The realm of the unseen in Islam

Throughout history man has always had a deep attraction for the supernatural and the unseen. The existence of a world parallel to our own has always fascinated people. This world is commonly referred to as the spirit world, and almost every set of people have some concept of one. With some people, these spirits are no more than the souls of dead people – or ghosts. With others, spirits are either the forces of good or the forces of evil – both battling against one another to gain influence over humanity.However, both of these explanations are more in tune with folk tales and fantasy. The true explanation of such a world comes from Islam. Like every other way, Islam also claims to explain this realm of the unseen. It is from this realm that Islam explains to us about the world of the Jinn. The Islamic explanation of the Jinn provides us with so many answers to modem day mysteries. Without the knowledge of this world, the Muslims would become like the non-Muslims and be running around looking for any old answer to come their way. So, who or what are the Jinn?Existence The Jinn are beings created with free will, living on earth in a world parallel to mankind. The Arabic word Jinn is from the verb ‘Janna’ which means to hide or conceal. Thus, they are physically invisible from man as their description suggests. This invisibility is one of the reasons why some people have denied their existence. However, (as will be seen) the effect which the world of the Jinn has upon our world, is enough to refute this modem denial of one of Allah’s creation. The origins of the Jinn can be traced from the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Allah says (which means):"Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:26-27)Thus the Jinn were created before man. As for their physical origin, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, has confirmed the above verse when he said: "The Angels were created from light and the Jinn from smokeless fire”. It is this description of the Jinn which tells us so much about them. Because they were created from fire, their nature has generally been fiery and thus their relationship with man has been built upon this. Like humans, they too are required to worship Allah and follow Islam. Their purpose in life is exactly the same as ours, as Allah says (which means):"I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me” (Surah Ad-Dhariyat 51:56)Jinns can thus be Muslims or non-Muslims. However, due to their fiery nature the majority of them are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Jinns form a part of the army of the most famous Jinn, Iblis – the Shaytan. Consequently, these disbelieving Jinns are also called Shaytans (devils). As for the Jinns who become Muslims, then the first of them did so in the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, when a group of them were amazed by the recitation of the Qur’an. Allah orders the Prophet to tell the people of this event:"Say (O Muhammad): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said; ‘Indeed we have heard a marvellous Qur’an. It guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our Lord’” (Surah Al-Jinn 72:1-2)In many aspects of their world, the Jinn are very similar to us. They eat and drink, they marry, have children and they die. The life span however, is far greater than ours. Like us, they will also be subject to a Final Reckoning by Allah the Most High. They will be present with mankind on the Day of Judgment and will either go to Paradise or Hell.AbilitiesThat which clearly distinguishes the Jinn from mankind are their powers and abilities. Allah has given them these powers as a test for them. If they oppress others with them, then they will be held accountable. By knowing of their powers, we can often make sense of much of the mysteries which go on around us. One of the powers of the Jinn is that they are able to take on any physical form they like. Thus, they can appear as humans, animals, trees and anything else.The ability to possess and take over the minds and bodies of other creatures is also a power which the Jinn have utilised greatly over the centuries. This, however, is something which has been prohibited to them as it is a great oppression to possess another being. Human possession is something which has always brought about great attention. But the true knowledge of this subject is rare amongst the people.Over the last five decades the subject of possession has become very commercialised. During the 1970’s films such as The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby were used to educate people about possession. However, because such institutions (the film industry) were heavily influenced by Christianity, knowledge of the subject was non-existent. Rather than educate people about Jinn possession, The Exorcist just tended to scare the living daylights out of us! Only through Islam can we understand such a phenomenon.We know as Muslims that Jinns possess people for many reasons. Sometimes it is because the Jinn or its family has been hurt accidentally. It could be because the Jinn has fallen in love with the person. However, most of the time possession occurs because the Jinn is simply malicious and wicked. For this reason we have been told by the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, not to loiter in those places where the Jinns reside, e.g. graveyards, ruins, deserts, marketplaces, etc. We have also been commanded to recite the Qur’an frequently in our houses as the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: "Indeed, the Shaytan flees from the house in which Surah AI-Baqarah (the 2nd chapter of the Qur’an) is recited”.If a person does become possessed, then the name of Allah has to be used in expelling the Jinn. If we look at the practice of the Prophet and his companions, we find many du’as (supplications) to exorcise the Jinn. All these du’as invoke Allah to help the possessed person. How contrary this is to many modern-day exorcists. Many exorcists, Muslim and non-Muslim, often invoke the names of others besides Allah to exorcise the Jinn. When the Jinn does leave, these people believe that their way was successful. However, this is a ploy of the Jinn, as it knows that if it obeys the exorcist, then it has succeeded in making him worship others besides Allah i.e. commit Shirk. The Jinn often returns when the exorcist leaves, as it knows that nothing except the Words of Allah can stop it from oppressing others.It is not only humans which are possessed, but also animals, trees and other objects. By doing this, the evil Jinn hope to make people worship others besides Allah. The possession of idols is one way to do this.The OccultThrough