Exorcism is not only rightful, but obligatory, part of one's duty to aid the oppressed, fight evil, and promote righteousness. Muhammad said that those who aid others will be rewarded on the Day of Resurrection. The duty to alleviate suffering extends to both humans and djinn. Some modern scholars dispute the reality of djinn possession, but traditionalists point to the Qur'an, hadith literature, and the anecdotal record as evidence that possessions have indeed occurred throughout history and continue to plague people in modern times. It is not permissible to abandon or decline to treat a person who is possessed if someone has the ability and time to do so. Exorcism, said the Qur'anic scholar Ibn Tameeyah, "is the most noble of deeds. It is among the deeds performed by the prophets and the righteous who have continually repelled the devils from mankind using what has been commanded by Allah and His Messenger."2 Aid should be rendered in only the same way that Muhammad and his companions acted. Whatever actions are allowed concerning humans are allowed concerning djinn.
Djinn have been ordered to worship Allah, according to Islamic law.' Possession without the consent of the human is a grave of fense against God and is forbidden-but djinn do it anyway. They must be informed that they do not have the right to occupy a human body-or home, for that matter-without consent. If a djinni has possessed a person out of lust, it must be so informed that it has committed a forbidden act. If it possesses a person who has accidentally harmed a djinni, it must be told that the person acted out of ignorance and with no intent to harm.
If the djinn do not cease after being warned, it is permissible to punish them. A person can summon one djinni to banish or kill another who is causing possession-but whether or not they obey such commands is questionable.
Taking Refuge in the Qur'an
The most reliable and permissible ways of exorcizing or repelling djinn involve reciting certain verses from the Qur'an. All of the verses of the Qur'an are considered the will of Allah, and create a structure and order to daily life. The words are powerful, and if recited with deep faith, have a great positive effect. In relation to djinn, certain verses will chase them away and purify any environment. Angels listen to the words as well, and can be called upon for help.
Qur'anic verses considered especially effective against the djinn and their whisperings in the ear are the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn and the Al-Kursi. The Al-Mu'awwidhatayn are the last two chapters of the Qur'an, Al-Falaq (The Dawn) and An-Nas (Mankind), 113 and 114, respectively:
The Al-Kursi (The Footstool or The Throne) is verse 255 from the second surah of the Qur'an, Al-Baqarah (The Cow). It is considered to be highly effective in warding off djinn and countering their evil spells, as well as exorcizing them from the possessed. It also nullifies illusions caused by the djinn, devil-aided supernatural feats, and the erroneous thinking and acts of musicians, tyrants and the lecherous and lustful:
According to hadith literature, the Al-Kursi recommendation came from a djinni. The Sahih al-Bukhari tells a story of a man whom Muhammad put in charge of the food collected for charity at the end of Ramadan. One night, the man caught a stranger rummaging through the food. The stranger said he was in great need because he was poor and had a family. The man let the stranger go. When informed, Muhammad said the stranger was a liar and would return. Sure enough, he did, and once again begged off on claims of poverty, promising he would not return. The man let him go. Muhammad repeated that the stranger was a liar and would return. On the next night, the stranger came back and the man grabbed him. This time, the stranger said that in exchange for letting him go, he would give him some words that would prevent Satan from approaching during sleep at night. It was the Al-Kursi. Muhammad told the man that the stranger told the truth, but revealed his identity as an "evil djinni."4
Reading the entire chapter of Al-Baqarah at night is good for keeping evil djinn away and for banishing a troublesome qarin. Muhammad said, "Everything has a hump and the Qur'an's hump is surah al-Baqarah. Satan will not enter the house of whoever reads it at night for three days."5
Another accepted practice is to read just the last two verses (285 and 286) of Al-Baqarah for three consecutive nights:
The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. They say, "We make no distinction between one another of His Messen- gers"-and they say, "We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your Forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all)."
Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us Forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Matron (Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people."
Invoking the name of Allah and cursing is another tactic. Muhammad repelled Iblis once when the djinni attempted to interfere with his prayer. Iblis thrust a fiery torch in his face, and Muhammad said three times, "I seek refuge in Allah from you" and then three times, "I curse you by Allah's perfect curse."6 But Iblis did not back off, so Muhammad grabbed hold of him and choked him, and could feel the coldness of the djinni's spittle on his hands. Had it not been for Solomon's prayer, Muhammad said, he would have tied Iblis to a post as a public spectacle.' Allah forced the djinni away. This incident established the precedent for evoking Allah's curse against offending djinn.
"I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan" is recited prior to reading the Qur'an and serves as a general protection from the influences of evil. There are ninety-nine "beautiful names" of Allah that can be invoked. Each name has an angel servant. Some believe there are both a djinni and an angel who attend each name. Repeating a name with enough faith can make its servant appear. If a person is pure, the angel comes; if not, the djinni comes.'
