THE JINN; A SHORT ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE - PART 10.

THE JINN – Concluding Part 10:

Protection from the harm of Jinn:

Because jinn can see us while we cannot see them, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us many ways to protect ourselves from their harm. They are:  seeking Allah's refuge from the accursed Satan, reciting surat Al-Falaq and surat An-Nas, and reciting the words taught by Allah in the Qur’an. Allah Almighty says, “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.” (Al-Mu’minun: 97-98)  Saying Bismillah (in the Name of Allah) before entering one’s home, eating or drinking, and having intercourse will 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 from seeing a person in a state of undress or harming him. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) says: “To put a barrier that will prevent the jinn from seeing the `awrah of the sons of Adam, let any one of you say ‘Bismillah’ when entering the toilet.” (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)

According to a sahih hadith, narrated by al-Nasai from Abu’l-Yusr, the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) used to pray: “Allahumma innee a’oodhu bika min al-taraddi wa’l-haram wa’l-gharaq wa’l-harq, wa a’oodhu bika an yatakhabatani al-shaytan ‘ind al-mawt (O Allah, I seek refuge with You from being thrown from a high place, old age, drowning and burning; and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytan at the time of death).” Regarding the line, ‘and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytan at the time of death’ al-Manawi explains in Al-Fayd that it means “lest he should wrestle with me and play with me, and damage my religious commitment or mental state (at the time of death) by means of his insinuating whispers which cause people to slip or lose their minds. The Shaytan could take control of a person when he is about to depart this world, and misguide him or stop him from repenting…”

According to a hadith reported by ad-Darimi, Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “A man from among the Companions of Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) met a man from among the jinn. They wrestled, and the human knocked down the jinn. The human said to him, ‘You look small and skinny to me, and your forearms look like the front paws of a dog. Do all the jinn look like this, or only you?’ He said, ‘No, by Allah, among them I am strong, but let us wrestle again, and if you defeat me I will teach you something that will do you good.’ The human said, ‘Fine.’ He said, ‘Recite (the verse): “Allah! There is no God save Him, the Alive, the Eternal. Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh Him. Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth. Who is he that intercedeth with Him save by His leave? He knoweth that which is in front of them and that which is behind them, while they encompass nothing of His knowledge save what He will. His throne includeth the heavens and the earth, and He is never weary of preserving them. He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.” (Al-Baqarah: 255) The human said, ‘Fine.’ He said, ‘You will never recite this in your house but the shaytan will come out of it like a donkey breaking wind, and he will never come back in until the next morning.’”

Shaykh Abu Sa’eed Abdullah bin Ahmad Baghdadi once came to Hazrat Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R) and told him that his maiden daughter Fatima had disappeared from the roof-top.  Hazrat told him to go to the ruined part of al-Karkh and sit beside the fifth mound and draw a circle on the ground and say while drawing the circle "according to the intentions of Abdul Qadir Jilani (R).  Towards the third portion of the night, he would see troops of Jinn in different forms passing by but their appearance should not terrify him. When the dawn comes their the King would pass and ask him of his need and then he should tell him that Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani has sent me and then narrate to him about his missing daughter.  Shaykh Abu Sa'eed did so as he was told, and sure enough, after the King came riding on a horse with the whole nations of Jinn before him.  The King stopped by the circle and said: "O human being what is your need?" Then Shaykh Abu Sa'eed told him: "Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani has sent me to you." Thereupon the King got down from his horse and kissed the ground and sat just outside the circle.   His followers did likewise.  After he was told about the missing daughter, the King told those around him to bring the one who had done this.  They brought an evil Jinni and Shaykh's daughter.  The King was informed that the evil Jinni was from China.  Soon the evil Jinni was beheaded and the Shaykh got back his daughter.  When asked about his respects for Saint of Jilan, the King said: “When Ghous-e-Azam looks at us all the Jinn begin to tremble”.

