In pre-Islamic Arabia poets and soothsayers exerted a significant influence on their societies. This was especially true of the Hijaz region where ‘loony’ or ‘crazy’ people were thought to be possessed by Jinn. They were afforded a special status since the poets produced powerful verses that could be used to defeat poets of rival clans in the battle of wits. Hassaan ibn Thabit was one such famous poet who during the first sixty years of his life claimed that his poetry was jinn-inspired as a female jinn had accosted him in the streets of Yathrib (Madinah), knocked him down, and pressed upon his chest, forcing him to recite three verses of poetry. He, however, accepted Islam at the sight of the Holy Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) who had then migrated to Madinah Munawwara. Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) would ask him to recite poetry. He would respond with majestic praises of the Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam). He was able to do with his poetry what others could do with their swords.
As for the soothsayers, they claimed that devils were under their control, and through them, they received the news of the unseen and thus they could foretell the destinies of the people. In the ancient past, the jinn were able to ascend into the heavens. At that time, they were able to eavesdrop and find out about events before they happened. However, during the time of Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) heavenly protection was upgraded and remains in place till today. The jinn are no longer able to eavesdrop on conversations in the heavenly realm, as mentioned in Surah Jinn, Verses 8-9. Also, Aisha ® reported: Some people asked the Messenger of Allah, peace, and blessings be upon him, about soothsayers. The Prophet (Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, “They are upon nothing.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, sometimes they speak about things that come true.” The Prophet said, “Those are the words snatched by the jinn, who whisper them into the ears of their friends and are mixed with more than one hundred lies.” [Muttafaqun Alayhi (authenticity agreed upon) according to Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. These lies have also been termed as “cackles of hens”.
With the spread of Islam beyond the boundaries of Al-Hijaz or Arabia, the Islamic belief in the Jinn got imbued with the local beliefs of spirits prevailing in the regions of the newly conquered territories. In Iran, the Quran identified the jinn either with peris or divs, the latter being the evil ones. The most powerful there is referred to as Narahs. In Sindh which was conquered in 712 CE by the 17-year-old Ibn Qasim during the Omayyad Dynasty, the concept of male jinni and female jinnia called “jiniri” came to be introduced during the Abbasid Era. This became a common part of the local folklore, including the story of Jejhal Jiniri. The cultural features related to the belief in jinn differ from society to society notably in the far east where the Islamic army was never sent – for instance Indonesia and Malaysia.
We have noted earlier that Tha'labah al-Kashani said: "The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, 'Jinn are of three types: One type with wings that fly in the air; one type that is snakes and scorpions; and another that settle and move."
Other reports claim that ‘Abd Allāh ibn Mas‘ūd (d. 652), who was accompanying Prophet Muhammad (Sall Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) when the jinn came to hear his recitation of the Qur’an, described them as creatures of different forms; some resembling vultures and snakes, others tall men in white garb.
TO PUBLISH AS PART 8
Let’s now turn to some prophetic traditions:
According to a Hadith, an effective method of banishing ghouls is to recite lines from the Quran. The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi WaSallam) said, ‘If the gheelan appear and transform themselves before you, call the Athaan’. Al-Musnad vol. 3, page 305.
According to another hadith, Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) also said: “No one can change the image in which he was created. But jinn have some magicians among them as do humans, so when you see them (ghul), give the call to prayers (Adhaan).” And it will go away.
Now, Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari ® had a storehouse in which he used to store dates. A ghoul would come and take from it, so he complained about that to the Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam). In this Hadith too, after swearing several times that she would not return she was let off but to no avail. She is apprehended for the last time, but is finally released after she reveals: "I shall tell you something: If you recite Ayaat Al-Kursi in your home, then no Shaitan, nor any other shall come near you." The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam), when apprised, confirmed that she had told the truth though she was an inveterate liar. At-Tirmidhi recorded this Hadith in full in the chapter of the virtues of the Qur’an and said, “Hasan Gharib”. [Also recorded by Ahmad, and others]
A similar story is recorded from Abu Hurairah ® who was guarding the Ramadan Zakah when someone came and grabbed some food but was caught. This happened three times, which we have already gone through in earlier Parts of our Article. Here also, on the third occasion, he said, 'Let me go, I will teach you some words by which Allah will give you some benefit.' I asked, 'What are they?' He said, 'Whenever you go to bed, recite Aayat al-kursee- Allaahu laa ilaha illaa huwa al-hayyul-qayyum - until the end of the aayah. Then Allah will appoint a guard to remain with you, and no shaitaan will come near you until the morning.' The next morning Abu Hurairah, when enquired upon, related the incident to the Prophet (Sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) who said, ‘he told you the truth, but he lies. Do you know who it was that spoke to you these past three nights Abu Hurairah?’ He (Abu Hurairah) said, ‘No’. "That was a shaitaan."
[You will find the full version in the Sahih and Tarikh of Imam Bukhari, which has also been cited by Imam Baghawi. Ibn Hajar has traced the various routes of this Hadith’s chain.]
Then, there is a hadith about the dates being robbed by a beast-like adolescent boy whose hand was like that of a dog with hair on it. Here also, upon being asked 'Is there something that will protect us from you?' The answer was “Aayatul Kursee”. The next day Ubayy went to the Prophet (Sallallahu 'Alaihi wa sallam) and informed him about what happened. He (Sallallahu 'alaihi Wasallam) said: The evil one told the truth. [This hadith can be read in full and is recorded by an-Nasaa'i in 'Aml al-Yawm wal-Laylah, al-Baghawi in Sharh as-Sunnah, Bukhari in at-Taarikh al-Kabeer, and Ibn Hibbaan in his Sahih as well as others.]
