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{{Short description|Supernatural beings in Arab culture and Islam}}
{{about|the concept of jinn derived from pre-Islamic Arabian folklore|a broader Islamic overview|Demons in Islam|other demonic beings in Islamic culture|Div (mythology)}}
{{redirect-several|Jinni|Jinn|4=Genie}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox mythical creature
|name             = Jinn<br />{{nobold|{{langx|ar|جِنّ|rtl=yes|label=none}}}}
|AKA              = Djinn, jen, genies, Cin, Xhindi
|image            = Shah Namah, the Persian Epic of the Kings Wellcome L0035191.jpg
|image_size       = <!-- Image size in pixels; do not use with image_upright -->
|image_upright    = <!-- Image size scale factor; do not use with image_size -->
|caption          = Jinn gather to do battle with the hero [[Faramarz]]. Illustration in an illuminated manuscript of the Iranian epic ''[[Shahnameh]]''.
|Folklore         = [[Pre-Islamic Arabian religion|Arab]] and [[Islamic]]
|Grouping         = [[Supernatural being]]
|Sub_Grouping     = 
|Family           = <!-- Lives in tribes stuctured similarly to Nomadic Bedouin lives-->
|Region           = [[Muslim world]]
}}

'''Jinn''' ({{langx|ar|جِنّ‎}}), also [[Romanization of Arabic|romanized]] as '''djinn''' or [[Anglicisation (linguistics)|anglicized]] as '''genies''', are supernatural beings in [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|ancient Arabian religion]] and [[Islam]].<ref name=asSamarqandi-on-alFiqh>{{cite book
 |first=Abu l-Lait |last=as-Samarqandi
 |title=Islamic Concept of Belief in the 4th/10th Century. Abu l-Lait as-Samarqandi's commentary on Abu Hanifa (died 150/767) al-Fiqh al-absat
 |contribution=Introduction, text, and commentary
 |series=Studia Culturae Islamicae
 |volume=52
 |contributor=Hans Daiber
 |publisher=Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
 |place=Tokyo
 |page=243
 |language=Arabic, English
 |oclc=35600707
}}
</ref> Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers (''[[Muslims|Mu'minun]]'') or unbelievers (''[[kafir|kuffar]]''), depending on whether they accept [[God in Islam|God]]'s guidance.

Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and could adapt them during [[Spread of Islam|its expansion]]. Likewise, jinn are not a strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam.<ref name=McAuliffe-2005-EncQrn/>{{efn|
''From'' T. Nünlist (2015) ''Dämonenglaube im Islam''<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=2}}<br />
'''{{sc|Translation:}}''' {{in lang|en}}<br />
"M. Dols points out that jinn-belief is not a strictly Islamic concept. It rather includes countless elements of idol-worship, as Muhammad's enemies practised in Mecca during ''jahilliya''. According to F. Meier early Islam integrated many pagan deities into its system by degrading them to spirits. 1. In Islam, the existence of spirits that are neither angels nor necessarily devils is acknowledged. 2. Thereby Islam is able to incorporate non-biblical[,] non-Quranic ideas about mythic images, that means: a. degrading deities to spirits and therefore taking into the spiritual world. b. taking daemons, not mentioned in the sacred traditions of Islam, of uncertain origin. c. consideration of spirits to tolerate or advising to regulate them."<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=2}}
<br />
'''{{sc|Original:}}''' {{in lang|de}}<br />
"M. Dols macht darauf aufmerksam, dass der Ginn-Glaube kein strikt islamisches Konzept ist. Er beinhaltet vielmehr zahllose Elemente einer Götzenverehrung, wie sie Muhammads Gegner zur Zeit der ''gahiliyya'' in Mekka praktizierten. Gemäß F. Meier integrierte der junge Islam bei seiner raschen Expansion viele heidnische Gottheiten in sein System, indem er sie zu Dämonen degradierte. 1. Im Islam wird die Existenz von Geistern, die weder Engel noch unbedingt Teufel sein müssen, anerkannt. 2. Damit besitzt der Islam die Möglichkeit, nicht-biblische[,] nicht koranische Vorstellungen von mythischen Vorstellungen sich einzuverleiben, d.h.: a. Götter zu Geistern zu erniedrigen und so ins islamische Geisterreich aufzunehmen. b. in der heiligen Überlieferung des Islams nicht eigens genannte Dämonen beliebiger Herkunft zu übernehmen. c. eine Berücksichtigung der Geister zu dulden oder gar zu empfehlen und sie zu regeln."<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=2}}<ref name=McAuliffe-2005-EncQrn/>
}} Islam places jinn and humans on the same plane in relation to God, with both being subject to [[Judgement Day in Islam|divine judgement]] and an [[Akhirah|afterlife]].{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=19–21}} The [[Quran]] condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of [[Jahiliyyah|worshipping or seeking protection from them]].{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=37}}

While they are naturally invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies ({{langx|ar|[[:wikt:أَجْسَام|أَجْسَام]]|translit=ajsām|label=none|rtl=yes}}) and are capable of [[shapeshifting]], usually choosing to appear as [[snake]]s, but also as [[scorpion]]s, [[lizard]]s, 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 [[Tribes of Arabia|Arabian tribes]]. Upon being disturbed or harmed by humans, they usually retaliate in kind, with the most drastic interactions leading them to [[Spirit possession|possess the assailant's body]], thus requiring [[Spirit possession and exorcism in Islam|exorcism]].

Individual jinn appear on [[Amulet#Islam|charms]] and [[Talisman#Islam|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 [[Names of God in Islam|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 [[Shirk (Islam)|their association with idolatry]].

==Etymology and translation==
''Jinn'' is an Arabic [[collective number|collective noun]] deriving from the [[Semitic root]] {{sc|jnn}} ({{langx|ar|جَنّ / جُنّ}}, ''jann''), whose primary meaning is 'to hide' or 'to adapt'. Some authors interpret the word to mean, literally, 'beings that are concealed from the senses'.<ref>
{{cite web
 |last=Lane |first=Edward William
 |year=1863
 |title=An Arabic-English Lexicon
 |place=London, UK
 |publisher=Willams & Norgate
 |page=462
 |url=http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/lane/
 |via=tyndalearchive.com   |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408021742/http://www.tyndalearchive.com/tabs/lane/
 |archive-date=8 April 2015
}}
</ref>
[[Cognate]]s include the Arabic ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|majnūn}}'' ({{lang|ar|مَجْنُون}}, 'possessed' or, generally, 'insane'), ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|[[jannah]]}}'' ({{lang|ar|جَنَّة}}, 'garden', 'eden' or 'heaven'), and ''{{transliteration|ar|ALA|janīn}}'' ({{lang|ar|جَنِين}}, 'embryo').<ref>
{{cite book
 |last=Wehr |first=Hans |author-link=Hans Wehr
 |year=1994
 |title=Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic  |edition=4
 |title-link=Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic
 |publisher=Spoken Language Services
 |place=Urbana, IL
 |isbn=978-0-87950-003-0
 |page=164
}}
</ref>
''Jinn'' is properly treated as a plural (however in [[Classical Arabic]], may also appear as ''jānn'', {{langx|ar|جَانّ|label=none}}), with the singular being ''jinnī'' ({{langx|ar|جِنِّيّ|label=none}}),{{Efn|sometimes Arabs use Jānn ({{langx|ar|جان}}) term for singular, jānn also referred to jinn world – another plural, snakes / serpents and [[Jann (legendary creature)|another type of jinn]]}} from which the English word "genie" is derived.

The origin of the word ''jinn'' remains uncertain.<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=22}} Some scholars relate the Arabic term ''jinn'' to the [[Latin]] ''[[genius (mythology)|genius]]'' – a guardian spirit of people and places in [[ancient Roman religion|Roman religion]] – as a result of [[syncretism]] during the reign of the Roman empire under [[Tiberius]] and [[Augustus]];{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=38}} however, this derivation is also disputed.<ref name=Nünlist-2015/>{{rp|style=ama|p=25}} Supporters argue that both Roman genii as well as Arabian jinn are considered to be lesser deities inhabiting local [[sanctuary|sanctuaries]], trees or springs, and persons or families.<ref name="Abu-Hamdiyyah, Muhammad 2020">
{{cite book
 |last=Abu-Hamdiyyah |first=Muhammad
 |year=2020
 |title=The Qur'an: An introduction
 |publisher=Routledge
}}
</ref> [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] ''ginnaya'' ({{langx|syc|ܓܢܝܐ}}) with the meaning of '[[tutelary deity]]'<ref name=Nünlist-2015/>{{rp|style=ama|p=24}} 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 language|Persian]] origin and appeared in the form of the [[Avestic]] ''Jaini'', a wicked (female) spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even [[Zoroastrians in Iran|pre-Zoroastrian]] mythology of [[Iranian peoples|peoples of Iran]].<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=W.S.C. |last=Tisdall |author-link=W. St. Clair Tisdall
 |year=1905
 |title=The Original Sources of the Qur'an
 |publisher=[[Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge]]
 |place=London, UK
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
 |first=W.S.C. |last=Tisdall |author-link=W. St. Clair Tisdall
 |year=1895
 |title=The Religion of the Crescent or Islam: Its strength, its weakness, its origin, its influence
}}
</ref> 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.<ref name=MagicAndDivination-2021/>{{rp|style=ama|p=45}}

The [[Anglicization|anglicized]] form ''genie'' is a borrowing of the French ''{{lang|fr|génie}}'', also from the Latin ''genius''.<ref name=oed>
{{cite dictionary
 |title=genie, ''n''.
 |year=2014
 |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary |edition=3rd
 |publisher=Oxford University Press
 |place=Oxford, UK
 |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/genie_n?tl=true
}}
</ref> It first appeared in 18th&nbsp;century translations of the ''[[The Book of One Thousand and One Nights|Thousand and One Nights]]'' from the 1706 French edition,<ref>
{{cite book
 |title=Arabian Nights' Entertainments
 |year=1706
 |volume=I |page=14
}}
</ref>
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.<ref>
{{cite book
 |editor-first=John L. |editor-last=Mckenzie
 |year=1995
 |title=Dictionary of the Bible
 |place=New York
 |publisher=Simon and Schuster
 |isbn=978-0-684-81913-6
 |page=192
}}
</ref>
In [[Assyrian art]], the modern term used for creatures [[ontology|ontologically]] between humans and divinities is also ''genie''.<ref>
{{cite book
 |first=Mehmet-Ali |last=Ataç
 |year=2010
 |title=Mythology of Kingship in Neo-Assyrian Art
 |publisher=Cambridge University Press
 |isbn=978-0-521-51790-4
 |page=36
}}
</ref>

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.<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia
 |title=jinn – definition of ''jinn'' in English
 |dictionary=Oxford Dictionaries
 |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/jinn
 |access-date=27 August 2017
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403193038/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/jinn
 |archive-date=3 April 2019
}}
</ref><ref name=Nünlist-2015>
{{cite book
 |last=Nünlist |first=Tobias
 |year=2015
 |title=Dämonenglaube im Islam
 |trans-title=Demonic Belief in Islam
 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
 |isbn=978-3-110-33168-4
 |language=de
}}
</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=22}}
In turn, the Arabic translation for the Greek [[nymph]] (''arūsa'') is also used for jinn by Middle Eastern sources.<ref name=MagicAndDivination-2021/>{{rp|style=ama|p=43}}
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.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last=Haring |first=Lee
 |year=1995
 |title=Africa and the Disciplines: The contributions of research in Africa to the social sciences and humanities
 |pages=122–124
}}
</ref>