their powers of flying and invisibility, the Jinn are the chief component in occult activities. Voodoo, Black magic, Poltergeists, Witchcraft and Mediums can all be explained through the world of the Jinn. Likewise, so can the illusions and feats of magicians. Because the Jinn can traverse huge distances over a matter of seconds, their value to magicians is great. In return for helping them in their magic, the Jinns often ask for the magicians to sell their souls to them and even to Iblis.Thus the magicians take the Jinn and Iblis as lords besides Allah. In our day, some of the feats performed by magicians and entertainers are without doubt from the assistance of the Jinn. Making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying across the Grand Canyon and retrieving a ship from the Bermuda Triangle, have all been done by the Jewish magician David Copperfield.There is NO way that a man could do such things without the assistance of the Jinn. It would not be surprising therefore, if Copperfield had sold his soul to Iblis himself. Because of their involvement with the Jinn, and its result in Shirk, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: "The prescribed punishment for the magician is that he be executed by the sword”. Some may argue that this is barbaric, but if, the likes of Copperfield truly had powers, then they could just put their heads back on again!!One of the most frequent activities associated with the Jinn, is fortune-telling. Before the advent of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, fortune-tellers and soothsayers were widespread. These people would use their associates from the Jinn to find out about the future. The Jinns would go to the lowest heaven and listen to the Angels conversing amongst themselves about events of the Future which they heard from Allah. The Jinns would then inform the fortune-tellers. This is why before the time of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, many fortune-tellers were very accurate in their predictions. However, upon the Prophet’s arrival the heavens were guarded intensely by the Angels, and any Jinn who tried to listen was attacked by meteors (shooting stars):"And We have guarded it (the heavens) from every accursed devil, except one who is able to snatch a hearing and he is pursued by a brightly burning flame” (Surah Al-Hijr 15:18)The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, also said: "They (the Jinn) would pass the information back down until it reaches the lips of a magician or fortune-teller Sometimes a meteor would overtake them before they could pass it on. If they passed it on before being struck, they would add to it a hundred lies”. Thus, it is clear from this as to how fortune-tellers get predictions of the future right. It is also evident as to why they get so many wrong.Fortune-tellers also operate through the Qareen. The Qareen is the Jinn companion which is assigned to every human being. It is this Jinn which whispers to our base desires and constantly tries to divert us from righteousness. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: "Everyone 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. Now he only tells me to do good”’.Because the Qareen is with a person all his life, it knows all that has happened to the person from the cradle to the grave. By making contact with the Qareen, the fortune-teller is thus able to make out that it is he who knows about the person. He looks in his crystal ball or the palm of a person and proceeds to amaze him with knowledge which no one else knows. The severity of going to a fortune-teller is such that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said: "The prayer of one who approaches a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, will not be accepted for 40 days or nights”and: "Whosoever approaches a fortune-teller and believes in what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.”One of the biggest manipulations of the Jinn is through visions. Through these visions the Jinns are more likely to lead people away from the worship of Allah than any other way. When a person sees a vision in front of his eyes it is something which is very hard to explain away. Only by having knowledge of the world of the Jinn and conviction in Allah, can a person fight such a trial.The countless numbers of visions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary over the centuries has been a popular choice for the devils. It almost seems as if leading Christians astray is the most easiest trick for the Jinns! Not only are Christians fooled by these visions, but often the Jinns possess and begin to talk from their voices. To the Christians this is known as the tongues of the Angels and thus a proof for their faith. However, the amount of unintelligible nonsense which is heard is a clear proof that this is in fact the tongues of the devils! For other people, visions of their parents or relatives are commonplace. By taking on the form of peoples parents, the Jinns can convince people that the souls of dead people still mix with the people of the earth. This is why so many people believe in ghosts.The onslaught of satanic visions has also hit the Muslims. Many Muslims claim to have seen visions of the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, and even Allah! By doing this, Shaytan is able to lead astray the weak Muslims. Through such visions, Muslims are often told that the commands of Islam are not applicable to them. The Jinns tell them that Prayer, Fasting, Haj, etc. are not obligatory for them. It is a great deception and unfortunately one which has been very effective. The extent of satanic visions still continues to this day.The world of the Jinn is one which is both sinister and intriguing. By knowing of this world we can explain many of the mysteries and issues which bother us. By doing this we can avoid the extremes which the people have gone to; nothing being more extreme than worshipping others besides Allah. By learning the Tawheed of Allah, we defend ourselves from these hidden allies of Iblis:"Indeed he (Iblis) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them” (Surah Al-A’raf 7:27)Maybe, there is a Jinn sitting in the corner of your room right now, or even one behind you. If so, then how will you deal with this creation of Allah? Learn Islam properly and you will be able to deal with all of Allah’s creation – and not just the Jinn. By becoming true Muslims and followers of Islam, the fear of Iblis, Jinns and anything else will leave us – nothing will touch the Believer unless Allah wills.[ An informative book on the world of the Jinn is ‘Ibn Taymeeyah’s Essay on the Jinn’ translated by Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips.]