Strength of faith and religion, in general, will also prevent the jinn from harming a person, so much so that if they were to fight, the one who has faith would win:
'Abdullaah Ibn Mas'ood, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "A man from among the Companions of Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) met a male jinn. They wrestled, and the man knocked down the jinn. The man 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 man said, 'Fine.' He (the jinn) said, 'Recite (the verse, which means): "Allah- there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence …" [Quran 2: 255]. The man said, 'Fine.' He said, 'You will never recite this in your house but the Satan will come out of it like a donkey breaking wind, and he will never come back in until the next morning.'" [Ad-Daarimi]
There are other similar hadiths, with varying degrees of authenticity, and in some of them, the narrators call the creature a ghoul, sometimes the creature is a male, sometimes a female. Among the other similar narrations are the narrations of Mu'aath, Buraydah, and Abu Usayd, the last two of which mention the ghoul. All of these hadiths support the existence of the ghoul due to their multiple routes of transmission – i.e., the saying of Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari, al-Bayhaqi in Dalaa'il an-Nubuwah, Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir, and al-Mubaarakpuri in Tuhfat al-Ahwathee. After the narration of Abu Ayyub, al-Haakim said, "These chains of narration, when combined together, make the hadeeths' level Mashhoor (well known), and Allah knows best."
In order to circumscribe the superstitious beliefs that were prevalent among the Arabs, the Holy Prophet (Sal Allahu Alayhi Wasallam) said: There is no superstitious owl, bird, no star-promising rain, no bad omen in the month of Safar. [Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 5707]. There is no bad omen in the month of Safar and no Ghouls (evil spirits). [Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2222].
This did not mean that existence of Ghouls was denied. All this has been explained by Islamic scholars. Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali said:
In al-Musnad, al-Saheehayn, and elsewhere it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “No haamah and no Safar.” Muslim and others add the words, “No naw’ and no ghoul”
Haamah (pl. Haam) [owl]: the people of the jahiliyyah used to think that when someone died and was buried an owl [haamah] would come out of his grave. The Arabs used to think that the bones of the deceased turned into owls which flew, and they said that if someone was murdered, an owl would come out of his head, and it would keep saying, “Give me to drink, give me to drink,” until the slain person was avenged and his killer was killed.
Safar: it was said that they used to have superstitions concerning the month of Safar, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “No Safar”. And it was said that the Arabs used to believe that there was a snake in the stomach which would harm a person when he had intercourse and that this was contagious, so the Lawgiver denied that. Maalik said: the people of the Jahiliyyah would regard Safar as not being sacred one year and as sacred the next year.
Naw’: (pl. al-Anwaa’) (a star which sets at the rising of another): this refers to twenty-eight lunar mansions or phases, as in the Aayah (interpretation of the meaning “And the moon, We have measured for it mansions…” [Yaa-Seen 36:39]. Every thirteen nights, one of these stars sets in the west at dawn, and another rises in the east so that at the end of the year they will all have come and gone. The Arabs used to believe that when one set and the next one rose, there would be rain, which they attributed to them (these stars), so they would say, “We have rain because of such and such naw’ (star which sets at the rising of another).”
It is called naw’ because when the star which is setting sets in the west, the one which is rising appears (naa’a) in the east, i.e., it rises and emerges. And it was said that naw’ means setting, which is the opposite. But in the case of those who believe that rain came by the will of Allah and say, “We have rain at the time of such and such naw’” meaning that Allah usually causes rain to come at this time – there is some dispute as to whether saying this is haraam or makrooh.
Ghoul (pl. gheelaan) means a kind of jinn or devil. The Arabs used to think that the ghoul lived in the wilderness and would appear to people, that it could take on different shapes and colours, and that it would make them lose their way, seeking to kill them. The Lawgiver rejected and denied this idea altogether. And it was said that this was not denying that ghouls exist, rather it was a denial of the Arabs’ belief that they could change shape and colour and make people lose their way. Hence the meaning of “no ghoul” is that they cannot make people lose their way. This is borne out by another hadith, “There is no ghoul but there is sa’aali” This is in Muslim and elsewhere. Sa’aali is a magician among the jinn, but among them, there are magicians who base their magic on confusion and illusions… al-Khallaal narrated from Taawoos that a man accompanied him, then a crow cawed and the man said, “Good, good.” Taawoos said to him, “What good is there in this, and what evil? Do not come with me.” (al-Aadaab al-Shar’iyyah, 3/369, 370)
Also, Ibn Qayyim has explained why the statement of some scholars that the words “no healthy person should be exposed to a sick person” were abrogated by the words “There is no ‘adwa (contagion),” is not correct. With regard to the Prophet’s prohibition of exposing healthy people to sick people, there are two interpretations: (1) The fear that people may attribute what Allah has decreed to ‘adwa (contagion), which may confuse those who hear of this and make them believe in ‘adwa. (2) That this refers to exposing the sick person to the healthy person, which may be the means by which Allah creates disease, so the exposure is the cause, but Allah may divert its effects by means of other causes which oppose it or prevent the effect of the sickness. This is pure Tawheed, unlike that which the people of shirk believe in. There is no contradiction between the two reports. For brevity’s sake, we cannot go into the theological details thereof!
Insha Allah, how the Ghouls were transformed into cannibals will be shortly discussed in our next Part, The Arabian Nights! I only hope that the readers won't mind this short digression!
(Continued in Part
NASIR ALI