space with you-you want them out. This attitude is how many djinn regard humans-as pests. A frequent refrain in negative hauntings is an entity's warning-"Get out!" When the djinn say it, they mean it!
ONJURATION IS TRICKY BUSINESS. REGARDLESS of a spirit's type and nature-good, bad, or indifferent-all are difficult to summon and even more difficult to control. If a ritual is not executed properly, or the summoner lacks the proper power, a spirit may wreak havoc, including damaging or draining the summoner's physical and mental health.
The djinn are no different than other spirits and entities when it comes to being summoned. As they have free will, calling upon a djinni can be very dangerous; just how it will react to the conjurer is anyone's guess. Like humans, djinn have their own rules that govern their behavior. In most cases, a djinni will ignore anyone trying to call upon it unless it has something to gain in return. Djinn also have been conjured to manipulate, possess, and do harm to others. This can be a dangerous prospect, because like us, not all djinn are good-some are evil, and a small number are downright psychotic.
The Prophet Muhammad was able to call upon the djinn, and when he did, they challenged his claim that he was the chosen prophet of Allah. In every version of the story, Muhammad is able to control the djinn and convince them he is indeed the Prophet, resulting in the djinn converting to Islam. Of the many stories told, the most popular and our favorite appears below.
The Prophet Muhammad's Contact with Djinn
It is stated by Imam Baihaqi in Dala'il-al-Nubuwaat that the Prophet Muhammad once said to his companions in Mecca, "Whosoever from amongst you desires to see the djinn, he should come to me tonight."' One of his followers, Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Masood, was the only one who came that night, for all others were fearful of the djinn. The Prophet took him to a high hill in Mecca on a clear, moonless night. Muhammad drew a circle and told Ibn Masood that no matter what happened, he was to remain seated and motionless within its confines. Hadhrat Abdullah Ibn Masood sat within the circle and began reciting the Qur'an. Suddenly, a large number of djinn appeared out of smoke and encircled Muhammad, who was outside the circle. The djinn seemed to be creating a barrier around the prophet, captivating him.
Ibn Masood heard the djinn say to Muhammad, "Who gives evidence that you are the Prophet?"
Muhammad pointed to a nearby tree and said, "Will you accept my claim if this tree gives the evidence?"
The leader of the group of djinn said, "Yes, we shall accept it."
On that, the Prophet called the tree and it moved toward the djinn. This gave evidence to the group of djinn that Muhammad was indeed the prophet chosen by Allah. The djinn were so im pressed that they gave praise to Allah and his prophet and converted to Islam.
How did Muhammad know to place his companions within a circle for protection? Perhaps he was familiar with the concept of a magic circle. Circles have had a magical, protective significance since ancient times, when they were drawn around the beds of sick persons and mothers who had just given birth to protect them against demons. If a person summons spirits, a magic circle protects him against any negative influences, and creates a symbolic barrier against his own lower nature.
The story about Muhammad provides no clues as to whether or not he used any magical symbols or rituals in casting the circle, such as found in the magical lore attributed to King Solomon.
Solomon's Control over the Djinn
Ever since the days when King Solomon forced the djinn into slave labor, individuals have sought to harness their supernatural powers, usually for acquiring secret knowledge, power, the ability to tell the future, procurement of love, and riches and treasure.
Solomon used a power granted him by God, a dominion which was to be given to no one after him. His power was channeled through a magical ring that nullified the djinn's ability to resist him. That legendary ring has vanished into the mists of time, but in its place are numerous manuals of magic, some said to be written by Solomon himself. In the Western magical tradition, these handbooks came to be known as "grimoires," and supposedly they were available only to the initiated. As with anything supposed to be "forbidden" or "secret," however, they found their way into the masses. Many claimed roots of antiquity and lineages going back directly to Solomon, but most of the principal ones were written in Europe (especially France) in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries during a period of renewed interest in magic. They are heavily derivative of Hebrew magical lore, as well as Egyptian, Hellenistic, and Greek magical texts.'
The most famous and oldest text attributed to Solomon is the Key of Solomon, also called the Greater Key of Solomon. The manual contains incantations and instructions for summoning djinn, (called demons in Western translations). According to lore, Solomon wrote all of his magical secrets in this book, and ordered that upon his death it be sealed in an ivory casket and placed in his tomb. Some time later, his tomb was opened and the casket and book were discovered.'
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus referenced such a book in the first century CE, but it's not clear whether he was referring to this grimoire or to the Testament of Solomon, which tells the stories of Solomon's djinn subjugation:
God enabled Solomon to learn the skill which expels demons, which is a science useful and sanitative to men. He composed incantations also by which distempers are alleviated. And he left behind him the manner of using exorcisms, by which demons are driven away, so that they never return.'
The Key probably was written by one or more anonymous authors; it circulated as a magical text in Europe from about 1100 on, the earliest date of a known manuscript.
