Can We see Jinns and Can They Change Their Form?

Question:

How come some persons see Jinn and some not, what does Quran say about Jinns? Can they change their form?

Answer:

Salam Dear Brother,

Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

Every religion has some concept of the world of the supernatural or unseen spiritual beings. There are people who imagine that this spiritual world is nothing but the world of the dead, or the world of ghosts.

Others consider spirits as forces of good and evil. Popular folk tales deal with such a world of wonder and fantasy. Only Islam gives a reliable explanation of the world of spirit.

From the Islamic point of view, Jinns are beings created with a free will, somewhat similar to mankind. The Jinns are beings invisible to humans as the very word ‘jinn’ suggests, as it comes from the Arabic root, meaning “hidden from sight”. Allah Almighty says:

{Verily he (shaytan) and his soldiers from the jinn or his tribe see you from where you cannot see them…} (Quran 7:27)

We read in the Quran about the creation of the Jinns too:

{Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire} (Quran 15:26-27)

Like humans, the Jinns are required to worship Allah and follow Islam. Their purpose in life is exactly the same as ours, as Allah says:

{I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me} (Quran 51:56)

As the Jinns are gifted with freedom of choice, some of them choose to worship Allah, and become Muslims and others deny Allah and become kafirun. The Non-Muslim Jinns are called Shayateen and their leader is none other than Iblis or Satan himself. As for the believing Jinn, Allah orders the Prophet to tell the people of this event:

{Say (O' Muhammed): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said; 'Indeed we have heard a marvelous Quran. It guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our lord'} (Quran 72:1-2)

We learn from the Quran how to seek protection from the non-believing Jinns or theshayateen:

{And say: My Lord! I seek refuge in Thee from suggestions of the evil ones. And I seek refuge in Thee, my Lord, lest they be present with me.} (Quran 23: 97-98)

In many aspects of their world, the Jinns are similar to us. 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.

The Jinns are distinguished from the humans owing to their extraordinary powers and capabilities. Allah has given them these powers as a test for them, as to how they use them. We can make sense of much of the mysteries of this world, if we have an idea of the extent of their powers.

From our religious sources we learn that the Jinns can sometimes take on physical forms that are subject to our senses. Thus they at times appear as animals and humans. Today, there is a growing belief among people that aliens can come to our world and appear before us.

This belief is nourished by a profusion of TV serials and movies on the subject. Dozens of people in different parts of the world have reported the sighting of strange looking creatures who are supposed to be aliens. We are not sure that these are aliens. Indeed it is possible that they are Jinns appearing in different forms, to mislead humans.

If we are aware of the possible deceptions of the Jinns, we can avoid many of the pitfalls people normally fall into.

The eminent scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi writes:

“There are many people who claim that they have seen jinn or that they have relations with them, and some may even say they are married to a Jinn. In fact, many of these claims are false. Moreover, many of those who claim that they are possessed by jinn do, in effect, suffer from psychological disorders such as schizophrenia and the like, and jinn have nothing to do with such disorders.” [i]
I hope this helps answer your questions.


Salam and please keep in touch.

References:

[i] Can Jinn Really Possess People?