Possessing djinn should be urged to convert to Islam. As we noted earlier, djinn who say they will convert or have converted often lie, and repeatedly possess people. In 1987, a possession case of a Muslim woman in Riyadh made international news. The offending djinni had supposedly already converted to Islam, but possessed the woman anyway. The exorcist reminded the djinni that it was committing a sin, and it replied (through the female victim but in a male voice) that it was a Buddhist djinni from India. The exorcist cajoled and shamed the djinni into converting to Islam, and to agreeing to preach conversion to its own people. It departed the woman, who remained free of possession for at least two months, at the last report. Whether or not the deceitful djinni possessed anyone else, or fulfilled its promise to proselytize to other djinn, is not known.'
Beating the Djinn Out of a Body
If Qur'anic recitations, orders, cajoling, and cursing have no effect on djinn, tradition holds that it is permissible to threaten them with beating and strike them by actually beating the victim. It is believed that only the djinni, and not the victim, feels any pain from the blows. If the victim screams, it is really the djinni screaming in agony. Hundreds of blows may be necessary to drive a djinni from a person's body-which supposedly will show no signs of the beating.")
Muhammad used beatings to exorcize djinn. He struck one possessed boy with great force, and then wiped his face with water and said a prayer over him. The exorcism was successful.
The Power of Breath
In esoteric lore, breath has supernatural or mystical power, either for good or for bad. Breath transmits power-and can also deplete the life force.
Muhammad once used the sacred power of his breath to expel djinn. He blew three times into the mouth of a possessed boy and said, "In the name of Allah, I am a slave of Allah, be driven away, oh enemy of Allah." The boy was healed.' 1
Popular Exorcisms
In addition to the official religious ways of dealing with djinn, there are myriads of folk rem
edies. Books offering help to counter djinn oppression and possession, witchcraft, and the evil eye are popular in marketplaces. The books' rituals are often complicated, and readers mix them with folklore they have learned from their own families, usually their mothers. It is usually advised to keep these books hidden away.
Some of the lore in these books is undoubtedly derived from Solomonic tradition. Flavius Josephus said Solomon left behind exorcism techniques that others successfully used. He himself witnessed such an exorcist, named Eleazar, who expelled a demon in a demonstration to the Roman Emperor Vespasian, his sons, military captains, and troops:
He put a ring that had a foot of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantations which he composed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon was shown very manifestly: for which reason it is, that all men may know the vastness of Solomon's abilities, and how he was beloved of God, and that the extraordinary virtues of every kind with which this king was endowed may not be unknown to any people under the
An example of a folk remedy for possession comes from folk tales such as found in The Book of 1001 Nights:
Take seven hairs out of the tail of a cat that is all black except for a white spot on the end of its tail. Burn the hairs in a small closed room with the possessed victim, filling their nose with the scent. This releases them from the spell of the djinn.13
The simplest djinn repellent, also acceptable from a religious perspective, is to say the word bismillah (sometimes spelled basmala, "in the name of Allah" or "In the name of God the Compassionate and Merciful"). For example, one should not say that Satan must be degraded, for it will have the opposite effect of enabling him to become as big as a house. Instead one should say bismillah, which will reduce him to the size of a fly.14
In the 1950s, a surveyor for an oil company in Saudi Arabia was in a remote part of the desert. He drove a surveying stake into the sand and accidentally hit a djinni who lived underground. That night after he went to bed in his tent, invisible djinn attacked him. They bound his hands with invisible ties. He felt an intense burning in his wrists and was unable to move his arms. He was unable to speak. Others in camp heard a strange voice shout, "You have attacked us, you must be punished!" but they could not see anyone.
The surveyor was flown to a hospital. Doctors were able to stop the burning pain, but they could not restore his ability to speak. They sent him home. His wife cared for him, but his condition did not improve. Finally, she took him to see a mutawwa (religious man) who was famous for his djinn exorcisms. The mutawwa determined that the surveyor was possessed by several djinn, who told him how one of their kind must have been injured by the surveyor's stake. The mutawwa read the Qur'an over the man, and the djinn agreed to depart. When they did, the pain left the man and he could speak again. Prevailing wisdom held that his possession could have been avoided if he had said the bismillah before he drove the stake into the ground."
Another case in which the bismillah could have prevented djinn malice concerned a falconer who was visited by an acquaintance. The guest picked up a small lizard on the ground and fed it to the falcon, which killed it by spearing it in its right eye. The falcon ate the lizard. Soon after that, the guest felt a searing pain in his right eye, which then popped out of his head. The man fell over dead. He had killed a djinni in the form of the lizard, and other djinn exacted swift revenge. According to prevailing wisdom, if the man had said the bismillah before giving the lizard to the falcon, the djinni would have disappeared and become a meal for the bird.l6
Many people with djinn and black magic problems consult a sheikh for help, to exorcize, cast, or break spells. Sheikhs vary in their exorcism and magical skills and must be confident and know what to do at all moments, for the djinn will try to paralyze their tongue and prevent the right words from being said, ensuring things will go wrong. For example, a woman in Cairo was con vinced that a spirit was in love with her, and came to her at night to make passionate love. She consulted a sheikh to chase it away. It departed, but came back as a dog, and then in the form of her husband."
