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 (Ghosts). The Islamic explanation of the Jinn (Ghosts) 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 (Ghosts)? The Jinn (Ghosts) are beings created with free will, living on earth in a world parallel to mankind. The Arabic word Jinn (Ghosts) 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 affect which the world of the Jinn (Ghosts) has upon our world, is enough to refute this modern denial of one of God’s creation. The origins of the Jinn (Ghosts) can be traced from the Quran and the Sunnah. God says: “Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn (Ghosts) before that from the smokeless flame of fire” (Quran 15:26-27). Thus the Jinn (Ghosts) were created before man. As for their physical origin, then the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, has confirmed the above verse when he said: “The Angels were created from light and the Jinn (Ghosts) from smokeless fire.” (Saheeh Muslim). It is this description of the Jinn (Ghosts) 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 God and follow Islam. Their purpose in life is exactly the same as ours, as God says: “I did not create the Jinn (Ghosts) and mankind except to worship Me.” (Quran 51:56). Jinn (Ghosts)s can thus be Muslims or non-Muslims. However, due to their fiery nature the majority of them are non-Muslims. All these non-Muslim Jinn (Ghosts)s form a part of the army of the most famous Jinn (Ghosts), Satan. Consequently, these disbelieving Jinn (Ghosts)s are also called devils. Jinn (Ghosts)s also become Muslims, as they did in the time of the Prophet when a group of them were amazed by the recitation of the Quran. God orders the Prophet to tell the people of this event: “Say (O’ Muhammed): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn (Ghosts) 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). In many aspects of their world, the Jinn (Ghosts) are very similar to us. They eat and drink, they marry, have children and they die. The life span however, is far greater then ours. Like us, they will also be subject to a Final Reckoning by God the Most High. They will be present with mankind on the Day of Judgment and will either go to Paradise or Hell. One of the powers of the Jinn (Ghosts), is that they are able to take on any physical form they like. Thus, they can appear as humans, animals trees and anything else. Thousands of people have sighted strange looking creatures all over the world – and it seems more plausible all the sightings of such creatures may have been Jinn (Ghosts)s parading in different forms.The ability to possess and take over the minds and bodies of other creatures is also a power which the Jinn (Ghosts) have utilized 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. We know as Muslims, that Jinn (Ghosts)s possess people for many reasons. Sometimes it is because the Jinn (Ghosts) or its family has been hurt accidentally. It could be because the Jinn (Ghosts) has fallen in love with the person. However, most of the time possession occurs because the Jinn (Ghosts) is simply malicious and wicked. For this reason we have been commanded to recite the Quran frequently in our houses as the Prophet said: “Indeed, Satan flees from the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah (the 2nd chapter of the Quran) is recited.” (Al-Tirmidhi). If a person does become possessed, then the name of God has to be used in expelling the Jinn (Ghosts). If we look at the practice of the Prophet and his companions, we find many invocations to exorcise the Jinn (Ghosts). All of them invoke God to help the possessed person.It is not only humans which are possessed, but also animals, trees and other objects.Through their powers of flying and invisibility, the Jinn (Ghosts) are the chief component in occult activities. Voodoo, Black magic, Poltergeists, Witchcraft and Mediums can all be explained through the world of the Jinn (Ghosts). Likewise, so can the illusions and feats of magicians. Because the Jinn (Ghosts) can traverse huge distances over a matter of seconds, their value to magicians is great. In return for helping them in their magic, the Jinn (Ghosts)s often ask the magicians to worship them and Satan. Thus the magicians take the Jinn (Ghosts) and Satan as lords besides God. In our day, some of the feats performed by magicians and entertainers are without doubt from the assistance of the Jinn (Ghosts). One of the most frequent activities associated with the Jinn (Ghosts), is fortune telling. Before the advent of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), fortune-tellers and soothsayers were wide spread. These people would use their associates from the Jinn (Ghosts) to find out about the future. The Jinn (Ghosts)s would go to the lowest heaven and listen to the Angels conversing amongst themselves about events of the Future which they heard from God. The Jinn (Ghosts)s would then inform the fortune-tellers. This is why before the time of the Prophet 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 (Ghosts) 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.” (Quran 15:17-18) The Prophet also said: “They (the Jinn (Ghosts)) would pass the information back down until it reaches the lips of a magician or forrtune-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” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari). Thus, it is clear from this as to how fortune-tellers get predictions of the future sometimes right. It is also evident as to why they get so many wrong. Men like Nostradamus are an example, as some of his predictions of the future were correct whilst many were completely wrong. Unfortunately, the amount of fortune telling which occurs amongst the Muslims is also increasing. By visiting Muslim lands such as Morocco, one is able to see as to how much inter Jinn (Ghosts)-fortune-teller activity there really is. If you look up at the sky on a clear night in Morocco, you will see the heavens ablaze with shooting stars! A clear display of the devils being chased away from the heavens.
