Jinn

Jinn (Arabic: الجن‎, al-jinn), also Romanized as djinn or Anglicized as genies (with the more broad meaning of spirits or demons, depending on source), are supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology and theology as well as early pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. Besides the jinn, Islam acknowledges the existence of demons (Shayāṭīn). The lines between demons and jinn are blurred, since malevolent jinn are also called shayāṭīn.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 3 months ago

There are some varying views among ulema on these matters, so if you have a genuine interest in pursuing parapsychology research and would like a solid fiqh view, it is good to sit down with a jurist and discuss your plans.

Hiring someone to perform a work adds another dimension to the fiqh discussion since it falls under the subject of transactions, and so you should discuss whether or not it is considered a legitimate or allowable transaction according to that jurist. There are certainly different scenarios one could envision, e.g. hiring someone who asserts they are psychic and depending on their personal perceptions is a different sort of transaction from hiring someone to operate some sort of sensor equipment or special camera.

There may also be some ethical considerations. For instance, seeing as most human beings do not like to be the subject of scientific research without their permission, possibly some jinns feels the same way. These things might sometimes be discussed as well.

 

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 3 months ago

No. It is not allowed to make any attempt to interact with Jinn for any reason. Allah says in Quran: And verily, there were men among mankind who try to seek help from  males from Jinn, but Jinns caused the humans more hardships. ( Sura 72, Verse 6).

Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 3 months ago

People say a lot of things: possibly, some of what they say is true, and some of what they say is untrue.

According to Qur'an and hadith, jinn and sihr can cause harm. However, many other things are also dangerous; for instance, animals are dangerous, and driving is dangerous. So it is good not to focus too much on being afraid of these things, since fear can be its own enemy.

Also, it is better not to cast too many aspersions on the other half of the thaqalayn, since most jinn are not going around trying to possess or harm people; in fact, it is related from Imam al-Baqir (A) that some of the jinn are better followers of the Imams than humans.

Some things that offer protection are reciting or listening to Qur'an, keeping ayat of the Qur'an or the names of Allah displayed on the wall, reciting du'as, praying salat regularly, avoiding certain types of sins or places where these sins are committed (such as sins involving violence, unhealthy sexuality, or drugs/alcohol), and living a healthy and balanced lifestyle. (A person who is living a healthy and balanced lifestyle is generally better able to cope with the challenges of life, whatever they are, although of course sometimes we do not have a choice about how we are living).

I am also favourable to the narration that says that keeping small animals wards off the harm of shayatin, although I understand that keeping domestic animals is a personal preference!

Also, if someone genuinely considers it a priority to keep jinn and sihr out of their life, it is good to avoid seeking out people or places associated with these things (for instance, do not take up paranormal investigation). This may not be relevant to you personally but may be relevant to others.

Allah protects.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 6 months ago

All prayers and du'as are good. Sincerely and wholeheartedly beseeching Allah to assist a person and to seek tawassul of Ahl al-Bayt (A) in helping them is very powerful, for any problem. (This is, of course, for people who agree theologically with tawassul.) 

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 7 months ago

First of all, you should never tell any one or his family that he is a victim of Jinn. That telling itself can be a sinful act from you because of many reasons; A) You doubt about Jinn is not a concrete evidence that he is a definite victim of Jinn. B) Telling him or his family that he is a victim of Jinn will usually harm his mental state and make him feel defeated, helpless victim and negative. 
Second point in such cases is to recite Quranic verses which help in protection, prevention as well as cure such as Ayatul Kursi, Sura Al-Falaq, Sura Al-Naas, Sura Al-Hamd and Sura Al-Tawheed and other Suras.

Reciting Quranic verses will help in any case whether he is been harmed by Jinn or not. It will help in protection and prevention as well as in cure.

Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 7 months ago

Jinns have believers and non believers as we read in Quran in Sura Al-Jinn, verse 11. They will judged on the Day of Judgement and righteous faithful will be granted their reward, while non believers will get their punishment in hellfire  (Many Jinns and humans will go to hellfire as they had hearts but they refused to understand the truth) (Sura 7, verse 179).

We are not concerned nor been asked to research or ask how and where Jinns will be. They belong to a different world from our world. There are thousands of different worlds created by Allah, and we are not concerned where they will be and how. We are concerned with own future and responsible to believe in and follow the Truth from The Prophet and Ahlul Bayt.

Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answered 1 year ago

I am not aware of any classical sources that specifically identify Za'far the jinn as coming to Karbala, although this story became popularized later. However, there are narrations which indicate that some of the jinn sympathized with or sought to aid Imam Husayn (A), and so the story of Za'far the jinn can be seen as reflective of that general idea. 

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

Yes, this has been mentioned in many books.

His name in Arabic us زعفر Za'far.
'Wassalam.

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Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

Reading other verses in Quran (Allah has created every moving animal from water) (24:45)

and (It is He, who sends down water from the sky and with it We bring forth plants) (6:99) clarifies that Jinns and angles are not included. We can not take just one verse on a subject and leave other verses on the same subject to understand what Quran says about that subject.

Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 1 year ago

The Qur'an and hadith (both Sunni and Shi'i) give the sense that the jinn exist in the same world as us. The Qur'an and hadith describe occasional interactions between humans and jinn on a physical level - for instance, seeing a jinn manifest as an animal (as in the story of the jinn who came to see Imam Ali in the Mosque of Kufa) or hearing their voices audibly. Another example would be the jinn working for the prophet Sulayman (A).

However, apart from those occasional interactions, usually jinn keep to themselves and human beings do not see them.

However, some mystics have held that there is a sort of veil between the human world and the jinn world, which you could call the barzakh. That is, humans and jinn subsist in the same realm, but in something akin to parallel dimensions. I am not aware of any basis for this in Qur'an and hadith, but it could be true. 

So do jinn live in the barzakh? To me, the best view is "maybe" and "it depends on what you call the barzakh". If one takes "barzakh" to mean something akin to "mundus imaginalis" - that is, the imaginal realm which humans access through dreams, visions, or imagination, it might be correct to say that jinn live in barzakh. After all, people usually encounter jinn in dreams or the inner realm (for instance, Shaytan whispering to the heart), rather than in physical life. This is similar to how people are more likely to have a dream or vision of a deceased person, such as Imam Husayn (A), rather than physically seeing them walking down the street.

If one takes barzakh to mean specifically the place where human spirits go after death but before the Resurrection... while this meaning of "barzakh" may have some relationship to the above, I am not aware of any texts which specifically say that deceased human spirits live in the same place as living/deceased jinn, although I don't think we have any texts that rule out any sort of interaction ever between living/deceased jinn and deceased humans.

In any case, it seems as if the existence of the human being after death is more similar to the jinn, because the human being in the barzakh is less encumbered by the physical body and able to move around more.

In fact, I don't think we have any texts that say what happens to jinn after they die but before the Resurrection - for instance, do they go to their own barzakh? - however, the Qur'an says that, after Resurrection and Judgment, the jinn who go to Hell and the humans who go to Hell are all mixed together in the same Hell. It does not specify whether the jinn who go to Heaven and the humans who go to Heaven go to the same Heaven.

Anyway, it can be quite difficult to make concrete statements about spiritual cosmology, metaphysical realities, or other things which are not tangible. Even if someone says something, it is really quite difficult to prove whether it is true or false, except in the case of Qur'an and accurate hadith, which we accept on the basis of them being divinely inspired or approved.

So, this, in short, is my understanding of what the Qur'an and hadith say, and also what some mystically inclined thinkers have said. God knows best!

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 year ago

Jinn have their own world and we are not supposed to deal with them nor are we responsible about anything in their world. Those humans who seek help from Jinn will suffer more.

Wassalam.

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Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 2 years ago

The idea that every human being is created with its own associated jinn, called a qareen or hamzaad, is mentioned in Sunni hadith. This jinn is usually considered to be an inherently satanic spirit, and its job is to misguide people (except for the Prophet (S), who is said to have tamed and converted his). In the Sunni tradition, this idea is typically taken as an interpretation of Qur'an 43:36.

To my knowledge, there are no hadith through Shi'i chains which speak of the qareen. (These hadith appear in Bihar al-Anwar, but they are the Sunni hadith, not separate Shi'i hadith.) Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi dismisses the idea of the qareen as superstition. 

This is not to say that no single Shi'i person accepts the idea of the qareen, as some Shi'is may embrace these hadith. However, it isn't considered a fundamental belief or requirement in Shi'ism to believe that people have a qareen or to interpret that Qur'anic verse as speaking of a qareen

As with most matters of the unseen world, God knows best.