== Pre-Islamic era ==
[[Image:Blessing genie Dur Sharrukin.jpg|thumb|The [[winged genie]] in the [[bucket and cone]] motif, depicting a demi-divine entity,<ref name="Fee-Webb-2016">
{{cite book
 |last1=Fee  |first1=C.R.  |author1-link=Christopher R. Fee
 |last2=Webb |first2=Jeffrey B.
 |date=29 August 2016
 |title=American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An encyclopedia of American folklore
 |publisher=ABC-CLIO
 |isbn=978-1-610-69568-8
 |page=527
}}
</ref>
probably a forerunner of the [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic]] tutelary deities, who became the jinn in Islam. Relief from the north wall of the Palace of king [[Sargon II]] at [[Dur Sharrukin]], 713–716&nbsp;BCE.]]The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear.<ref name="Lebling–2010">
{{cite book
 |last=Lebling  |first=Robert
 |date=2010
 |title=Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and genies from Arabia to Zanzibar
 |publisher=I.B. Tauris
 |place=New York, NY & London, UK
 |isbn=978-0-85773-063-3
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qKL3AgAAQBAJ&q=ancient+Mesopotamian+genii+and+Islamic+jinn
}}
</ref>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 1–10}} Belief in jinn in [[Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia|pre-Islamic Arab religion]] is attested not only by the Quran, but also by [[pre-Islamic Arabic poetry]].<ref name="HistMuh-2016">{{cite book |last= Zeitlin |first= Irving M.|date= 2007|title= The Historical Muhammad |publisher=Polity |page= |isbn=978-0-745-63998-7}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=54}} 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;<ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 1–10}} others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance.<ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 1–10}} Many ancient deities may have developed from jinn, while others represent degraded gods.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Waardenburg |first=Jacques |date=2008 |title=Jacques. Waardenburg, ''Islam: Historical, Social, and Political Perspectives''. Religion and Reason, vol. 40. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2002. xvi+436 pp. $79.95 (cloth). |journal=Walter de Gruyter |volume=84 |issue=3 |pages=499–500 |doi=10.1086/424427 |issn=0022-4189}}</ref>

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.<ref name=":5" /> The high god [[El (deity)|El]] (or Allah) 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.<ref name=":5" /> 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.<ref name=":5" />

=== Fear and veneration ===
{{See also|Daimon}}
Jinn were already worshipped by many Arabs in [[pre-Islamic Arabia]].{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=34}}<ref name="HistMuh-2016"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=54}} [[Julius Wellhausen]] observed that jinn were often thought to "inhabit or haunt desolate, dark and dingy places in the desert".<ref name="Zeitlin59">
{{cite book
 |first=Irving M. |last=Zeitlin
 |date=2007
 |title=The Historical Muhammad
 |publisher=Polity
 |isbn=978-0-7456-3999-4
 |pages=59–60
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v_seJ21M0UoC&pg=PT59
}}
</ref> For that reason, they were held responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=122}}<ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 1–10}} [[Emilie Savage-Smith]] asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute.<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021">Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=39}} In the regions north to the [[Hejaz]], [[Palmyra]] and [[Baalbek]], the terms ''jinni'' and ''ilah'' (deity) were often used interchangeably.<ref>ʻAẓmah, ʻ. (2014). The Emergence of Islam in Late Antiquity: Allah and His People. Vereinigtes Königreich: Cambridge University Press. p. 293</ref> 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.<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=39}}

[[Muqatil ibn Sulayman]] attributes the origin of the practice of jinn-veneration to the [[Banu Hanifa]]. When travelling through the wilderness and the [[Sunset|sun sets]], they sought refuge among the spirits of the place:<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The first who sought refuge among the jinn were people from Yemen, from the Banu Hanifa tribe. Afterwards, this [practice] 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=موقع التفير الكبير |url=https://altafsir.com/ |access-date=2025-11-08 |website=Altafsir.com}}</ref></blockquote>[[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.<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=cin
 |website=TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi
 |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/cin
}}
</ref><ref name=Aloiane-1996/>{{rp|style=ama|page= 424}} Despite being invisible, jinn are considered to have bodies (''ajsām''); as described by [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]], they are among [[animals]], along with humans, burdened beasts (like [[horses]]), [[Bos|cattle]], wild beasts, [[birds]], and [[reptiles]].<ref>Nasr, S. H. (2013). Islamic Life and Thought. Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=135}} Jinn are further known as shapeshifters, often assuming the form of an animal, favouring the form of a [[snake]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Amira el-Zein |title=The Evolution of the Concept of Jinn from Pre-Islam to Islam |page=260}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024}}</ref> Other [[chthonic]] animals regarded as forms of jinn include [[scorpion]]s and [[lizard]]s. 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.<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=164}}{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=164}} 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.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last=Abd-Allah |first=Umar F.
 |year=2002
 |contribution=The Perceptible and the unseen: The Qur'anic conception of man's relationship to God and realities beyond human perception
 |editor-last=Palmer  |editor-first=Spencer J.
 |title=Mormons and Muslims: Spiritual foundations and modern manifestations
 |pages=209–264
 |place=Provo, UT
 |publisher=Brigham Young University
 |department=Religious Studies Center
}}
</ref> Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=91–93}}

=== 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 [[Fortune-telling|soothsayer]]s, philosophers, and [[Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry|poets]] were inspired by the jinn.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=34}}<ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 1–10}} In his [[Book of Idols]], [[Hisham ibn al-Kalbi|Al-Kalbi]] records a story about a jinni named Abū-Thumama working as an oracle advising [[Amr ibn Luhay]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Filson |first=Lily |date=2021-01-02 |title=Intersections of Material and Literary History in Religion and Ritual of Ancient Arabia through Islam |journal=Journal of Arabian Studies |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–17 |doi=10.1080/21534764.2021.1935681 |issn=2153-4764 }}</ref>

The Arabian poet [[al-A'sha]] (d. after 3/625) claimed that his inspiration for his poetry came from a befriended jinni named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") whom he called his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī").<ref name="jstor.org">{{Cite journal |last=Yosefi |first=Maxim |date=2019 |title=The origins of the traditional approach towards the jinn of poetic inspiration in tribal Arab culture |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |volume=49 |pages=293–302 |jstor=27014158 |issn=0308-8421}}</ref> Similarly, the poet [[Hassan ibn Thabit|Thābit]] (d. 54/674) 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" ("wa-akhī min al-jinn al-baṣīr").<ref name="jstor.org"/> 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.<ref name="AmiraJinn2">{{cite book |author=Amira el-Zein |title=The Evolution of the Concept of Jinn from Pre-Islam to Islam |pages=108–109}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024}}</ref>
 
The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different from that of a jinni and a soothsayer (''kāhin''). The soothsayer is presented as someone who is [[Spirit possession|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.<ref>Ruiz, Manuel. "The conception of authority in pre-Islamic Arabia: its legitimacy and origin." (1971). p. 20</ref> [[Muhammad|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]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Afsaruddin |first=Asma |title=The Concept of Revelation in Islam |date=2020-05-05 |work=The Concept of Revelation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam |pages=143–194 |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9783110476057-004 |isbn=978-3-11-047605-7 }}</ref>

==Islam==
Jinn have been called  an integral part of the Muslim tradition<ref>{{cite book|author=Mark A. Caudill|title=Twilight in the Kingdom: Understanding the Saudis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZbjOEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing USA]]|publication-date=2006|isbn=978-0-313-08485-0|page=92|quote=Jinn are an integral part of both traditional and Gnostic Islamic belief.}}</ref> or faith,<ref>{{cite book|author=William E. Burns|title=They Believed That?: A Cultural Encyclopedia of Superstitions and the Supernatural around the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hEvEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA137|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing USA]]|publication-date=2022|isbn=978-1-4408-7848-0|page=137|quote=Jinn are considered by some authorities to be an integral part of the Islamic faith due to their inclusion in the Quran.}}</ref> completely accepted in official Islam,<ref name=EI-2-English/>
and prominently featured in folklore.<ref name="Olomi-prominently-2021">{{cite book |last1=Olomi |first1=Ali A. |title=The Routledge Companion to the Qur'an |date=2021 |page=149|publisher=Routledge |location=N.Y. |access-date=24 July 2024 |chapter=14. Jinn in the Quran |isbn=978-1-134-63548-1 |quote=The jinn feature prominently in Islamic folklore as ambivalent and mischievous supernatural forces. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GtHEAAAQBAJ&dq=jinn+prominently+featured+in+muslim+folklore&pg=PT225}}</ref> Medieval and modern scholars have studied the consequences implied by their existence,<ref>{{cite book|editor1=Coeli Fitzpatrick|editor2=Adam Hani Walker|title=Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOTNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA321|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing USA]]|publication-date=2014|isbn=978-1-61069-178-9|page=321 |quote=Although they feature prominently in folklore, jinn are also taken quite seriously by Muslim scholars, both medieval and modern.}}</ref> legal status, and the possible relations between them and mankind, especially in questions of marriage and property.<ref name=EI-2-English>{{cite encyclopedia |chapter=Djinn |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English) |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0191 |editor1= D.B. MacDonald |editor2=H. Massé |editor3=P.N. Boratav |editor4=K.A. Nizami |editor5=P. Voorhoeve |url= https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIEO/COM-0191.xml |access-date=27 July 2024 |quote=II. In official Islam the existence of the d̲j̲inn was completely accepted, as it is to This day, and the full consequences implied by their existence were worked out. Their legal status in all respects was discussed and fixed, and the possible relations between them and mankind, especially in questions of marriage and property, were examined.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Medieval sources describe the jinn inhabiting the earth before the creation of mankind.<ref>El-Zein, Amira (2009). Islam, Arabs, and the intelligent world of the Jinn. Contemporary Issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8156-3200-9}}  p. 39</ref> They serve as a pattern for later human disobedience: they were first created by God, then rebelled against God's messengers, shed blood and exploited the environment, and were eventually punished by God's angels.<ref name="El-Zein, Amira 2009 p. 41">El-Zein, Amira (2009). Islam, Arabs, and the intelligent world of the Jinn. Contemporary Issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8156-3200-9}} p. 41</ref> Muslims raised the question of whether some jinn may have survived from primordial times. Some Quran exegetes such as [[ibn Kathir]] hold this to be the case.<ref name="El-Zein, Amira 2009 p. 41"/> Especially in [[Folk Islam|folklore]], the belief that some jinn still hide in desolate places and wastelands is widespread.<ref name="El-Zein, Amira 2009 p. 41"/>

=== Quran ===
{{see also|Islamic mythology}}
[[File:Naskh script - Qur'anic verses.jpg|thumb|The 72nd chapter of the [[Qur'an]] entitled [[Al-Jinn]] (The Jinn), as well as the heading and introductory [[Basmala|''bismillah'']] of the next chapter entitled [[al-Muzzammil]] (The Enshrouded One)|alt=]]

Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the [[Quran]],<ref name="Lebling–2010" />{{rp|style=ama|p=21}} exclusively in [[Meccan surah]]s.{{Sfn|Sinai|2023|p=180}} The Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with the subject without elaborating on the jinn much further.<ref>Rothenberg, Celia E. Spirits of Palestine: Gender, society, and stories of the jinn. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. p.245</ref> According to the {{qref|51|56-57|b=y}}, [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] was sent as a [[prophets of Islam|prophet]] to both human and jinn communities, and prophets and messengers were sent to both communities.<ref>{{qref|51|56-56|b=y}}</ref><ref>Muḥammad ibn Ayyūb al-Ṭabarī, ''Tuḥfat al-gharā'ib'', I, p. 68</ref><ref>Abū al-Futūḥ Rāzī, ''Tafsīr-e rawḥ al-jenān va rūḥ al-janān'', pp. 193, 341</ref>