Next, with all their powers, the Jinn like the human beings cannot transgress the limits imposed on them by Allah (swt):  “O assembly of jinn and men! If you have the power to pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the earth, then pass beyond (them)! But you will never be able to pass them, except with authority (from Allah!)”(Qur’an 55:33).  Also, they are not able to open the doors that have been shut after having mentioned the name of Allah over them.  The Holy Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Close your doors and cover your vessels and tie up your water skins and put out your lamps, for Satan (and the jinn) do not open a closed door, nor do they take off a cover or untie water skins”. Also, according to a Hadith in Sahih Bukhari, when Ramadan enters the gates of Paradise are opened; the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained. Recitation of Surah Al-Baqarah is also very useful: “Indeed, Satan flees from the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah (the 2nd chapter of the Quran) is recited.” (Al-Tirmidhi). Also, the Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) 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)  Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "If anyone of you rouses from sleep and performs the ablution, he should wash his nose by putting water in it and then blowing it out thrice, because Satan has stayed in the upper part of his nose all the night." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 516)  The Prophet is speaking about how it’s possible to be possessed without knowing it. The practice of cleaning the upper part prevents demon possession. Many people today are possessed and don’t know it, they should’ve cleaned the upper part of their nose.  The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) also taught to cover our mouth when we yawn, so Jinn cannot enter our body.

Sacrificing for Jinn is prohibited:

Some people say that slaughtering or sacrificing for the Jinn may ward off Jinn possession.  The Holy Quran, 72:6 informs us: 'True, there were persons among mankind who took shelter with persons among the Jinns, but they increased them in folly.  According to a Tafseer from Ibn Abbas: Allah then said: (And indeed (O Muhammad) individuals of humankind used to invoke the protection of individuals of the jinn so that they increased them) because of that (in revolt (against Allah)) in pride, arrogance, sedition, and corruption. This is because they were afraid of them whenever they travelled, caught a game, or camped in a valley. And to avoid their harm they used to say: “we seek refuge in the master of this valley from the foolish ones of his folk” after which they felt safe. As a result, the masters of these places increased in nothing but pride and arrogance towards the commonality among their folk.

A story is narrated that once while digging for water one of the employees who was deep inside the well was suddenly thrown up and he fell down unconscious.  After a while, the same man told the owner that he had seen some Jinn inside the well and they told him that they need a sacrifice from the owner otherwise they would not let them continue with the digging of the well.  Upon this, the owner thought of buying a big cow and garlanding it, and parading it through the streets of Makkah before the sacrifice.  The same night, when the owner went to bed, he had a dream in which he saw a person approach him and ask him as to what he intended to do, whether he intended to buy a cow and garland it and parade it in the streets of Makkah. The owner concluded that this was indeed the need of the hour and carried out his intentions.

 

The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) stated that he who sacrificed for anyone but for Allah will be in Hell. All Ulema agree that sacrificing for the Jinn is prohibited.  It could be termed “Shirk” or polytheism because the sacrifice is not for Allah (swt).  Muslims cannot eat from this because it is not permitted, i.e. it is not “Halaal”. Even till the time of Umar ®, it was the practice in Egypt to thrown virgins down the River Nile for appeasement.  This practice was stopped by Hazrat Umar ® and the Nile still flows.

 

It must be remembered that if the heart does not properly recognize the power of God, the soul becomes susceptible to Jinn's possession.  If a person truly relies on Allah (swt) then the Jinn will have no power over that person.

Exorcising the Jinn:

Shaykh G.F. Haddad informs us that Imam al-Nawawi in al-Adhkar mentioned that Ibn al-Sunni narrated that a man came to the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace and said that his brother suffered from a kind of jinn possession. The Prophet told him to bring him to him then recited upon him the following:

- Sura al-Fatiha
- The first four verses of al-Baqara
- two verses from the middle (163-64)
- Ayat al-Kursi
- the last three verses of al-Baqara
- The first verse of Al `Imran
- Verse 18 of Al `Imran
- Verse 54 of al-A`raf
- Verse 116 of al-Mu’minun
- Verse 3 of al-Jinn
- The first 10 verses of al-Saaffaat
- The last 3 verses of al-Hashr

- The last three Suras of the Qur’an.