Another Solomonic magical text is the Lesser Key of Solomon, also called the Lemegeton, a term of unknown meaning. Although it, too, claimed a direct lineage from Solomon, it probably was written in stages by different anonymous authors from the sixteenth cen tury on. It is derivative of the Testament of Solomon and the book of Enoch, as well as the Key. The Lemegeton has four parts; the Ars Goetia describes the 72 "fallen angels" Solomon evoked and how they can be conjured. Whether or not the entities are actually fallen angels, djinn, or something else remains uncertain.
In Islamic belief, the books of magic attributed to Solomon are lies the djinn invented, in an attempt to make Solomon come off as a sorcerer-a disbeliever. After his death, the djinn wr
ote books of magic and disbelief and placed them beneath Solomon's throne, claiming they were the texts he had used to subjugate them. The djinn then spread the lies throughout humanity, fooling people into thinking they could learn genuine magical secrets.
Summoning the Djinn
Another Western text of interest in relation to summoning djinn is The Black Pullet, probably written in France or elsewhere in Europe in the late eighteenth century. It is one of the few grimoires that does not claim to be ancient-but it does feature the djinn, though they are not called by that name. It evokes the Solomonic legend, centering on the use of talismanic rings and inscribed circles as the channels of magical power.
According to the legend told in The Black Pullet, the magical secrets were discovered by an anonymous soldier in Napoleon's army sent to Egypt. Near the pyramids in Cairo, he and several companions were attacked by Arab soldiers. All but him were killed, and he was left for dead. By sunset he feared he too would soon expire-but suddenly a stone rolled back in the Great Pyramid and a turbaned Turk came out. The Turk took the solider inside, where there were vast halls, huge galleries, subterranean chambers, and piles of treasures, all ministered by spirits (we may assume them to be djinn). The attendant to the Turk was a djinn (also called a spirit in the text) named Odous.
After the soldier recovered his health, the Turk took him into his confidence. All the riches in the pyramid were the product of eighty years of occult and magical practice, which the Turk wished to pass on to the soldier, as he was nearing death himself. To demonstrate his power, the Turk showed him a magical ring. He blew on it three times and said an incantation. Attendant spirits (djinn) and whatever else the Turk wished appeared. He manifested a sumptuous feast of fine food and wine in this manner.
The Turk showed the soldier The Black Pullet, described as like a version of the Arabian folk tale Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp, but with an extra inner spiritual meaning. The text told how to acquire magical power with twenty-two talismans embroidered on silk and etched on rings made of bronzed steel. The Turk said he was the only one who possessed this knowledge. He guided the soldier through all twenty-two talismans. At the end, he summoned Odous to bind him over to the soldier. Odous, the soldier reported, appeared as "a young man of the most beautiful stature; the remainder of his person shone with all the charms, and on the summit of his head shone a flame of which my eyes could not sustain the brilliance."5 (From this description, it is easy to see how this entity might be interpreted as an angel or guardian spirit.)
The Turk had another gift for the soldier in addition to the magical manual: a black hen ("pullet" coming from the French term for chicken, poulet) trained to find gold. In fact, a ritual to create a "gold-finding hen" was one of the most important parts of The Black Pullet.
After being taught the secrets, the soldier lost consciousness. The Turk died and was cremated, and Odous became the soldier's dedicated servant. They departed for Europe, taking the book, the Turk's ashes, the black hen, and the piles of treasure. In France, the soldier published the book. He used the black hen to find great hidden riches.
The connections of these Western magical ritual guides to the djinn are quite clear: the claims to a Solomonic heritage, the djinnilike servants, the evoking of the Arabian lore of wish-granting djinni, and the lure of great treasure, one of the specialties of the djinn. The entities in the Western grimoires may be called spirits, demons, fallen angels, or angels, but the djinn lurk behind them. Material from the various grimoires has found its way into many books and texts on magic, mixing in some cases with Christianized material. Magical rituals continue to be reinterpreted in modern times, with additions from modern Paganism and even shamanic traditions. The result is that origins become increasingly obscuresomething the djinn would appreciate and encourage in order to mask their presence.
Some Western rituals have been specifically adapted from Middle Eastern sources to conjure djinn, not "demons" or "spirits." Many in the Islamic world disapprove of westerners meddling with djinn, believing that non-believers (infidels) do not have the right-or the proper knowledge-for doing so.
Middle Eastern texts and rituals for summoning the djinn have existed for centuries and are still available for use in modern times. Muslims may not think others have the "right" to engage the djinn, but the djinn pre-date Islam, and they are, in some form or another, everywhere.
Some djinn-conjuring rituals are taught orally, and others are written in magical handbooks. Like Western grimoires, djinn magical manuals are for sale everywhere, in marketplaces and on the Internet. One can even buy rings, pendants, and bottles allegedly holding djinn who are waiting to be released in order to grant wishes; it is more than likely many of these objects have little or no value.