Throughout the Quran, humans and jinn (''al-ins wa-l-jinn'') appear frequently as a pair, designating their equal status in regards to their creation and rejecting that jinn share divinity with the Creator.<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023">Sinai, Nicolai. "Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary." (2023): 1-840.</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=181}}<ref name=Fee-Webb-2016/> The term ''ins'' derives from ''anisa'', which means "to be familiar with", and refers to recognisable, familiar human beings. In contrast, the term ''jinn'' refers to foreign, invisible, or unknown anthropomorphic beings, which are nonetheless subject to the same considerations as the former.<ref name="Abu-Hamdiyyah, Muhammad 2020"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=101}} They were both created to worship God ({{qref|51|56}}).<ref name="Medieval-2006"/><ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}} Because they are supposed to worship God out of free will, they can do both good and evil deeds ({{qref|7|179}}, {{qref|55|56}}).<ref name="Medieval-2006"/><ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}} They are, like humans, rational beings formed of nations ({{qref|7|38}}).<ref name="Medieval-2006"/><ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}}

[[Al-Jinn|Surah al-jinn]] is about the revelation to jinn.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=64}} This Surah mentions righteous jinn on one hand, and malicious jinn on the other.<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=181}} The jinn can neither harm nor benefit humans, for they are occupied with looking after themselves and their own place in the cosmos.<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=185}} This is in notable contrast to demons and devils in the [[Judeo-Christian|Judeo-Christian tradition]].<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=181, 185}} The Quran does not condemn the jinn as a source of harm, but condemns mistaking them for beings deserving cultic veneration ({{qref|72|6}}).<ref name="Medieval-2006">{{cite book |last= Meri|first= Josef|date= 2016|title= Routledge Revivals: Medieval Islamic Civilization (2006) An Encyclopedia - Volume I|url= |location= United Kingdom|publisher= Taylor & Francis.|page= |isbn=978-1-351-66822-4}}</ref><ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=41}}<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=185}} Jinn and humans are blamed for ascribing divine attributes to another creature (i.e. jinn)—jinn to themselves and humans to the jinn.<ref name="MagicAndDivination-2021"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=41}}<ref name="Abu-Hamdiyyah, Muhammad 2020"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=102}} [[Muhammad in Islam|The prophet Muhammad]] is believed to preach to both humans and jinn about ''islām''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Coulon |first=Jean-Charles |date=2010 |title=Bulletin critique Amira El-Zein, Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn, New York, Syracuse University Press, 2009, 215 p., {{text|ISBN:}} 978-0-8156-3200-9, 39,95 $. |journal=Arabica |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=491–494 |doi=10.1163/157005810x519198 |issn=0570-5398 }}</ref> Some were Jewish jinn ({{qref|46|29-32}}) while others were pagans ({{qref|72|2-7}}) who aided fortune tellers and soothsayers.<ref name=":2" />

In the Quranic account, despite their similarities with humans, there are important differences between these two species. Whereas humans are made from "clay" or "dirt", jinn were created from "smokeless fire" ({{qref|15|27|b=y}}, {{qref|55|15|b=y}}),<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}} which is possibly the reason why they are credited with some extraordinary abilities, such as invisibility, transformation, and ascending into the air like devils ({{qref|72|8|b=y}}).<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}} Despite some superhuman powers, the jinn occupy no fundamentally different position in the Quran than humans. Like humans, the jinn have no knowledge of the future.<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}} Like humanity, jinn face [[epistemic]] limitations regarding "the hidden/occult", have to rely on God's messengers, and face [[Eschatology|eschatological]] judgement.<ref name="Sinai, Nicolai 2023"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=182}}<ref>Teuma, Edmund. "The Solomon legend in Muslim tradition." (1987).</ref><ref name="Medieval-2006"/>

=== Exegesis ===
[[File:Royal figure enthroned and surrounded by Jinn of the Earth.png|thumb|Kashan, Iran, late 12th–13th century mina'i-fritware bowl. The scene in this bowl can be understood as depicting the enthroned (Second) Sulaymān with messengers to either side, crowned human headed winged jinn.<ref>On the Exercise of Coastal Control through 
Observation and Long Distance Communication Systems in Seljuk Territory in the XIIIth 
Century</ref>]]
[[File:Berlin Diez-Album, fol. 71, p. 11 Nr 2 The Singer Ibrahim and the Jinn.jpg|thumb|The Singer Ibrahim and the jinn. Ibrahim has been imprisoned by his master Muhammad al-Amin and visited by a jinn in guise of an old man. The jinn offers him food and drink and is so impressed by Ibrahim's voice that he convinces al-Amin to free him.<ref>Komaroff, Linda, and Stefano Carboni, eds. The legacy of Genghis Khan: courtly art and culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.</ref>]]
The term ''jinn'' is [[Polysemy|polysemic]] and can refer to (genuine) jinn, [[Angels in Islam|angels]], and [[Shayatin|devil]]s.<ref>Demircigil, Bayram. "Kur'an'da el-Cin Kavramının Medlulü Hakkındaki İhtilaflar." Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi 26.1 (2022): 433-449.</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">DÜZGÜN, Şaban Ali. "DİNSEL ve MİTOLOJİK YÖNLERİYLE CİN ve ŞAYTAAN ALGIMIZ."</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=12}}<ref name="Abu-Hamdiyyah, Muhammad 2020"/> For example, [[As-Saaffat|Surah ''’aṣ-ṣāffāt'']] states: "And they imagine kinship between him and the jinn, whereas the jinn know well that they will be brought before (Him)."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surah As-Saffat Ayat 158 (37:158 Quran) With Tafsir |url=https://myislam.org/surah-saffat/ayat-158/ |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=My Islam |language=en-US}}</ref> In Islamic exegesis, the verse uses the term ''jinn'' to refer to both angels and devils simultaneously, but for different meanings:<blockquote>
هو أنهم قالوا: الـملائكة بنات الله، وقالوا: الـجِنَّة: هي الـملائكة. ذكر من قال
They said: The angels are the daughters of God, and they said: These jinn are the angels.<ref>{{Cite web |title=موقع التفير الكبير |url=https://altafsir.com/ |access-date=2025-10-25 |website=Altafsir.com}}</ref> </blockquote>
and
<blockquote>
 (الماوردي: وهو قول الزنادقة والذين يقولون: الخير مِنَ الله، والشَّرُّ من إِبليس)  و أنهم قالوا أعداء الله: إن الله وإبلـيس أخوان
It is about what the enemies of God said: God and the Devil are brothers. (Al-Mawardi: This is the saying of the heretics and those who say: Good comes from God, and evil comes from the Devil.)</blockquote>
In [[Quran]]ic interpretation and Muslim texts, the term ''jinn'' is thus used for any object hidden from sight, such as angels, devils, and the (spiritual) interior of human beings (psyche),<ref name="Teuma, E. 1984" /><ref>Noegel, Scott B. & Wheeler, Brannon M. (2010) ''The A to Z of Prophets in Islam and Judaism''. Scarecrow Press {{ISBN|978-1-461-71895-6}} page 170</ref>{{efn|This is, for example, evident from A'sha's saying in mention of Sulayman ibn Dawud; ''and He subjected from the jinn among the angels (min jinni al-mala'iki)"''<ref name="Baydawi-2016">translator: Gibril Fouad Haddad, author: ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar al-Baydawi, 2016, ''The Lights Of Revelation And The Secrets Of Interpretation'', {{isbn|978-0-992-63357-8}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=546}} Al-Jahiz defines ''jinn'' as various spirits defined by their behaviour; a malicious and wicked ''jinn'' is called a s̲h̲ayṭān, a ''jinn'' lifting a heavy weight and listening at the doors of Heaven is a ''mārid'', a ''jinn'' of great intelligence is called an ''ʿabḳarī'', a ''jinn'' entirely good and pure is an angel.<ref>Fahd, T. and Rippin, A., "S̲h̲ayṭān", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 17 August 2023 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_1054}}
First published online: 2012
First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref>}} as well as to a specific being, separate from both angels and devils. An example of jinn referred to in the former sense can be found in [[al-Ghazali]]'s ''[[The Alchemy of Happiness|Alchemy of Bliss]]'', in which the author describes ''jinn'' as the internal angelic and demoniacal qualities of the human mind.{{efn|"However, that knowledge of the soul which leads to the knowledge of God, is not of this kind. The knowledge which you need to possess is, to know what you are; how you are created; whence you are; for what you are here; whither you are going; in what your happiness consists, and what you must do to secure it; in what your misery consists, and what you must do to avoid it. And further, your internal qualities are distributed into animal, ferocious, demoniacal and angelic qualities. You need to know, therefore, what qualities predominate in your character, and in the predominance of which your true happiness consists. If your qualities are chiefly animal, the essence of which is to eat and drink, you will day and night seek after these things. If your qualities are of the ferocious kind, the essence of which is to tear and rend, to injure and destroy, you will act accordingly. If you are endowed chiefly with the qualities of devils, which consist in evil machinations, deceit and delusion, then you should know and be aware of it, that you may turn towards the path of perfection. And if you possess angelic qualities, whose nature it is to worship God in sincerity and continually to await the vision of His beauty, then like them you should unceasingly, resting neither day or night, be zealous and strive that you may become worthy of the vision of the Lord. For know, O student of the mysteries! that man was created to stand at the door of service in frailty and weakness, and wait for the opening of the door of spiritual union, and for the vision of beauty, as God declares in his holy word: “I have not created the genii and men except that they should worship me.”
"<ref>{{cite web | title=The Alchemy of Happiness &#124; Online Library of Liberty | url=https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/homes-the-alchemy-of-happiness }}</ref>}} The latter, separate type are believed to be the offspring of ''[[Jann (mythology)|al-Jānn]]'', created out of "smokeless fire" ({{langx|ar|مَارِجٍ مِن نَّار}}, ''mārijin min nār'') – whereas the angels are created from light and the devils from "pure fire" or "fire of poison"<ref>{{cite web | title=موقع التفير الكبير | url=https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=1&tTafsirNo=1&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=30&tDisplay=yes&Page=6&Size=1&LanguageId=1 }}</ref> – and considered to be, along with humans, ''thaqalān'' (lit. 'weighty ones', meaning, they are 'accountable for their deeds', or 'honoured on earth by God').<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Teuma, E. 1984">{{cite journal | last1 = Teuma | first1 = E | year = 1984 | title = More on Qur'anic jinn | url = | journal = Melita Theologica | volume = 35 | issue = 1–2| pages = 37–45 }}</ref><ref>Lange, Christian & Knysh, Alexander D. (eds.) (2022). Sufi cosmology. Boston: Brill.</ref> [[Muqatil ibn Sulayman]] describes the creation of these jinn as follows:
<blockquote>
وذلك أن الله عز وجل خلق الملائكة والجن قبل خلق الشياطين والإنس، وهو آدم، عليه السلام، فجعلهم سكان الأرض، وجعل الملائكة سكان السماوات، فوقع فى الجن الفتن والحسد، فاقتتلوا، فبعث الله جنداً من أهل سماء الدنيا، يقال لهم الجن، إبليس عدو الله منهم، خلقوا جميعاً من نار، وهم خزان الجنة رأسهم إبليس، فهبطوا إلى الأرض</blockquote> 
<blockquote>
This is because God Almighty created the angels and the jinn before He created the devils and mankind, namely Adam, peace be upon him. He made them [the jinn] inhabitants of the earth, and He made the angels inhabitants of the heavens. Then temptations and envy overcame the jinn and so they began to fight. Whereupon God sent an army from the people of the lowest heaven, called ''al-jinn'' [the angelic tribe], with Iblis, the enemy of God, among them. They were all created from fire, and they are the keepers of Paradise, with Iblis as their leader.<ref>Abdullah Mahmud Mastaneh "Tafsir Muqatil ibn Sulaiman تفسير مقاتل بن سليمان" Arab History Foundation Beirut Lebanon p. 96</ref>
</blockquote> 

