THE JINN - A SHORT ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE, PART 6.

THE JINN – PART 6 continued:

Jinn can take the forms of snakes and appear in front of humans:

We learn from Ibn Taimiyyah's Essay on Jinn (translated by the Wahhabi scholar, Bilal Phillips):  It was narrated that Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri ®  said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhe wasallam) say: “In Madinah there are some of the jinn who have become Muslims. Whoever sees any sign of these inhabitants, let him warn him for three days, then if he appears after that let him kill him, for he is a devil.” By “inhabitants” here it is meant the “snakes” that may live in houses.  It is for this reason that the Prophet (sal Allaahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) has forbidden the killing of the snakes found in the houses, out of fear that they may be jinn that have embraced Islam. One of the Companions of the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) killed one of the snakes in the house and this led to his death. Muslim has recorded it in his Sahih that Abu al-Saib ® went to Abu Saeed’s ® house and found him praying. Abu al-Saib was waiting for him to finish his prayer when he heard some rumbling in the bundles of wood that were lying in the corner of the house. He looked and he found it was a snake. He was about to kill it when Abu Sa’eed ® gestured to him to sit down. After the prayer, Abu Sa’eed ® pointed to a room and he said, “Do you see this room? “Yes,” answered al-Saib ® Abu Sa’eed ® said, “There was once a man who was a newly-wed and we went to participate with Nabi (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) in the Battle of the Trench. He used to ask the Prophet’s permission to go to his wife and the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) cautioned him to take along his weapons for he feared [an attack from behind by] the tribe Quraidha. The man took his weapons and when he returned to his family he found his wife standing between the doors of the apartment. He was enraged by jealousy and took a stab at her with his spear. She told him to keep his spear away and to enter the house to see what had made her go outside. He entered and found a big snake on the bed. He struck it with his spear and pierced it. He was bent upon taking it outside, but the snake had enough strength to bite him. No one knows who died first from that incident, the snake or the man. The people made mention of this incident to Nabi (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) asking him to ask Allah to bring that man back to life. Instead, the Prophet (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said, “Ask forgiveness for our companion. Prophet(Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) said, ‘Verily in Madinah, there are Jinn who have accepted Islam, so if you see any of them, ask them to leave over a period of three days, but if one appears after that, kill it for verily it is a devil.’ In another narration collected by Muslim,  the Prophet(Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa Sallam) is reported to have said, ‘Verily these houses have snakes, so if you see any of them, ask it to leave three times. If it leaves, fine, otherwise kill it,  for it is a disbeliever for sure.’ Then he said, ‘Go and bury your comrade.’ ”  This was due to the fact that killing jinn without just cause is as forbidden as killing a human without just cause. Aggression is forbidden in all cases. It is not allowable to oppress anyone, even a disbeliever. ln this regard the Almighty has said: Do not let your dislike for a people cause you to be unjust. Be just, for it is closer to being God-fearing …) (Surah Maa-idah/05, v:8)  Since house-snakes could be Jinn, they are warned three times to leave. If they are in fact Jinn and they do not leave, they may be killed, and if they are snakes they may be killed likewise. Jinn who continue to scare humans by exposing themselves in snake form may be repelled by whatever will prevent them from doing further harm, even if it means killing them. However, killing them without just cause is not allowed in Islam. [Ibn Taimiyah’s Essay on Jinn]

"Do not kill the jinn, except every one (snake) with two streaks on the back, for they cause miscarriages and take away the eyesight. Therefore, kill them." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Snakes are the forms of the transmutations of the shape of the jinn in the same way that the apes and swine were transmutations of the tribe of Israel." [This hadith was recorded by at-Tabaraani and Abu ash-Shaikh in Al-Udhma with a Sahih chain.

According to an Aalim, if a snake appears again and again in the house, esp. a black snake,  a bowl of milk should be placed in the house.  Then with a loud voice, it should be declared: O snake, under the oath of Suleiman a.s.,   if you are a Jinn drink the milk, and don’t come here ever again.  This is the tried and effective method.

Jinn cannot take the form of the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alahi wasallam). He said: “Whoever sees me in vision or dream sees me (truly), for Satan cannot take on my form, and the believer’s dream is one-forty-sixth part of the prophecy.”

Food of Jinn:

It was reported that bones are food for the jinn. Among the Ahaadeeth that are reported in this regard is the Hadeeth reported by Muslim that the jinn asked the Prophet sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) for food and the Prophet replied: “You will have every bone on which the name of Allaah has been mentioned; when it falls into your hands, it will be covered with flesh. And the dung (of the camels) is fodder for your animals.” Then the Prophet  sallallaahu `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said (to his Companions): “Do not use them (bones and dung) to clean yourselves after relieving yourselves, for they are the food of your brothers (jinn).” [Muslim] The Jinn sometimes eat and drink even with us. This has been reported in several ahadith, such as the narration of Ibn Umar in which he related the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) said, "Shaytan eats and drinks with his left hand." Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) said: "When any one of you eats, let him eat with his right hand, and when he drinks, let him drink with his right hand, because the Shaytaan eats with his left hand and drinks with his left hand. "[Saheeh al-Muslim, 3764] On the authority of a most trusted follower Yazid Ibn Jabir, Ibn Abu ad-Dunya' reported in his Maka’id ash-shaytaan, a Mawquf tradition (i.e. a hadith which reaches the Sahabah, regardless of continuity in the chain of transmission): "There are Muslim jinn residing in the ceilings of Muslim homes. Whenever the people eat, the Jinn descend and eat with them; Allah sends them to protect that household."  This hadith is also reported in Ibn Hajar’s Fath al-Bari, Ash-Shabli’s Akaam al-Murjaan, and Imam Sayuti’s Ad-Dur al-Manthur and Lafdh al-Murjaan.

Of course, the disbelieving Jinn eat and drink anything on which the name of Allah is not mentioned.  Jabir Ibn Abdillah reported that the Prophet said:  "When a person enters his house and mentions the name of Allah, and does the same when eating, Satan says (to his companions): 'You have no place to spend the night, and no evening meal;' but when he enters without mentioning the Name of Allah, Satan says: 'You have found a place to spend the night,' and when he does not mention the Name of Allah whilst eating, Satan says: 'You have found a place to spend the night and an evening meal. [Sahih Muslim, Imam ibn Hanbal, ibn Majah, ibn Hibban, and Abu Dawud.]

Continued in 7.

NASIR