What Should We Know About the Jinn?

Question:

Assalamu alaikum respected scholars, I was wondering if you could resolve my confusion on the jinn. According to the Qur’an, men and jinn were both created by Allah to worship Him. The Qur’an, in its turn, was revealed through Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Was Muhammad also the prophet for the jinn? If so, are there any evidences in the sunna about his interactions with the jinn? What should we, being humans, know about the nature of this other category of Allah's creation? Thank-you very much Wassalam.

Answer:

Consultant: Bilal Philips

Salam Sister,

Thank you for your question.

Yes, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to both humankind and the jinn. One of the Qur’anic chapters (72) is called surat al-Jinn, indicating that there is some importance to be given to the world of jinn. In that chapter, verses 1-15, it explains there, that the Qur’an was conveyed to the jinn and that some of them believed while others disbelieved. There are also many evidences in the sunnah, referring to the world of jinn and the Prophet’s interaction with it.

What we humans should know is what has been revealed to us through the Qur’an and the sunnah, which may be summed up in the following six points:

Jinns are created from fire (different from Angels who are created from light) and are normally invisible to humans. The fact that their origin was from elemental fire does not mean that they exist as fire, any more than humans being created from earth exist as clumps of earth.

Jinns have free will like humans (different from Angels who have no free will), as such some are disbelievers while others are believers (i.e. Muslims). Consequently, Satan (Iblees) was a jinn and not an angel.

Prophet Sulayman was given control over the jinn as his miracle. Thus, no human can claim control over the jinn for good or evil.

Jinns may interfere in our world through the agency of fortunetellers, magicians, mediums, spirit-possessions, etc. Consequently, supernatural events and experiences (visions) can be explained by their interference.

Seeking help from them is forbidden as it leads to shirk (associating partners with Allah).

Protection from them should be done according to sunnah, using Qur’anic recitations and not any forms of charms or amulets.
Further authentic information may be gotten from my books “Ibn Taymeeyah’s Essay on the Jinn” and “The Exorcist Tradition in Islam”, as well as “The World of the Angels and the Jinn” by Umar al-Ashqar.

Mr. Lamaan Ball, former editor of Ask About Islam, adds:

As you can see from Dr. Bilal Philips' answer, we should seek knowledge of the jinn only from the Qur'an and the Sunnah - and this was summarized well here. We should also not seek their help. So, in conclusion I feel it is worth mentioning that as Muslims we do not have benefits in seeking interactions with the jinn. Because of this, we should avoid concerning ourselves with this part of Allah's creation more than is necessary and should instead focus on dealing with the many pressing social, moral and political problems we need to deal with.

Salam.

Source: OnIslam.net