Belief in jinn is not included among the [[The six articles of faith in Islam|six articles of Islamic faith]], as belief in angels is. Nonetheless, many Muslim scholars, including the [[Hanbali|Hanbalī]] scholar [[ibn Taymiyya]] and the [[Zahiri|Ẓāhirī]] scholar [[ibn Ḥazm|ibn Hazm]], believe they are essential to the Islamic faith since they are mentioned in the Quran.<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=33}} Although jinn do not play any major role in [[Sufi literature]], their existence is never doubted.<ref name=":6">Yazaki, Saeko. "Classes of Beings in Sufism." Sufi Cosmology. Brill, 2022. 68-88.</ref> They feature in poetic anecdotes but, because of their similarities to humans, function neither as a model to follow (like angels) nor tempters of the lower self (like Satan).<ref name=":6" />  

Jinn are generally weak and fragile beings, whose potencies derive mostly from people attributing powers to them.{{efn|
*[[Abu Mansur al-Maturidi|Al-Māturīdī]] on Surah 72:1-6: <blockquote>ولأن الجن أضعف من الإنس؛ ألا ترى أنها تختفي من الإنس وتتصور بغير صورتها؛ فرقا؛ لئلا يشعر بها الإنس، وبلغ في ضعفها: أنها لا تقدر على إتلاف أحد من البشر، ولا تقدر على سلب أموالهم، ولا إفساد طعامهم وشرابهم، واستنصار القوي بالضعيف أداة الذلة؛ فيخرج تأويل [من قال] بأن الرهق هو الذلة والضعف على هذا.</blockquote> 
<blockquote>Because the jinn are weaker than humans, do you not see that they disappear from humans and take on a different form, out of fear, so that humans do not sense them? And their weakness has reached the point where they are unable to harm any human being, nor are they able to steal their money, nor spoil their food and drink. The strong seeking help from the weak is a tool of humiliation, so the interpretation of [those who said] that oppression is humiliation and weakness is based on this.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=موقع التفير الكبير |url=https://altafsir.com/ |access-date=2025-11-11 |website=Altafsir.com}}</ref></blockquote>
*[[Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idris al-Razi]] on Surah 72:1-6: <blockquote>حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْقَطَّانُ، حَدَّثَنَا وَهْبُ بْنُ جَرِيرٍ، حدثنا أبى، حدثنا الزبير ابن الْخِرِّيتِ عَنْ عِكْرَمَةَ قَالَ: كَانَ الْجِنُّ يَفْرَقُونَ مِنَ الْإِنْسِ كَمَا يَفْرَقُ الْإِنْسُ مِنْهُمْ أَوْ أَشَدُّ، وَكَانَ الْإِنْسُ إِذَا نَزَلُوا وَادِيًا هَرَبَ الْجِنُّ، فَيَقُولُ سَيِّدُ الْقَوْمِ: نَعُوذُ بِسَيِّدِ أَهْلِ هَذَا الْوَادِي. فَقَالَ الْجِنُّ: نَرَاهُمْ يَفْرَقُونَ مِنَّا كَمَا نَفْرَقُ مِنْهُمْ، فَدَنَوْا مِنَ الْإِنْسِ فَأَصَابُوهُمْ بِالْخَبَلِ وَالْجُنُونِ، فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ: وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِنَ الإِنْسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًا.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Abu Saeed Yahya bin Saeed Al-Qattan told us, Wahb bin Jarir told us, my father told us, Al-Zubayr bin Al-Khirrit told us, on the authority of Ikrimah, who said: The jinn used to be afraid of humans as much as humans were afraid of them, or even more so. And when humans went down to a valley, the jinn would flee, and the leader of the people would say: We seek refuge with the leader of the people of this valley. The jinn said: We see them afraid of us as we are afraid of them. So they approached the humans and afflicted them with madness and insanity. That is what God said: “And that there were men from among mankind who sought refuge with men from among the jinn, so they increased them in burden.”<ref>{{cite web | title=تفسير سورة الجن &#124; تفسير ابن أبي حاتم | url=https://quranpedia.net/surah/1/72/book/149 }}</ref></blockquote>}} Even though jinn are mostly impotent, they are able to possess people. The majority of Muslim scholars hold the opinion that jinn can at least possess individuals. This is considered to be part of the doctrines (''aqidah'') of the "[[Sunnism|people of the Sunnah]]" (''ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a'') in the tradition of [[Ash'ari]].<ref name="Böttcher–2021">Islam, Migration and Jinn: Spiritual Medicine in Muslim Health Management. (2021). Deutschland: Springer International Publishing.</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= 68}} The [[Atharis|Atharī]] scholars ibn Taimiyya and ibn Qayyim agree on this matter.<ref name="Böttcher–2021" /> 

From among the Sunni schools of theology, only some of the [[Maturidism|Māturīdīs]] seem to doubt possession. [[Al-Rustughfanī]] deemed jinn-possession impossible.<ref>Harvey, Ramon. Transcendent God, Rational World: A Maturidi Theology. Edinburgh University Press, 2021.</ref> [[Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi]] (c.1030-c.1100) asserts that jinn, like devils, can whisper to the people.<ref name=":8">Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi "أصول الدين - محمد البزدوي (Kitab Usul al-Din)" (Arabic) p. 210; 234</ref> He refers to [[Al-Nas|Surah an-Nas]] stating "that whispers into the heart of men from the jinn and humans" (Original: الْذى يُوَسُوس فى صدور النّاس من الْجنّة  والناس).<ref name=":8" /> Due to their subtile bodies, both jinn and devils could also enter through the pores of a human and refers to a hadith: "the devil flows through the veins of the sons of Adam like blood" (Original:  الشيطان يجرى من بنى آدم مجرى الدم).<ref name=":8" /> Like every other being, jinn and devils cannot cause anything by themselves, but only [[Kasb (Theology)|acquire]] (''kasb'') their action through God's will.<ref name=":8" /> Unlike devils, some of the jinn enter paradise.<ref name=":8" />

Unlike devils and demons, jinn might be helpful or even benevolent. Jinn helping people is well known throughout Islamic literature.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Rubanovich |first=Julia |title=Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World |date=2015-05-13 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-29197-3 |pages=149–150 |doi=10.1163/9789004291973 }}</ref> In the story about the burial of [[Nasir Khusraw]], two jinn mourn the death of Nasir Khusraw and help his disciple Abū Sa'īd to prepare a rock as a tomb and wash the body of the dead master.<ref name=":9" /> [[Al-Suyuti]] narrates an encounter in which a jinni challenges a human to a duel. If he can defeat the jinni, the jinni would reveal [[Ayatul Kursi|Ayatul-Kursi]] (the verse of the Throne) to him, which grants him protection from demons and devils.{{efn|<blockquote> خرج رجل من الإِنس، فلقيه رجل من الجن فقال: هل لك أن تصارعني؟ فإن صرعتني علمتك آية إذا قرأتها حين تدخل بيتك لم يدخله شيطان، فصارعه فصرعه الإِنسي.</blockquote><blockquote>A man from the humans met a man from the jinn and [the jinn] said: Will you fight against me? If you defeat me, I will teach you a verse that, if you recite it when you enter your house, no devil will enter it. So he fought him and the human man defeated him.<ref>{{cite web | title=موقع التفير الكبير | url=https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=2&tTafsirNo=26&tSoraNo=2&tAyahNo=255&tDisplay=yes&Page=2&Size=1&LanguageId=1 }}</ref></blockquote>}} Rather than focusing on possession, [[Al-Maturidi|Al-Māturīdī]] focuses on the dynamics between jinn and humans based on their role as semi-divinities in pre-Islamic Arabia alluded to in {{qref|72|6|b=y}}, and discusses how to properly handle interactions with jinn and what to avoid:<blockquote>وقيل بأن هذا الفعل من الإنس - وهو الاستجارة بهم - شرك؛ لأن الله تعالى هو المجير؛ فكان الحق عليهم أن يستجيروا بالله تعالى؛ ليدفع عنهم مكايد الجن، وألا يروا لأنفسهم ناصرا غير الله تعالى، فإذا فزعوا في الاستجارة إلى الجن، فقد رأوا غير الله تعالى يقوم عنهم بالذب والنصر؛ فكان ذلك منهم شركا.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
It has been said that this act by humans—seeking refuge with them—is ''shirk'', because God Almighty is the only true protector. Therefore, they should have sought refuge with God Almighty to ward off the plots of the jinn, and they should not have seen any protector other than God Almighty. So, when they resort to seeking refuge with the jinn, they have seen someone other than God Almighty defend and support them, and this is ''shirk'' on their part.<ref name=":7" /></blockquote>He states that seeking refuge among the jinn increases fear and anxiety, not because of the power of the jinn, but due to the psychological dependence of the individual towards external powers. By that, he refers to seeking refuge among the jinn as a form of ''[[Shirk (Islam)|širk]]'', due to the reliance on a created thing instead of God.<ref name="ReferenceA" />{{rp|style=ama|p=23}} If the jinn are not mistaken for gods, the jinn are harmless or may even have a protective function.

=== Jurisprudence===
The jinn are obligated to follow the [[sharia|divine law]] (''sharīʿa''), as derived from the Quran by [[Fiqh|Muslim jurists]] (''faqīh''). Thus, the jinn are considered, along with humans, to be ''[[Baligh|mukallāf]]''. Believers among the jinn are called "Muslim jinn" (''muslimū l-jinn'').<ref>Lange, Christian (2016). Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions. Cambridge United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-50637-3. p- 140</ref>

Since both creations must perform the [[Salah|required prayers]] (''salah''), Muslim jurists debated if one is allowed to perform the prayer behind a jinni. [[Badr al-Din Abu Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah as-Sibli|Shibli]] cites two [[Hanbali school|Hanbalite]] scholars who regard this as permissible without hesitation. Since Muhammad was sent to jinn and humans, both are ''mukallāf'' and subject to the command to pray.{{efn|''From'' T. Nünlist (2015) ''Dämonenglaube im Islam''<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=89}}<br />
'''{{sc|Translation:}}''' {{in lang|en}}<br />
"Islamic jurists have also repeatedly addressed the question of whether the jinn have a religion. Shibli notes that in this context they had a controversial discussion about whether it was permissible under Sharia law to perform the Muslim ritual prayer (salat) behind a genie. Two Hanbali sources led by Shibli affirm this permissibility without hesitation and justify their point of view by saying that not only the humans (ins) but also the jinn are "mukallaf".<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=2}}
<br />
'''{{sc|Original:}}''' {{in lang|de}}<br />
"Auch die islamischen Rechtsgelehrten haben sich wiederholt mit der Frage beschäftigt, ob die Dschinn eine Religion haben. Shchibli hält fest, dass sie in diesem Zusammenhang kontrovers diskutiert hätten, ob es schariarehtlich zulässig sei, das muslimische Ritualgebet (salat) hinter einem Dschinni zu verrichten. Zwei von Schibli angeführte hanbalitische Gewährsleute bejahen diese Zulässigkeit ohne Zögern und begründen ihren Standpunkt damit, dass nicht nur die Menschen (ins), sondern auch die Dschinn ''mukallaf'' seien."<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=89}}
}}

Because humans and jinn are capable of procreation, Muslim jurists had to address the permissibility of intercourse between these two types of creatures. Some ''[[hadith|Ḥadīths]]'', though considered [[mawḍūʻ|fabricated (''mawḍūʻ'')]] by some [[muhaddith|''muhaddith (hadith scholars)'']], pushed the necessity for an explanation:<ref name=Hidden>{{cite book |last1=Hanegraaff |first1=Wouter J. |last2=Kripal |first2=Jeffrey |title=Hidden intercourse: eros and sexuality in the history of Western esotericism |date=2008 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |isbn=978-90-474-4358-2 |pages=53–56, 58 |url=https://www.pdfdrive.com/download.pdf?id=156631497&h=01723481c66b5fb7d9f36753045fe0f5&u=cache&ext=pdf |access-date=1 December 2020 |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>{{blockquote|"The Hour will come when the children of jinn will become many among you."|Suyuti, Laqt al-marjân, 38.<ref name=Hidden/>}} 
{{blockquote|"Among you are those who are expatriated (mugharrabûn);" and 
this, he explained, meant "crossed with jinn."|Suyuti, Laqt al-marjân, 28.<ref name=Hidden/>}}