The world of the Jinn (Ghosts) 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 then worshipping others besides God. By learning the monotheism of God, we defend ourselves from these hidden allies of Satan: “Indeed he (Satan) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them.” (Quran 7:27)
Fortune-tellers also operate through the Qareen. The Qareen is the Jinn (Ghosts) companion which is assigned to every human being. It is this Jinn (Ghosts) which whispers to our base desires and constantly tries to divert us from righteousness. The Prophet said: “Every one of you has been assigned a companion from the Jinn (Ghosts). The companions asked: Even you O’ Messenger of God? And the Prophet replied: Even me, except that God has helped me against him and he has become a Muslim. Now he only tells me to do good” (Saheeh Muslim). 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 said: “The prayer of one who approaches a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, will not be accepted for forty days or nights” (Saheeh Muslim) and: “Whosoever approaches a fortune-teller and believes in what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammed.” The effects of the Jinn (Ghosts) are not just limited to fortune-tellers. Other activities such as oujia boards and seances, which are used to contact the dead, are manipulated by the Jinn (Ghosts). One of the biggest manipulations of the Jinn (Ghosts) is through visions. Through these visions the Jinn (Ghosts)s are more likely to lead people away from the worship of God then 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 (Ghosts) and conviction in God, can a person fight such a trial. For people, visions of their parents or relatives are commonplace. By taking on the form of peoples parents, the Jinn (Ghosts)s 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 Muhammed (SAW) and even God! By doing this, Satan 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 Jinn (Ghosts)s tell them that Prayer, Fasting, Hajj 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. Prophet Muhammad (SAW) taught us many ways to protect ourselves from their harm, such as seeking refuge in Allah (God) from the accursed Satan, reciting chapters 113 and 114 of the Holy Quran, and reciting the words taught by God in the Quran: “Say: ‘My Lord! I seek refuge with You from the whisperings (suggestions) of Satan (devils). And I seek refuge with You, my Lord, lest they may attend (or come near) me.’” (Quran 23:97-98). Saying Bismillah (in the Name of Allah (God)) before entering one’s home, before eating or drinking, and before having intercourse will also keep Satan from entering the house or partaking with a person in his food, drink and sexual activity. Similarly, mentioning the name of Allah before entering the toilet or taking off one’s clothes will prevent the Jinn (Ghosts) from seeing a person’s private parts or harming him, as the Prophet said. Strength of faith and religion in general will also prevent the Jinn (Ghosts) from harming a person. Reciting Al-Kursi verse in Arabic (Quran 2:255) provides also a strong protection against the Jinn (Ghosts), as we learned from the story of Abu Hurairah (one of Muhammad’s companions) with a devil.Also the Prophet Muhammad(SAW) said: “Do not make your houses like graves, for Satan runs away from a house in which al-Baqarah chapter [chapter 2] is recited.”(Narrated by Saheeh Muslim). These Arabic verses and prophetic sayings were some examples of how a Muslim would get protection from the Jinn (Ghosts). Islam teaches us how to deal with all of God’s creation – and not just the Jinn (Ghosts). A true Muslim should not fear Satan or the Jinn (Ghosts), because Islam taught us about them and how to get protection from their harm. The world of the Jinn (Ghosts) 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 then worshipping others besides God. By learning the monotheism of God, we defend ourselves from these hidden allies of Satan: “Indeed he (Satan) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them.” (Quran 7:27)
(The author write regularly on Islamic topics exclusively for the opinion pages of “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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