Some djinn rituals that have made their way to the West come from the Sufi tradition. The djinn can be conjured in various ways: through child mediumship; through mental clairvoyance and dreams; and through manifestation in mirrors, water, and other objects.' Gazing into a reflective surface such as a mirror is called "scrying" in the Western tradition, and is a time-honored method of remote viewing, seeing into the future, and getting spirits to manifest. The Book of 1001 Nights also tells how to summon djinn.
Like demons, djinn are difficult to summon and control. According to lore, their natural form is hideous and few people can tolerate it, so God decreed that when they appear to people, they must morph into a more pleasing human or animal form. We have noted that two of the favored animal forms of the djinn are a black dog and a snake. Once summoned, the djinn must be bound to the practitioner, which may be accomplished through binding into an object such as a bottle. For example, The Book of 1001 Nights tells of inscribing the name of God in Hebrew on a knife, and drawing magical symbols with incantations written around them. Similarly, a tradition exists in Western magic of capturing small demons called imps into rings, vessels, and other objects. The imps are summoned out to do the bidding of the practitioner, a magician or a witch.'
Justification for Summoning the Djinn
Islam considers it acceptable to call up the djinn in order to educate them on Islam and convince them to convert and worship Allah. Asking the djinn to attack others or aid humans in committing sins and disobedience, however, is forbidden. For the most part, it is believed that consorting with djinn leads to trouble, and should not be undertaken. The medieval Islamic scholar Ibn Taymeeyah (1263-1328) regarded the djinn as "ignorant, untruthful, oppressive, and treacherous."8 Djinn, he said, will lie to their summoners and will not necessarily do as commanded. If they are ordered to harm a person or a djinni whom they hold in high regard, they will ignore the command: "Neither the one chanting incantations nor his incantations have any power to force the devils to help them."9 Furthermore, djinn are fond of creating illusions, appearing in visions and speaking in voices that conform to a conjurer's expectations. They are the ultimate deceivers, masquerading as other spirits such as angels and even religious figures. From that perspective, Christian visions of saints and the Virgin Mary could be djinn illusions-a view the Christian faithful would vehemently reject.10
Sheikhs (religious authorities) have the knowledge and skills for summoning and controlling djinn-but any one sheikh may not be able to control all djinn. Some learn their skills in a shamanic fashion, through healing themselves in an initiatory illness, in which they identify the djinni responsible and expel it from their bodies.
Islamic sorcerers (male and female) are said to traffic with evil djinn, the children of Iblis. They use "red magic" to summon them for such tasks as fortune-telling and procuring love and money, and they use "black magic" to summon them for evil purposes such as harming people through the evil eye, illness, misfortune, and even murder. Witches use djinn to "tie" spells, and also consult djinn for untying spells cast by other witches.
Some of the rituals for conjuring djinn are simple, and some, like Western magical rituals, are quite complex, involving fasting, meditation, supplications, a
nd incantations over long periods of time, such as forty days. Any break in the ritual dooms it to failure.
One method of djinn summoning involves a combination of the Qur'an and a magical text. The text has incantations for summoning djinni in a progressive manner, from weakest to most powerful. The Qur'an is read in conjunction with the summoning. The practitioner begins with the weakest djinni. If that djinni can be subdued and bound, the practitioner moves on to the next higher djinni. He keeps going until he reaches a djinni too powerful for him to bind, and then he moves back to the previous and last djinni he was able to bind. This is the one he will work with."
A Dangerous Game
The risks of djinn conjuring are substantial, even if the practitioner intends to only work with a "good" djinni for a purpose such as healing. The same risks apply to any magical practice involving any type or pantheon of entities. A spirit invited to enter the energy space of a human being has the potential for takeover, a prospect that includes insanity and possession. Inexperienced practitioners can quickly find themselves in deep trouble, and may have difficulty finding someone with skills powerful enough to banish a djinni who has attached to a person.12
Dealing with and conjuring one's qarin, the djinni companion assigned at birth, is dangerous and risky, as it is with most other djinn. Trying to command or enslave the qarin can jeopardize one's health or even one's life, according to lore. If a qarin becomes problematic by exerting too much negative influence over a person, relief may be sought from a professional to perform a banishing ritual, but this, too, is considered a risky undertaking. If the ritual is not successful, the qarin may become vindictive and cause more problems.
It is possible to summon djinn with little effort, which can land a person in trouble. Even talking about djinn can summon them, and so one must speak of them in whispers or refer to them with euphemisms, such as "them" and "those other people." According to Turkish beliefs, green djinn are easy to summon because they are very curious about us and will take any opportunities to get closer. The different forms a green djinn can take will depend on its age and experience. If their motive is harmless contact or curiosity, they may take on a number of forms pleasing to the human eye and to hide their true nature. However, if a djinni is angry or annoyed at a person, it may take on a very hideous appearance that would terrify even the bravest.
The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies Page 19