Although there are recorded cases of purported human-jinn relationships,{{efn|In a study of exorcism culture in the [[Hadhramaut]] of Yemen, love was one of the most frequent cited causes of relationships between humans and jinn. Love seems to be the most frequent occasion of contact between men and jinn. A jinni meets a woman and falls in love with her, or vice versa... This possession is manifest notably when the jinni has sexual intercourse with the person he/she possesses. In that case, the individual behaves with gestures and words as if they were having sexual intercourse, although he/she is apparently alone in the room. Besides, this person seems to suddenly lose all interest for his/her environment."<ref name=Hidden/>}} most Muslim jurists agree that such a relationship is not permissible.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Köse | first1 = S | year = 2010 | title = Ci̇nlerle Evli̇li̇k Konusunda Hanefî Faki̇hi̇ Hâmi̇d El-İmâdî'ni̇n (1103-1171/1692-1758) Teka'ku'u'ş-Şenn Fî Ni̇kâhi̇'l-Ci̇nn Adli Ri̇salesi̇ | url = | journal = Journal of Islamic Law Studies | volume = 15 | issue = | pages = 453–464 }}</ref> Even those scholars who allowed such relationships still considered them undesirable (''[[makruh]]'').<ref name=Hidden/> Offspring of human-jinn relationships are nonetheless usually considered to be gifted and talented people with special abilities.<ref name=Aloiane-1996>{{cite journal |last=Aloiane |first=Z.A. |year=1996 |title=Anthropomorphic representation of evil in Islam and some other traditions – a cross-cultural approach |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |volume=49 |issue=3 |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |pages=423–434 |jstor=43391301}}</ref> Some scholars also showed approval by referring to the union between the prophet [[Solomon in Islam]] and the Queen [[Queen of Sheba|Bilqis]], who is said to be a jinn-hybrid.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Kueny |first=Kathryn |title=Conceiving Identities: Maternity in Medieval Muslim Discourse and Practice |date=2013 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-4787-2 |pages=172 |doi=10.1353/book27400 }}</ref> Yet, as according to Islamic hagiography, she had to remove the hair on her legs, which was believed to be a sign of her jinn-ancestry, as traits inherited from the jinn were met with suspicion.<ref name=":1" />

===Folklore===
[[File:Jinn of the Air in Seljuk arts.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Examples of the Jinn of the Air depicted on Seljuk 13th century tilework from Kubad Abad.]]
The jinn (also known as: {{langx|sq|Xhindi}}, {{langx|bs|Džin}}, {{langx|tr|Cin}}) were adopted by later [[Islamic culture]], since the Quran affirms their existence.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Olomi |first=Ali A. |title=The Routledge Companion to the Qur'an |date=2021 |publisher=Routledge |editor-last=Archer |editor-first=George |page=145 |chapter=Jinn in the Quran |editor-last2=Dakake |editor-first2=Maria M. |editor-last3=Madigan |editor-first3=Daniel A.}}</ref> This allowed [[Animism|animistic]] beliefs to remain among new Muslims after converting to the monotheistic religion.<ref>{{Citation |title=Animism |language=en |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_SIM_0041 }}</ref> Although depictions are categorized into ''little tradition'' ([[folk Islam|folklore]]) and ''greater tradition'' (official Islam) for research purposes, both depictions are largely the same.{{efn|''From'' T. Nünlist (2015) ''Dämonenglaube im Islam'' '''{{sc|Translation:}}''' {{in lang|en}}<br/>"The distinction made between popular and scriptural Islam or between ''little'' and ''great traditions'' proves to be problematic and only serves as a makeshift here. This comparison implicitly suggests that the representations of daemonology in written sources differ from the findings documented in ethnographic, anthropological and sociologically oriented field studies. Such a view must be rejected. The treatment of the belief in daemons in the written sources primarily consulted in the context of these studies does not differ fundamentally from the views observed in popular Islam. Popular Islam and scriptural Islam do not design separate daemonologies. This situation is explained not least by the fact that the Quran and Sunna, the two most important sources in the area of Islam for the great tradition, clearly affirm the existence of jinn."<ref name="Nünlist-2015"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=4}}}}

The Quran does not consider foreign mythological beings to be devils, but entities erroneously ascribed divine power to. Therefore, jinn were considered a third class of invisible beings, often neutral or morally ambiguous, not consequently equated with devils.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=52}} Islam integrated local beliefs about spirits and [[deity|deities]] from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India into a monotheistic framework without demonizing them.<ref>Juan Eduardo Campo (2009) ''Encyclopedia of Islam''. Infobase Publishing {{ISBN|978-1-438-12696-8}} page 402</ref> Besides local deities, the existence of purely malevolent spirits is also acknowledged. Thus, jinn exist alongside other mythological entities, such as [[Dev (mythology)|demons]] (''Dēw'') and [[peri|fairies]] (''parī'').<ref>Heuer, B., Boykova, E. V., Kellner-Heinkele, B. (2020). Man and Nature in the Altaic World.: Proceedings of the 49th Permanent International Altaistic Conference, Berlin, July 30 – August 4, 2006. Deutschland: De Gruyter. p. 300-301</ref>

The moral attitude of the jinn is usually associated with their religion. Good jinn are usually considered ''Muslim jinn'' or ''jinn Islam'', whereas unbelieving jinn were tempted by the devils (''shayatin'') and are called ''kāfir jinn'' or ''jinn kāfir''.<ref>{{cite book |first=A.G. |last=Muhaimin |title=The Islamic Traditions of Cirebon: Ibadat and Adat among Javanese Muslims |publisher=ANU E Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-920942-31-1 |page=38}}</ref> Besides Islam, they could also practise Christianity and Judaism.<ref name="Gregg, G. S. 2005 p. 127">Gregg, G. S. (2005). The Middle East: A Cultural Psychology. Vereinigtes Königreich: Oxford University Press, USA. p. 127</ref> Good jinn might teach people moral lessons and might be benevolent,<ref>Celia E. Rothenberg ''Spirits of Palestine: Gender, Society, and Stories of the Jinn'' Rowman & Littlefield, 5 Nov 2004 {{isbn|978-1-4617-4123-7}} pp. 29-33</ref> or aid spiritual persons, such as [[shamans]] (''kam'') in [[Central Asia]], or spiritual healers in [[Senegal]].<ref>Bullard, A. (2022). Spiritual and Mental Health Crisis in Globalizing Senegal: A History of Transcultural Psychiatry. USA: Taylor & Francis.</ref><ref>Sidky, M. Homayun. "" Malang", Sufis, and Mystics: An Ethnographic and Historical Study of Shamanism in Afghanistan." Asian Folklore Studies (1990): 275-301.</ref> [[Mediha Esenel]]'s studies in 1940 [[Anatolia]] mention the belief that spiritually gifted people can act as intermediaries between humans and jinn.<ref>Zarcone, Thierry. "Shamanism in Turkey: Bards, Masters of the Jinns, and Healers." Shamanism and Islam: Sufism, Healing Rituals and Spirits in the Muslim World (2013): 169-202.</ref>

Most of the time, jinn are believed not to interfere with humans and live mostly in desolate or abandoned places.<ref name="Hughes-1885-134-6">{{cite book |last=Hughes |first=Thomas Patrick |year=1885 |title=Dictionary of Islam: Being a Cyclopædia of the Doctrines, Rites, Ceremonies |publisher=W.H. Allen |location=London, UK |pages=134–136 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rDtbAAAAQAAJ&q=jinn+named+tir+who+causes+calamities&pg=PA135 |access-date=4 October 2019 |chapter=Genii}}</ref> This is, for example, evident from the Turkish phrase ''[[İn Cin|İn Cin top oynuyor]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mynet.com/in-cin-ne-demek-in-cin-tdk-sozluk-anlami-nedir-170100023318|title=İn cin ne demek? İn cin TDK sözlük anlamı nedir?|website=Mynet Eğitim|date=24 May 2022 }}</ref> It is only when they are angered or disturbed—for example, if their children are trodden upon or hot water is thrown on them<ref>Robert Elsie ''A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture'' C. Hurst & Co. Publishers 2001 {{ISBN|978-1-85065-570-1}} p. 134</ref>—that they take revenge on humans. For this reason, Muslims utter "destur" (permission) before doing something which might accidentally hurt jinn, such as sprinkling hot water on public grounds or into bushes, so present jinn are advised to leave the place.<ref name="Hughes-1885-134-6"/><ref>MacDonald, D.B., Massé, H., Boratav, P.N., Nizami, K.A. and Voorhoeve, P., "Ḏj̲inn", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 15 November 2019 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0191}} First published online: 2012 First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960–2007.</ref><ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qKL3AgAAQBAJ&q=ancient+Mesopotamian+genii+and+Islamic+jinn 149]}}

Angered or straightforwardly evil-mannered jinn could hurt people by inflicting physical damage, causing illness, or [[Spirit possession|taking control over a human's body]].<ref name="Gregg, G. S. 2005 p. 127"/> A human can be controlled by jinn under certain circumstances. The individual needs to be in a state of ''dha'iyfah'' ([[Arabic]]: <big>ضَعِيفَة</big>, "(mental) weakness"). Feelings of insecurity, mental instability, unhappy love and [[Depression (mood)|depression]] (being "tired from the soul") are forms of ''dha'iyfah''.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gingrich |first=Andre |year=1995 |title=Spirits of the border: Some remarks on the connotation of jinn in north-western Yemen |journal=Quaderni di Studi Arabi |volume=13 |pages=199–212 |jstor=25802775 }}</ref> In that case, it is believed that an [[Exorcism in Islam|exorcism]] is required to save the person from the assaulting jinni.<ref>Joseph P. Laycock ''Spirit Possession around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion across Cultures: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion across Cultures'' ABC-CLIO 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-610-69590-9}} page 243</ref> To protect oneself from jinn, many Muslims wear amulets with the name of God engraved on them. Jinn are also said to be scared of [[iron]]<ref name="Lebling–2010" />{{rp|style=ama|pages= 128, 250}} and [[wolf|wolves]].<ref name="Ameen–2015">{{cite book |last=ibn Ibraaheem Ameen  |first=Abuʼl-Mundhir Khaleel |date=2015 |title=The Jinn and Human Sickness: Remedies in the Light of the Qurʼaan and Sunnah
 |publisher=Darussalam |place=Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |isbn=978-9960-732-44-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1XgwAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|page= 34}}<ref name="Lebling–2010" />{{rp|style=ama|page= 95}}

==Modern and post-modern era==
=== Post-modern literature and movies ===
{{main|Genies in popular culture}}

[[File:Majlis al Jinn - Descending into cave.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8 |The cave chamber ''[[Majlis al Jinn]]'', believed to be a gathering place of the jinn in [[Oman|Omani lore]]]]

Jinn feature in the [[Magic Realism|magical realism genre]], introduced into Turkish literature by [[Latife Tekin]] (1983),<ref>{{cite book |first=L. |last=Tekin |author-link=Latife Tekin |year=1983 |title=Sevgili Arsiz Ölüm |trans-title=Dear shameless Death}}</ref> who uses magical elements known from pre-Islamic and Islamic Anatolian lore. Since the 1980s, this genre has become prominent in Turkish literature. The story by Tekin deals with folkloric and religious belief in a [[Rationalization (sociology)|rationalized society]].<ref>{{cite thesis |first=Aslı |last=Değirmenci |date=9 August 2013 |title=Mapping Geographies in Transition: Magical realism in the fiction of Salman Rushdie, Latife Tekin, and Ben Okri |degree=Ph.D. |department=Department of English |publisher=State University of New York |place=Buffalo, NY}}</ref>