According to Fath al-Bari 10/24, there is a consensus among the 'ulama that ruqa are permissible when they satisfy three conditions:  To be with Allah's words or His names and attributes; To be in Arabic or of an intelligible meaning; And to believe that they do not have effect by themselves but by Allah ('Azza wa Jalla). We have already made a mention of some hadiths above where Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) performed an exorcism on various occasions.  In the Islamic way, exorcism is called “Ruqyah”  which includes specific verses of Holy Quran and all lawful incantations that Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) informed us about.  Imam Muslim reported in Sahi Muslim which Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) said: “Present to me those who provide curing by the way of ruqyah. There is no objection to it as long as it does not contain any polytheism.”  The ‘Raqi’ or ‘Aamil’ (exorcist) can by the Grace of Allah treat paranormal disorders caused by Jinn, evil eye or black magic.  Exorcism can be done without beating the victim or lighting jog stick and putting the smoke near the victim’s nose, etc.  The real Aamil won’t resort to such things but would do the job without attracting attention or creating a ruckus. The fake Aamil is usually a sorcerer who practices black magic.  Such magicians will use impure things such as blood to write talismans which may contain non-Quranic incantations.  It is usual to see them cutting lemons on the victim’s head.  They ask the victim for hair, used cloth and nails and about his or her mother’s name to be used in their spells.  The slaughtering of a black animal or bird is also advised by them.  One has to steer away from such fake Raqis.  Experts advise us to do our own Ruqya by listening to the Quranic verses from audio, but there is no substitute for a live recitation.  The most common Quranic verses that are read are the Muawwidhat or the three last Quranic Surahs: Surah Ikhlaas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas;  the Throne Verse or Aayatul Kursi besides a host of other verses.   According to a leading scholar and  expert in exorcism, Wahid Abdussalaam Bali, the following Quranic verses from the Surahs can be used for exorcism: Al-Fatiha; al-Baqara verses: 1-5, 102, 163-164, 255, 285-286; Aali Imraan: 18-19; Al-A’raf: 54-56, 117-122; Yunus: 81-82; Taha: 69; Al-Mu’minoon: 115-118; as-Saffat: 1-10; al-Ahqaf: 29-32; Ar-Rahman: 33-36; Al-Hashr: 21-24; Al-Jinn: 1-9; and the three Muawwidhat already mentioned above.  Haraam methods and those that smack of Shirk (polytheism) such as using magical spells and cryptic characters are to be avoided at all cost.  For a non-Muslim Jinn, he should be invited to accept Islam but no compulsion should be used.  Exorcism is not easy because the Jinn may practice deceptions to confuse the victims and even the Raqi.  Therefore, exorcism requires a very experienced Raqi who has dealt with all types of Jinn’s and their deception during the ritual.  The process of exorcism is a long drawn up one since in order that it may be successful it requires repeated stages of Ruqya treatments and may involve a different form for a Muslim Jinn and a non-Muslim one.  The reader is advised to refer to the specialized books on the subject, such as: Ighāthat al-lahfān min-maṣāyid al-Shayṭān, Talbis Iblis (Devil’s Deception) in two volumes, Ahkaam al Marjaan, ʻĀlam al-jinn wa-al-shayāṭīn,  al-Furqān baina auliyāʼ ar-raḥmān wa-auliyāʼ aš-šaiṭān, Ibn Taymeeyah's Essay on the jinn (demons).  

Shortly stated, the intention must be to make the invading Jinn go away rather than confronting him since the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) has stated: “Do not wish for yourself to encounter the enemy” and Allah said:  Verily, Satan is an enemy to you. Lastly, never attribute success to yourself. 

Again, it also happens sometimes that an expert Raqi, with the Power and Will of Allah (swt),  is able to capture the Jinn.  In that case, he must order the Jinn to obey Allah and His Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) and must not enter into any pact to advance his own worldly desires.  In the words of Shaykh Ibn Taimiyyah: And whoever uses Jinn for what Allah and his messenger have forbidden, either shirk or killing a person unjustly or aggressing people without killing them by making them ill or lose knowledge or other harms, or use them for sins like bringing a person to commit a sin, that one has used their help for sin and harm, and if he uses them for kufr he is kafir, and if he uses them for sins he is sinner or perverse, or sinner without being perverse, and his knowledge of Islam is lacking. And if he uses their help for what he thinks is miracles like using them for pilgrimage or flying when he hears words not taught in sunna (innovative words), or they take him to Arafat and he does not perform the correct Hajj that Allah and his Prophet have ordered, or they take him from city to city and further on, that one is tricked and they are making fun of him. [Majmu’ Alfatawa V11P307.]

CONCLUDED: 

For, all praise belongs to Allah and it is He alone Who grants success! Allah (swt) is the Best of protectors and the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.

Allah and His Rasool know best.

NASIR