Some sheikhs perform exorcisms with special amulets, talismans and incantations from magical texts, but these are considered shirk, a neglect of one's duty, or in some cases, unforgivable sin. Making animal sacrifices to djinn is strictly forbidden.
Like mediums everywhere, some sheikhs are not above fraud. Ibn Taymeeyah related an account of a sheikh who fraudulently caused possessions, and then performed exorcisms for fees. He would send djinn in his service to possess someone, and then be hired to exorcize the djinn. In addition, his servant djinn stole food and valuables from those they possessed, and delivered them to the sheikh.'8
A favored respectable remedy is Zamzam water, a miracle water that a sheikh may decide to administer to a possessed person. Zamzam is a famous well in al-Masjid al-Haraam (the Sacred Mosque in Mecca), near the Ka'bah. The well is only five feet deep and is self-replenishing. Its water plays an important role in Islamic faith. Allah quenched the thirst of the infant Isma'el, son of Ibrahim, when he was an infant. His mother, Haajra, searched for water in vain. She climbed to the tops of Mount al-Safaa and Mount al-Marwah, praying to Allah for help. Allah sent the archangel fibril, who struck the earth; water appeared.'`' When Muhammad was a child, two angels appeared and washed his heart in Zamzam water, to strengthen and purify it, and enable him to see the kingdoms of earth and heaven. Muhammad also drank from the well. According to hadith literature, the water of Zamzam is for whatever purpose it is drunk for: "It is a blessing and it is food that satisfies."" Zamzam water is used for magical, exorcism, and healing purposes.
Applying the words of the Qur'an directly to the possessed body is considered an effective and popular way to ward off or expel possessing djinn. Verses from the Qur'an are written in certain kinds of approved ink on paper, which is dipped in water. The treated water is used for bathing or drinking by the afflicted and sick. Verses are carved onto bread, which is baked and eaten. Verses are put into alphabet soup and eaten. When the Qur'an is recited before sleep, one should first blow into one's hands and wipe them over the body.
Adults who experience sudden shocks and upsets should immediately spit on their chests. This practice has pre-Islamic roots in ancient and universal folklore that holds that spittle is a protective agent against evil entities and forces, especially the evil eye. Spittle represents the soul, and to spit it out-on the body or on the ground-is an offering to the gods for luck and protection. According to widespread custom, spitting should be done immediately when one senses supernatural danger. Practices in early Roman times include spitting in the right shoe every morning, spitting into the toilet after urination, spitting on the breast or on the ground three times, and spitting while passing any place where danger might exist.21
Protection Using Science
We do not claim that the methods above are successful when dealing with the djinn. Many rituals of exorcism are so ancient that they come from a time when fear of the supernatural ruled ev- eryone's mind. These older rituals might work if you encounter a djinni who believes in the old ways or is afraid it will be held accountable by God at the end of time. Some older djinn believe in the existence of angels, and might be fearful that one might intervene. Having free will, djinn think like people do: some are religious and can be controlled by saying the name of God, others are atheists and cannot be controlled in this manner. If a djinni does not believe in God or angels, reciting passages from the Bible and Qur'an will have no effect. In some of the cases that we have investigated
or researched, the entity seemed to show increased anger and aggression when a Bible or other religious book is used as a weapon to try to drive it away. In some instances, the entity played along and seemed amused at the attempts of the exorcist.
Westerners may not have access to Muslim experts, sheikhs, Zamzam water, or be able to recite the Qur'an in its native Arabic. Are there other ways to counter the djinn?
Electromagnetic Disruptions
We must regard djinn as another form of intelligent beings in the universe and not as supernatural creatures. Although when compared to humans they are capable of incredible feats and have a very long life span, they are still beings with limited abilities. It is our belief that the djinn are composed of plasma; this is their strength but also a weakness. Plasma can be affected by electromagnetic pulses and other types of magnetic fields. Plasma can also be disrupted by a high-voltage burst of electricity. We have many cases in our files of people being tormented by some unseen force in their own homes. In such cases, the victims found that when they turned on their lights, radio, television, and computer, the disturbances decreased in severity or stopped completely. However, if everything was shut off, the disturbances would start again within a short time. Alternating current and the electrical items listed above create magnetic fields. The djinn are not permanently harmed by them, but they suffer pain or other discomfort. It's important to note that this electrical method may only work on the less powerful green djinn; it may have little or no effect on a djinni of greater power belonging to a higher order.
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