Contrary to the neutral to positive depiction of jinn in Tekin's novels, since 2004 [[Jinn in horror films|jinn have become a common trope]] in [[Horror film|Middle Eastern horror movies]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Bilgehan Ece |last=Şakrak |article=Religious evils in Turkish horror films |title=This Thing of Darkness: Shedding light on evil |date=4 January 2019 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-1-84888-366-6}}</ref> The presentation of jinn usually combines Quranic with oral and cultural beliefs about jinn.<ref name=Zeynep-2007/> Out of 89&nbsp;films, 59 have direct references to jinn as the antagonist, 12 use other sorts of demons, while other types of horror—such as the impending apocalypse, hauntings, or ghosts—constitute only 14&nbsp;films.<ref name=Zeynep-2007>{{cite book |first=Zeynep |last=Koçer |date=13 March 2019 |orig-date=2007 |article=The monstrous-feminine and masculinityas abjection in Turkish horror cinema: An analysis of ''Haunted'' [''Musallat''] [by] Alper Mestçi |editor1=Holland, Samantha |editor2=Shail, Robert |editor3=Gerrard, Steven |title=Gender and Contemporary Horror in Film |pages=151–165 |place=Bingley, UK |publisher=Emerald |series=Emerald Studies in Popular Culture and Gender |doi=10.1108/9781787698970 |isbn=978-1-78769-898-7|s2cid=214474411 |url=http://research.uca.ac.uk/5021/2/AAM%20without%20image%20-%20McMurdo%20and%20Clayton%20-%20Captivity.docx }}</ref> The popularity of jinn as a choice of monster can best be explained by their affirmation in the Quran.<ref name="Sengul-2020">Sengul, Ali. "Cinema, Horror and the Wrath of God: Turkish Islam's Claims in the Kurdish East." Nübihar Akademi 4.14: 11-28.</ref> They are still a popular trope today. A study from 2020 shows that jinn are still the favorite horror element among teenagers.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gjinali | first1 = V. | last2 = Tunca | first2 = E. A. | year = 2020 | title = A General Look on the Impact of Turkish Horror Movies: An Exploratory Study on the Opinions of Youth on Horror Movies | url = | journal = SAGE Open | volume = 10 | issue = 4| page = 4 | article-number = 2158244020979701 | doi = 10.1177/2158244020979701 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Jinn further feature in Iranian horror movies.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Khosroshahi | first1 = Zahra | year = 2019 | title = Vampires, Jinn and the Magical in Iranian Horror Films | url = | journal = Frames | volume = 16 | issue = | page = 2 }}</ref>

=== Prevalence of belief ===
[[File:West Gate Of Firoz Shah's Cotillah, Delhi - British Library .X768-2(11)jpg.jpg|thumb|West Gate Of Firoz Shah's Cotillah. [[Firoz Shah Kotla]] is believed to inhabit saints from among the jinn. In the Indian Muslim consciousness, due to their longevity, the jinn connect centuries of Muslim experience. Since 1977 the place has become popular for jinn-saint-veneration.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Taneja | first1 = Anand Vivek | year = 2013 | title = Jinnealogy: Everyday life and Islamic theology in post-Partition Delhi | url = | journal = HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory | volume = 3 | issue = 3| page = 141 | doi = 10.14318/hau3.3.007 }}</ref>]]
Though discouraged by some teachings of modern Islam, cultural beliefs about jinn remain popular among Muslim societies and their understanding of cosmology and anthropology.<ref name=Partovi-2009>{{cite journal |first=Pedram |last=Partovi |date=2009-12-03 |title=Girls' dormitory: Women's Islam and Iranian horror |journal=Visual Anthropology Review |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=186–207 |doi=10.1111/j.1548-7458.2009.01041.x |issn=1548-7458}}</ref> Affirmation on the existence of jinn as sapient creatures living along with humans is still widespread in the Middle Eastern world (including Egypt),<ref name=cook-koran-47>{{cite book |last1=Michael |first1=Cook |title=The Koran, A Very Short Introduction |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=47 |isbn=978-0-19-157827-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUEe1twiimUC&dq=the+genies+are+also+strongly+entrenched+in+Egyptian+folk+beliefs&pg=PT78 |quote=In addition to this presence in the Koran, the genies are also strongly entrenched in Egyptian folk beliefs; in this sense they correspond not just to Biblical spirits but to the elves and fairies of European folklore.}}</ref> and [[West Africa]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Olupona |first=Jacob K. |title=African Religions: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-19-979058-6 |location=Oxford |page=36 |oclc=839396781}}</ref><ref name="Rassool">{{cite book |first=G. Hussein |last=Rassool |date=2015-07-16 |title=Islamic Counselling: An Introduction to theory and practice |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-31744-125-0 |page=58}}</ref> mental illnesses are still often attributed to jinn possession.<ref name="Rassool"/>

Since modern times, jinn have often been portrayed in a more negative light. After the failure of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857|rebellion]] against the [[East India Company]], the Muslim elite regarded jinn-veneration in [[Islam in India|India]] as a superstitious belief that hindered the common people from instigating military power.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Taneja | first1 = Anand Vivek | year = 2013 | title = Jinnealogy: Everyday life and Islamic theology in post-Partition Delhi | url = | journal = HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory | volume = 3 | issue = 3| pages = 151–152 | doi = 10.14318/hau3.3.007 }}</ref> Similarly, the [[Deobandi movement]], although not denying the reality of jinn, mostly depicts jinn as malevolent beings who need to be avoided or exorcised.<ref name="Tayob 2020 108–110">{{Cite journal |last=Tayob |first=Shaheed |date=2020 |title=Review of Jinnealogy: Time, Islam, and Ecological Thought in the Medieval Ruins of Delhi |journal=ReOrient |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=108–110 |doi=10.13169/reorient.6.1.0108 |issn=2055-5601|doi-access=free |jstor=10.13169/reorient.6.1.0108 }}</ref><ref>Taneja, Anand Vivek. "Jinnealogy: Everyday life and Islamic theology in post-Partition Delhi." HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 3.3 (2013): 152.</ref> In modern Iran, (evil) jinn are often substituted by devils.<ref>Friedl, E. (2020). Religion and Daily Life in the Mountains of Iran: Theology, Saints, People. Vereinigtes Königreich: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 86</ref> Similarly, in many modern tales, the term ''jinn'' is used for ''div'' (demon), causing a shift in meaning.<ref>Huart, Cl. and Massé, H., "Dīw", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 31 January 2024    {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1879}}
First published online: 2012
First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007</ref> Nonetheless, traditional belief in jinn remains popular in Islamic culture.<ref name=Omidsalar-2000-12-15>{{cite web |last=Omidsalar |first=Mahmoud {{lang|ur|محمود امیدسالار}} |date=15 December 2000 |title=Genie |publisher={{lang|ur|دانشنامه ایرانیکا}} |website=Iranica Online (iranicaonline.org) |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/genie- |access-date=15 April 2012 |url-status=live |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429185114/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/genie- |archive-date=29 April 2011}} <!-- former ref name="iranicajen" --></ref> The negative evaluations of jinn are not static, but rather entangled with traditional and also positive depictions of jinn.<ref name="Tayob 2020 108–110"/>

According to a survey undertaken by the [[Pew Research Center]] in 2012:<ref name="Rassool 2018">{{cite book |first=G. Hussein |last=Rassool |date=16 August 2018 |title=Evil Eye, Jinn Possession, and Mental Health Issues: An Islamic perspective |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-22698-7}}</ref>

{| {{table}}
|+ 
! Country
! % of Muslims who affirm a belief in the existence of jinn
|-
| {{flag|Morocco}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|86}}
|-
| {{flag|Bangladesh}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|84}}
|-
| {{flag|Pakistan}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|77}}
|-
| {{flag|Afghanistan}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|70}}
|-
| {{flag|Turkey}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|63}}
|-
| {{flag|Iraq}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|55}}
|-
| {{flag|Indonesia}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|53}}
|-
| {{flag|Thailand}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|47}}
|-
| {{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} || {{percentage bar|width=200|36}}
|-
| [[Central Asia]] || {{percentage bar|width=200|15}}
|}

The amount of Muslims believing in jinn from Bosnia and Herzegovina is higher than the general European average (30%), although only 21% believe in sorcery and 13% would wear a talisman for protection against jinn; 12% support offerings and appeal given to the jinn.<ref>Větrovec, Lukáš. "Curse, Possession and Other Worlds: Magic and Witchcraft among the Bosniaks." p. 74</ref>

[[Sleep paralysis]] is understood as a "jinn attack" by many sleep paralysis sufferers in Egypt, as discovered by a [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]] neuroscience study by Jalal, Simons-Rudolph, Jalal, & Hinton (2013).<ref name=Jalal-SimonsRudolph-etal-2013-10>{{cite journal |last1=Jalal |first1=Baland |last2=Simons-Rudolph |first2=Joseph |last3=Jalal |first3=Bamo |last4=Hinton |first4=Devon E. |date=1 October 2013 |title=Explanations of sleep paralysis among Egyptian college students and the general population in Egypt and Denmark |journal=Transcultural Psychiatry |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=158–175 |doi=10.1177/1363461513503378 |pmid=24084761 |s2cid=22226921}}</ref> The study found that as many as 48% of those who experience sleep paralysis in Egypt believe it to be an assault by the jinn.<ref name=Jalal-SimonsRudolph-etal-2013-10/> Almost all of these sleep paralysis sufferers (95%) would recite verses from the [[Quran]] during sleep paralysis to prevent future "jinn attacks". In addition, some (9%) would increase their daily Islamic prayer (''[[salah|ṣalāh]]'') to get rid of these assaults by jinn.<ref name=Jalal-SimonsRudolph-etal-2013-10/> Sleep paralysis is generally associated with great fear in Egypt, especially if believed to be supernatural in origin.<ref name=Jalal-Hinton-2013-09>{{cite journal |last1=Jalal |first1=Baland |last2=Hinton |first2=Devon E. |date=1 September 2013 |title=Rates and Characteristics of Sleep Paralysis in the General Population of Denmark and Egypt |journal=Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=534–548 |doi=10.1007/s11013-013-9327-x |pmid=23884906 |s2cid=28563727 |issn=0165-005X}}</ref>

Similarly, European patients with a Muslim background often attribute mental illnesses to jinn.<ref name="Lim"> {{cite journal | last1 = Lim | first1 = A | last2 = Hoek | first2 = HW | last3 = Blom | first3 = JD | year = 2015 | title = The attribution of psychotic symptoms to jinn in Islamic patients | url = | journal = Transcultural Psychiatry | volume = 52 | issue = 1| pages = 18–32 | doi = 10.1177/1363461514543146 | pmid = 25080427 }}</ref> The most common attributions to jinn are symptoms of [[hallucination]] and psychotic symptoms, but can also include mood disorders, [[obsessive-compulsive disorder]] (OCD), [[Capgras syndrome]], and [[epilepsy]].<ref name="Lim"/>
It has been noted that not all Muslims who believe in jinn believe they can possess people. Furthermore, belief in possession is not limited to Muslims.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Guthrie | first1 = E | last2 = Abraham | first2 = S | last3 = Nawaz | first3 = S | year = 2016| title = Process of determining the value of belief about jinn possession and whether or not they are a result of mental illness | journal = BMJ Case Rep. | volume =  2016| issue = | pages = bcr2015214005 | pmid = 26838303 | doi = 10.1136/bcr-2015-214005 | pmc = 4746541 }}</ref> Contrary to the assumption that higher education is proportional to [[disenchantment]], belief in jinn-possession may remain intact even after [[Medical degree|medical graduation]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Uvais | first1 = N. A. | title = Jinn and Psychiatry: Beliefs among (Muslim) doctors | url = | journal = Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry | date = 2017 | volume = 33 | issue = 1| pages = 47–49 | doi = 10.4103/0971-9962.200095 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

In the process of [[objectification]] of Islam occurring especially among Muslims in the [[diaspora]], folkloric depictions of jinn become less common and increasingly viewed as "local beliefs" or "un-Islamic". Stories and beliefs regarding jinn are often downplayed in favor of a [[Normative religion|normative approach to religion]].<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Rothenberg | first1 = C. E. | year = 2011 | title = Islam on the Internet: the jinn and the objectification of Islam | url = | journal = The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture | volume = 23 | issue = 3| pages = 358–371 | doi = 10.3138/jrpc.23.3.358 }}</ref>

== Visual art ==
[[File:Porte_citadelle_alep (arch).jpg|thumb|Ornamentation of intertwined serpents above the door of the Citadel of Aleppo]]
Although there are very few visual representations of jinn in [[Islamic art]], when they do appear, it is usually related to a specific event or individual jinn.

