Jinn
Jinn, also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers or unbelievers, depending on whether they accept God's guidance.
Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and could adapt them during its expansion. Likewise, jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. Islam places jinn and humans on the same plane in relation to God, with both being subject to divine judgement and an afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them.
While they are naturally invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies and are capable of shapeshifting, usually choosing to appear as snakes, but also as scorpions, lizards, or humans. A jinni's interaction with a human may be negative, positive, or neutral, and can range from casual to highly intimate, even involving sexual activity and the production of hybrid offspring. However, they rarely meddle in human affairs, preferring instead to live among their own in a societal arrangement similar to that of the Arabian tribes. Upon being disturbed or harmed by humans, they usually retaliate in kind, with the most drastic interactions leading them to possess the assailant's body, thus requiring exorcism.
Individual jinn appear on charms and talismans. They are called upon for protection or magical aid, often under the leadership of a king. Many people who believe in jinn wear amulets to protect themselves against their assaults, as they may be called upon by sorcerers and witches to cause harm. A commonly held belief is that jinn cannot hurt someone who wears something with a name of God written on it. These folkloric beliefs and practices, although especially common throughout the Muslim world in the past, have been met with increasing disapproval due to their association with idolatry.
Etymology and translation
Jinn is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root , whose primary meaning is 'to hide' or 'to adapt'. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, 'beings that are concealed from the senses'.Cognates include the Arabic ', ', and .
Jinn is properly treated as a plural, with the singular being jinnī, which the English word "genie" is derived from.
The origin of the word jinn remains uncertain. Some scholars relate the Arabic term jinn to the Latin genius – a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion – as a result of syncretism during the reign of the Roman empire under Tiberius and Augustus; however, this derivation is also disputed. Supporters argue that both Roman genii as well as Arabian jinn are considered to be lesser deities inhabiting local sanctuaries, trees or springs, and persons or families. Aramaic ginnaya with the meaning of 'tutelary deity' or 'guardian' are attributed to similar functions and are another possible origin of the term jinn.
Another suggestion holds that the word is of Persian origin and appeared in the form of the Avestic Jaini, a wicked spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even pre-Zoroastrian mythology of peoples of Iran. Wensick advocates a purely Arabic origin of the term, asserting that according to the common Semitic view psychic and bodily affections are caused by spirits. An object reacting upon such an effect would be an incarnation of said spirit. Since these spirits are covered from the sight of humans, they would have been called jinn.
The anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie, also from the Latin genius. It first appeared in 18th century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the 1706 French edition,
where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense and its application to benevolent intermediary spirits, in contrast to the malevolent spirits called 'demon' and mostly-benevolent 'heavenly angels', in literature.
In Assyrian art, the modern term used for creatures ontologically between humans and divinities is also genie.
Though not a precise fit, descriptive analogies that have been used for these beings in Western thought include demon, spirit, "sprite", and fairy, depending on the source.
In turn, the Arabic translation for the Greek nymph is also used for jinn by Middle Eastern sources.
Although the term spirit is frequently used, it has been criticised for not capturing the corporeal nature of the jinn, and that the term genie should be used instead.
Pre-Islamic era
The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear. Belief in jinn in pre-Islamic Arab religion is attested not only by the Quran, but also by pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. Some scholars of the Middle East hold that they originated as malevolent spirits residing in deserts and unclean places, who often took the forms of animals; others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance. Many ancient deities may have developed from jinn, while others represent degraded gods.Joseph Chelhod connects the jinn to ancient Middle Eastern dualistic beliefs, according to which heaven and earth represent the polar opposites of order and chaos respectively. The high god El represents the source of the holy celestial abode, while the jinn are the chthonic powers of the lower world. The jinn continuously rise to the sky in an attempt to obtain divinity. The belief that angels are daughters born from a union between Allah and jinn would derive from the assumption of a union between the heavenly and earthly forces, which are then represented in the intermediate world in the form of stars.
Fear and veneration
Jinn were already worshipped by many Arabs in pre-Islamic Arabia. Julius Wellhausen observed that jinn were often thought to "inhabit or haunt desolate, dark and dingy places in the desert". For that reason, they were held responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses. Emilie Savage-Smith asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute. In the regions north to the Hejaz, Palmyra and Baalbek, the terms jinni and ilah were often used interchangeably. Julius Wellhausen likewise agrees that in pre-Islamic Arabia it was assumed there are at least some friendly and helpful beings among the jinn. He distinguishes between a god and a jinni, not on the basis of morality, but on the basis of worship; the jinn are worshipped in private while the gods are worshipped in public.Muqatil ibn Sulayman attributes the origin of the practice of jinn-veneration to the Banu Hanifa. When travelling through the wilderness and the sun sets, they sought refuge among the spirits of the place:
فأول من تعوذ بالجن قوم من أهل اليمن من بني حنفية، ثم فشا ذلك في سائر العرب، وذلك أن الرجل كان يسافر في الجاهلية فإذا أدركه المساء في الأرض القفر قال أعوذ بسيد هذا الوادي من سفهاء قومه فيبيت آمنا في جوارهم حتى يصبح.
The first who sought refuge among the jinn were people from Yemen, from the Banu Hanifa tribe. Afterwards, this spread to the rest of the Arabs. When a man during the era of Jahiliyyah traveled the lands and realized the evening sets over the desert, he would say, “I seek refuge in the master of this valley from the impudent ones,” so he would spend the night safely in their vicinity until morning.Al-Jahiz credits the pre-Islamic Arabs with believing that the society of jinn constitutes several tribes and groups, analogous to pre-Islamic Arabian culture. Jinn could also protect, marry, kidnap, possess, and kill people. Despite being invisible, jinn are considered to have bodies ; as described by Zakariya al-Qazwini, they are among animals, along with humans, burdened beasts, cattle, wild beasts, birds, and reptiles. Jinn are further known as shapeshifters, often assuming the form of an animal, favouring the form of a snake. Other chthonic animals regarded as forms of jinn include scorpions and lizards. Both scorpions and serpents have been venerated in the ancient Near East.
When they shift into a human form however, they are said to stay partly animal and are not fully human. Although the powers of jinn usually exceed those of humans, it is conceivable a man could kill a jinni in single combat, but they are feared for attacking without being seen. Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion.
Poetry and soothsaying
Even though they were often feared or inspired awe, the jinn were also pictured to befriend humans or have romantic feelings for them. According to common Arabian belief, pre-Islamic soothsayers, philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn. In his Book of Idols, Al-Kalbi records a story about a jinni named Abū-Thumama working as an oracle advising Amr ibn Luhay.The Arabian poet al-A'sha claimed that his inspiration for his poetry came from a befriended jinni named Misḥal whom he called his jinni-brother. Similarly, the poet Thābit who later converted to Islam and became known as "the poet of the prophet", referred to his jinni-friend as his "sharp-sighted brother from the jinn". The relationship between jinn and humans can also be romantic in nature. According to one famous Arabian story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah, and taught her the arts of healing.
The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different from that of a jinni and a soothsayer. The soothsayer is presented as someone who is totally controlled by the jinni entering them. The soothsayer was consulted to reveal hidden information or settle disputes, as it was believed that the jinn speaking through them revealed hidden knowledge. Muhammad's opponents believed that the Quran was also inspired by a jinni, whereupon the Quran criticizes them for not distinguishing between jinn and God.