Visual representations of jinn appear in manuscripts, and their existence is often implied in works of architecture by the presence of [[Apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] devices like serpents, which were intended to ward off evil spirits. Lastly, [[King Solomon]] is illustrated very often as the commander of an army that included jinn.

=== Architectural representation ===
[[File:Marble Throne 2.JPG|thumb|Takht-i Marmar, the marble throne supported by jinn and divs (demons), [[Golestan Palace]] created for Fath Ali Shah (r. 1797–1833)]]
In addition to these representations of jinn in vicinity to kingship, there were also architectural references to jinn throughout the Islamic world. In the [[Citadel of Aleppo]], the entrance gate Bab al-Hayyat referenced jinn in the stone relief carvings of serpents; likewise, the water gate at Ayyubid Harran housed two copper sculptures of jinn, serving as talismans to ward off both snakes and evil jinn in the form of snakes.<ref name=Duggan-2018/>{{rp|style=ama|p=408}}

Depictions of the jinn can also be found in the Rūm Seljuk palace. A phenomenal range of creatures can be found on the eight-pointed tiles of the [[Seal of Solomon|Seal of Sulaymān]] device.<ref name=Duggan-2018/>{{rp|style=ama|p=390}} Among these were the jinn that belonged to Solomon's army; as Solomon claimed to have control over the jinn, so did the Rūm Seljuk sultan that claimed to be the Sulaymān of his time.<ref name=Duggan-2018/>{{rp|style=ama|p=393}} In fact, one of the most common representations of jinn are alongside or in association with King Solomon. It was thought that King Solomon had very close ties to the jinn, and even had control over many of them.<ref name=Duggan-2018>
{{cite journal
 |last=Duggan |first=Terrance
 |year=2018
 |title=The just ruler of the age
 |journal=PHASELIS Journal of Interdisciplinary Mediterranean Studies
 |volume=4 |pages=389–421
 |issue=4|  doi=10.18367/Pha.18024 |doi-access=free
}}
</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=399}} The idea that a great and just ruler commands jinn was also extended to other emperors, such as [[Alexander the Great]].<ref name=Duggan-2018/>{{rp|style=ama|p=399}}

Given this association, jinn were often seen with Solomon in a princely or kingly context, such as the small, animal-like jinn sitting beside King Solomon on his throne illustrated in an illuminated manuscript of ''[[Aja'ib al-Makhluqat]]'' by [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]], written in the 13th century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Berlekamp|first=Persis|title=Wonder, Image, & Cosmos in Medieval Islam|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2011|location=New Haven|page=71}}</ref>

=== Talismanic representation ===
[[File:Tawiz.jpg|thumb|Image of a talisman ([[Tawiz (amulet)|''tawiz'']]), supposed to ward off jinn, the evil eye, sorcery, and demons.]]
The jinn had an influence on Islamic art through the creation of talismans that were alleged to guard the bearer from the jinn; these were enclosed in leather and included [[Āyah|Qur'anic verses]].{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=80}} It was not unusual for those talismans to be inscribed with separated Arabic letters, because the separation of those letters was thought to positively affect the potency of the talisman overall.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=82}} An object that was inscribed with the word of ''Allah'' was thought to have the power to ward off evil from the object's owner; many of these objects also had astrological signs, depictions of prophets, or religious narratives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Al-Saleh |first=Yasmine |date=2010 |title=Amulets and Talismans from the Islamic World |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tali/hd_tali.htm |website=[[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]]}}</ref>

=== In the ''Kitāb al-Bulhān'' ===
[[File:Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Bodleian Oriental 133 fol. 31r red king-jinn of tuesday.jpg|thumb|Al-Ahmar, the Red King of Tuesday. One of the Seven jinn-kings in the late 14th-century ''[[Book of Wonders]]''.]]
In the ''[[Book of Wonders]]'' compiled in the 14th century by Abd al-Hasan al-Isfahani, there are illustrations of various supernatural beings (demons, ''ʿafārīt'',<ref>de Lafayette, Maximillien (2017). Early & contemporary spirit artists, psychic artists, and medium painters from 5000 BC to the present day economy. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-365-97802-9.</ref> jinn, the evil eye, devils, [[lilith]], [[Planetary intelligence|celestial spirits]], etc.).<ref name="Taheri, Alireza 2017">Taheri, Alireza. "Comparative Study of «The Book of Felicity» Paintings and Book of «Al-Bulhan» of Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi." Honar-Ha-Ye-Ziba: Honar-Ha-Ye-Tajassomi 22.1 (2017): 15-29.</ref><ref name=Carboni-2013>{{cite journal |last=Carboni |first=Stefano |date=2013 |title=The ''Book of Surprises'' (''Kitab al-Buhlan'') of the Bodleian Library |journal=The La Trobe Journal |volume=91 |pages=27–28}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=27}}

Each celestial spirit is referred to as a "King of the Jinn", represented alongside his spiritual helpers and alongside the corresponding [[talismanic object|talismanic symbols]].<ref name=Carboni-2013/>{{rp|style=ama|p=27}} For instance, the 'Red King of Tuesday' is depicted in the ''Book of Wonders'' as a sinister form astride a lion. In the same illustration, he holds a severed head and a sword, because the 'Red King of Tuesday' was aligned with [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], the [[god of war]].<ref name=Carboni-2013/>{{rp|style=ama|p=27}} Alongside that are illustrations of the 'Gold King' and the 'White King'.<ref name=Carboni-2013/>{{rp|style=ama|p=27}}

Aside from the seven 'Kings of the Jinn', the ''Book of Wonders'' includes an illustration of ''Huma'' (Arabic: حمى), or the 'Fever'. ''Huma'' is depicted as three-headed and as embracing the room around him, in order to capture someone and bring on a fever in them.<ref name=Carboni-2013/>{{rp|style=ama|p=28}}

== Magical practices ==
{{Anchor|Jinn in form of storms and shadows}}

Jinn might be invoked, along with demons and devils, for means of sorcery, incantation, protection, or divination.<ref>Gerda Sengers ''Women and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic Egypt'' BRILL 2003 {{ISBN|978-9-004-12771-5}} page 31</ref><ref>Ian Richard Netton ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' Routledge 2013 {{ISBN|978-1-135-17960-1}} page 376</ref> Soothsayers (''kāhin'') are credited with the ability to ask jinn about things of the past, since their lives are believed to last longer than that of humans.<ref>Morrow, John Andrew (27 November 2013) Islamic Images and Ideas: Essays on sacred symbolism, McFarland, ISBN 978-1-476-61288-1</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=73}}

Common beliefs regarding sorcery and commanding jinn are attested in [[Ibn al-Nadim|ibn al-Nadim's]] ''[[Kitāb al-Fihrist]]''.<ref name="ReferenceB">Travis Zadeh ''Commanding Demons and Jinn: The Sorcerer in Early Islamic Thought'' Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=141}} Since he locates such practises not as a branch of science or philosophy, but rather in a chapter about stories and fables, the author might not have believed in the efficiency of sorcery himself.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=141}} He reports that the art of commanding jinn and demons traces back to [[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]] and [[Jamshid]]. The first to have practised a lawful method of incantation is supposed to be [[Abū Naṣr Aḥmad b. Hilāl]] during the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad period]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=142}} Ibn Nadim explains lawful and unlawful subjugation of jinn and demons as distinct: While the former controls the jinn by the power of God's divine names, the latter pleases demons and devils by prohibited offerings and sinful acts.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=141–142}}  According to al-Jāḥiẓ, ibn Hilāl is said to have the power to summon demons and jinn<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=142}} and further claimed to have married a daughter of Satan and begotten a child.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=143}}

There is evidence that subjugation of spirits, jinn, and demons was also cultivated by various Islamic authorities. [[Abu al-Fadl Muhammad al Tabasi|Al-Ṭabasī]], who was considered a reliable ''[[hadith|muḥadīth]]'' (scholar of ''ḥadīth'') and pious ascetic, wrote an extensive treatise (''al-Shāmil fī al-baḥr al-kāmil'') on subjugating demons and jinn.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=145}} According to [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]], it was well known that jinn obeyed al-Ṭabasī. He gives the example that al-Ṭabasī demonstrated the jinn to the famous scholar [[al-Ghazali|Ghazālī]], who saw them as shadows on the wall.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=145}} He professes that jinn only obey when the individual turns away from the temptations of creation and devoting oneself towards God.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=146}} The ''al-Shāmil'' gives detailed instructions for preparations of various incantations. Unlike, for example, in the writings of [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|al-Razi]], the ''al-Shāmil'' has no direct link to Hellenistic or Hermetic magic or philosophy.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=148}} Magic was also used in the [[Ottoman Empire]] as evident from the Talismanic shirts of [[Murad III]].<ref>Felek, Özgen. "Fears, Hopes, and Dreams: The Talismanic Shirts of Murād III." Arabica 64.3-4 (2017): 647-672.</ref>

Related to the occult traditions in Islamic culture is the belief in the "Seven kings of the Week", also known as ''rūḥāiya ulia'' (higher spirits; angels) and ''rūḥāiya sufula'' (lower spirits; demons). These beings are, for example, invoked for the preparation of [[Magic square#Magic squares in occultism|magic squares]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mommersteeg |first=Geert |date=1988 |title="He Has Smitten Her to the Heart with Love" The Fabrication of an Islamic Love-Amulet in West Africa |journal=Anthropos |volume=83 |issue=4/6 |pages=501–510 |jstor=40463380 |issn=0257-9774}}</ref><ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=87}} This belief is attested by the [[Book of Wonders]].<ref name=Carboni-2013/> It contains artistic depictions of several supernatural beings (demons, jinn, the evil eye, fever (Huma, Arabic: حمى), devils, [[lilith]], etc.).<ref name="Taheri, Alireza 2017"/><ref name=Carboni-2013/> Some of these beings indicate that the work connects Hebrew, Christian, and Islamic magical traditions.<ref name=Carboni-2013/> The original work is attributed to [[Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi|al-Bakhi]], who founded a system of astrological magic based on [[Neoplatonism|Neo-Platonic thought]].<ref name=Carboni-2013/> Although many pages are damaged, it is possible to reconstruct their meanings from Ottoman copies.<ref name=Carboni-2013/> Each king is depicted with helpers and associated talismanic symbols.<ref name=Carboni-2013/>

==Comparative mythology==
{{further|Comparative mythology#Jinn}}
[[File:Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae. Wellcome L0027769.jpg|thumb|The ''sheyd'' אַשְמְדּאָי ([[Asmodeus|Ašmodai]]) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in ''Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae'', 1775]]

In [[comparative mythology]] and historical context studies, [[Quranic studies]] scholars discuss the relationship between Islamic notions of jinn and earlier ideas in Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and pre-Islamic Arabia, of supernatural beings or preternatural creatures, especially those of [[angel]]s, [[Ghost|spirits]], deities, and [[demon]]s. It is widely agreed that the belief in jinn was a common element of the culture out of which the Quran came.<ref name=":0" />

On a theological level, the Quranic portrayal of jinn as spirits converting to a one's religion rather than being demonized is not unique to Islam and bears resemblance to the portrayal of [[Deva (Buddhism)|devas]] (particularly [[Nāga|nāgas]] and [[Yaksha|yakshas]]) in [[Buddhism]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Coulon |first=Jean-Charles |date=2010 |title=Bulletin critique Amira El-Zein, Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn, New York, Syracuse University Press, 2009, 215 p., {{text|ISBN:}} 978-0-8156-3200-9, 39,95 $. |journal=Arabica |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=491–494 |doi=10.1163/157005810x519198 |issn=0570-5398}}</ref> Similar to Muhammad in the Quran, the [[The Buddha|Buddha]] is also credited with preaching to the spirits and deities of the previous religion, asserting that they are in need of salvation.<ref name=":3" />

The jinn have been compared to the deities of [[Palmyra]] called ''gennaye.''<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Teixidor |first=Javier  |title=The Pantheon of Palmyra |date=1979-01-01 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-29559-9 |pages=77–78 |doi=10.1163/9789004295599 }}</ref> They functioned as protectors of places and people.<ref name=":4" /> Similar to the jinn of the modern [[Bedouin|Bedouin beliefs]], the ''gennaye'' were imagined as beings similar to humans in terms of behavior and presence, and thus mirror social expectations of society in pre-Islamic Arabia.<ref name=":4" />

The Islamic jinn also bear resemblance to the ''[[shedim]]'' of the [[Babylonian Talmud]],<ref name="YALÇINKAYA, Mustafa 2020">YALÇINKAYA, Mustafa. "İLÂHİ DİNLERİN CİN KAVRAMI ALGISI: GENEL BİR YAKLAŞIM." PEARSON JOURNAL 5.7 (2020): 170-183.</ref><ref name="Lebling–2010" />{{rp|style=ama|p=120}} such as the idea that jinn are subordinate to divine law and integrated into religious legal texts. The jinn frequently appearing  as students of Muslim scholars, mirrors the description of ''shedim'' in the Babylonian Talmud.<ref>Ronis, Sara. Demons in the Details: Demonic Discourse and Rabbinic Culture in Late Antique Babylonia. USA, University of California Press, 2025. p. 190</ref> Like jinn, among a class of beings of Jewish mythology/belief (''jnun'', ''shedim'', etc.), there is a tradition of ritual exorcism and negotiations that differs from that of traditional Jewish cure of spirit possession associated with ghosts ([[Dybbuk]]).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bilu |first=Yoram |date=1980 |title=The Moroccan Demon in Israel: The Case of "Evil Spirit Disease" |journal=Ethos |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=24–39 |doi=10.1525/eth.1980.8.1.02a00030 |issn=0091-2131 |jstor=640134}}</ref>

When compared to Christian tradition, one question has concerned the degree to which Quranic jinn might be compared to [[fallen angel]]s in Christian traditions. However, issues with this view are that jinn are not identified as "angels" and that descriptions of angels do not involve their flying up the sky to eavesdrop on heavenly secrets (unlike jinn who do so in Surah 72).<ref name="Azaiez-Reynolds-Tesei-Zafer-nd">
{{cite book |last=Crone |first=Patricia |title=The Qur'an Seminar Commentary / Le Qur'an Seminar: A Collaborative Study of 50 Qur'anic Passages / Commentaire collaboratif de 50 passages coraniques |collaboration= |date=2016 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-044479-7 |editor1-last=Azaiez |editor1-first=Mehdi |edition=bilingual |pages=307–310 |language=fr, en |trans-title= |chapter=QS 32 Q 37:6–11: Crone |editor2-last=Reynolds |editor2-first=Gabriel Said |editor3-last=Tesei |editor3-first=Tommaso |editor4-last=Zafer |editor4-first=Hamza M.}} {{ISBN|3-11-044479-8}}
</ref> [[Pierre Lory]] states that jinn are "in no way comparable to angels", and must be understood as distinct from the Quranic motif of fallen angels.<ref>Hidden Intercourse: Eros and Sexuality in the History of Western Esotericism. (2008). Niederlande: Brill. p. 53</ref>

[[Patricia Crone]] notes that, like jinn, the demons of the [[Testament of Solomon]] ascend to the [[firmament]] and eavesdrop on heavenly secrets; as did demons of [[Zoroastrian cosmology]], who in addition encounter heavenly defense systems (as did Islamic jinn).<ref name="Azaiez-Reynolds-Tesei-Zafer-nd" /> Similar statements are also found in the [[Talmud]] ([[Berakhot (tractate)|Berakhot]] 18b) and the 8th-century ''Scolion'' of [[Theodore bar Konai]].{{Sfn|Decharneux|2023|p=227–228}}

==See also==
<!-- New links in alphabetical order please -->
{{div col begin |colwidth=25em}}
* [[Genies in popular culture]]
* ''[[The Case of the Animals versus Man]]''
* [[Demon (disambiguation)]]
* {{section link|Human–animal hybrid#Theriocephaly studies|}}
* [[Ifrit]]
* [[Daeva]]
* [[Marid]]
* [[Nāga]]
* [[Nasnas]]
* [[Preta]]
* [[Qareen]]
* [[Shadow person]]
* [[Shedim]]
* [[Superstitions in Muslim societies]]
* ''[[Three Thousand Years of Longing]]'', a 2022 film starring [[Idris Elba]] as a djinn. 
* [[Throne Verse]]
* [[Uthra]]
* [[Will-o'-the-wisp]]
* [[Yōkai]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{reflist|25em|refs=
<!--<ref name=ArabicBible>
{{cite web
 |title=Arabic Bible
 |publisher=Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry
 |website=arabicbible.com
 |url=http://www.arabicbible.com/arabic-bible.html
}}
</ref>  -->

<ref name=McAuliffe-2005-EncQrn>
{{cite book
 |last=McAuliffe |first=Jane Dammen
 |year=2005
 |title=Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān
 |volume=3 |page=45
 |publisher=Brill
 |isbn=978-90-04-12356-4
}}
</ref>

<!-- <ref name=Azaiez-Reynolds-Tesei-Zafer-nd>
{{cite book
 |editor1-first=Mehdi         |editor1-last=Azaiez    |editor2-first=Gabriel Said  |editor2-last=Reynolds  |editor3-first=Tommaso       |editor3-last=Tesei     |editor4-first=Hamza M.      |editor4-last=Zafer     |collaboration=Le Qur'an Seminar [The Qur'an Seminar]
 |date=7 November 2016
 |title=Le Qur'an Seminar: Commentaire collaboratif de 50&nbsp;passages coraniques
 |language=fr, en
 |edition=bilingual
 |trans-title=The Qur'an Seminar Commentary: A collaborative study of 50&nbsp;Qur'anic passages
 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
 |isbn= {{Format ISBN|978-3110444797}}
 |at=Q 72
}} {{ISBN| {{Format ISBN|3110444798}}}}
{{full citation needed|date=September 2021|reason=publ. year; authors or editors?}}
</ref> -->

}} <!-- end "refs=" -->

===Sources===
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{Cite book |last=Decharneux |first=Julien |title=Creation and Contemplation The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background |date=2023 |publisher=De Gruyter}}
* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book 
|last=El-Zein |first=Amira |year=2009 |title=Islam, Arabs, and the intelligent world of the Jinn |series=Contemporary Issues in the Middle East |place=Syracuse, NY |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3200-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JjTctEZXHCQC
}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Esterābādī |first=Solṭān-Moḥammad ibn Tāj al-Dīn Ḥasan
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}}{{full citation needed|date=August 2021}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
 |author-link=Edward William Lane |last=Lane |first=E.W.
 |year=1968
 |url=http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000098.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216122404/http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume2/00000098.pdf |archive-date=2008-02-16 |url-status=live
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Rāzī |first=Abu al-Futūḥ
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 |place=Tehran, IR
}} (pub. so far)
* {{Cite book |last=Sinai |first=Nicolai |title=Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary |date=2023 |publisher=Princeton University Press}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Ṭabarī  |first=Moḥammad Ayyūb
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* {{cite book
 |author-link=Stith Thompson  |last=Thompson  |first=S.
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}}
* {{cite book
 |author-link=Stith Thompson  |last1=Thompson  |first1=S.
 |last2=Roberts  |first2=W.
 |year=1960
 |title=Types of Indic Oral Tales
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}}
* {{cite book
 |last=Ṭūsī  |first=Moḥammad b. Maḥmūd
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* {{cite book
 |last=Yazdī  |first=Abū Bakr Moṭahhar Jamālī
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}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{Cite book |last=Asad |first=Muhammad |author-link=Muhammad Asad |year=1980 |title=The Message of the Qu'rán |section=Appendix III: On the term and concept of jinn |publisher=Dar al-Andalus Limited |location=Gibraltar, Spain |isbn=1-904510-00-0 |url=https://quran-archive.org/explorer/muhammad-asad/1980?page=1012#top}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}
* {{cite book |last=Crapanzano |first=V. |year=1973 |title=The Hamadsha: A study in Moroccan ethnopsychiatry |place=Berkeley, CA |publisher=University of California Press}}
*{{Cite book |last=Dibi |first=Tofik |url=https://sunypress.edu/Books/D/Djinn |title=Djinn |publisher=SUNY Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4384-8130-2 |series=Queer Politics and Cultures |location=Albany, NY |translator-last=Barr |translator-first=Nicolaas P. |archive-date=1 January 2023 |access-date=20 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101025628/https://sunypress.edu/Books/D/Djinn}}
*{{cite book |last=Drijvers |first=H.J.W. |year=1976 |title=The Religion of Palmyra |place=Leiden, NL |publisher=Brill}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=El-Zein |first=Amira |year=2006 |title=Jinn |editor-first=J.F. |editor-last=Meri |encyclopedia=Medieval Islamic Civilization – an Encyclopedia |pages=420–421 |place=New York, NY & Abingdon, UK |publisher=Routledge}}
* {{cite book |last=Goodman |first=L.E. |year=1978 |title=The case of the animals versus man before the king of the jinn: A tenth-century ecological fable of the pure brethren of Basra |series=Library of Classical Arabic Literature |volume=3 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Twayne}}
* {{cite book |last=Maarouf |first=M. |year=2007 |title=Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A multidisciplinary approach to Moroccan magical beliefs and practices |place=Leiden |publisher=Brill}}
* {{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Mark Allen |year=2007 |chapter=From Jinn to Genies: Intertextuality, media, and the making of global folklore |editor1-last=Sherman |editor1-first=Sharon R. |editor2-last=Koven |editor2-first=Mikel J. |title=Folklore/Cinema: Popular film as vernacular culture |pages=93–112 |location=Logan, UT |publisher=Utah State University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctt4cgnbm.8 |jstor=j.ctt4cgnbm.8 |isbn=978-0-87421-673-8 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgnbm.8 |url=https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/34/}}
* {{cite book |last=Taneja |first=Anand V. |year=2017 |title=Jinnealogy: Time, Islam, and ecological thought in the medieval ruins of Delhi |place=Stanford, CA |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-0393-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Zbinden |first=E. |year=1953 |title=Die Djinn des Islam und der altorientalische Geisterglaube |language=de |trans-title=The Djinn of Islam and Ancient Eastern Spiritual Belief |place=Bern, CH |publisher=Haupt}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q3465|c=category:Genies|wikt=genie|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|q=y|species=no|s=The New International Encyclopædia/Jinn}}
* [http://www.balashon.com/2007/02/genie.html Etymology of ''genie'']

{{Qur'anic people}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Jinn| ]]
[[Category:Arabian legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Egyptian folklore]]
[[Category:Iranian folklore]]
[[Category:Islamic legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Malaysian mythology]]
[[Category:Indian folklore]]
[[Category:Occultism in Islam]]
[[Category:Quranic figures]]
[[Category:Supernatural legends]]
[[Category:Shapeshifters]]
[[Category:Turkish folklore]]
[[Category:Albanian mythology]]
[[Category:Islamic terminology]]