It’s been my experience when watching Para-reality and even when dealing with paranormal investigation groups their seems to be a belief that the devil are an exclusively Christian creation and as such, demons can only be of Christian nature. This is far from the truth; all major world religions have some form of demonology and certain views and beliefs on the nature of humanity and the afterlife. This overview will be discussing the Jinn. These are demons that can be found throughout Islamic mythology.
· It is interesting to note that all of the world’s major religions speak of a duality of the gods or demigods that came to Earth some to exploit others to teach some to enslave others to free.
· In Arabian and Muslim traditions the Jinn’s are evil demons who possess a wide variety of supernatural powers. Some scholars declare the Jinn’s a bit lower than the angles because they were created of smoke and fire. Their leader is Iblis once hailed as Azazel, the Islamic counterpart of the devil.
· The Jinn’s are mentioned frequently in the Qur’an but the entities were known before the prophet Muhammad wrote of their existence. In pre-Islamic Arabia the Jinn’s were revered as godlike beings who inhabited a world parallel to that of humans (Steiger, B (2010) P. 5)
· The Jinn’s are accomplished shape-shifters capable of assuming any from in their avowed mission to work evil on humans
· On the other hand Jinn’s may also on occasion influence humans to do good and they may also perform good deeds for those who have the power to summon them.
· According to some traditions, King Solomon possessed a ring that gave him the power to summon the Jinn’s to fight beside his soldiers in battle. In addition it is said that Solomon’s temple was constructed with the help of the Jinn’s
· Primarily though, the Jinn’s are feared as creatures who exist primarily for the purpose of tormenting humans. Some old beliefs affirm that a human dying an unrepentant sinner may become a Jinn for a period of time(Steiger, B (2010) P. 6)
· In Islam and pre-Islamic Arabian folklore a genie (Jinn, Djinn) is a supernatural creature which possesses free will.
· Genies are mentioned in the Qur’an wherein a whole Sura is named after them (Al-Jinn)
· They can be either good or evil. In some cases evil genies are said to lead humans astray. In Islam, Satan known in Arabic as Iblis is the iconic genie that refused to bow down to Adam when ordered to by Allah.
· Amongst archaeologists dealing with ancient Middle Eastern cultures any spirit lesser than angles is often referred to as djinn when describing stone carvings or other forms of art.
· The pre-Islamic Zoroastrian culture of ancient Persia believed in Jaini/Jahi evil female spirits thought to spread diseases to people. However Zoroaster himself did not believe in the existence of evil female spirits thought to spread disease to people.
· Inscriptions found in Northwestern Arabia seem to indicate the worship of djinnn or at least their tributary status.
· According to the Qur’an Djinn have free will and Iblis used this freedom in front of Allah by refusing to bow to Adam when Allah told Ibis to do so. By disobeying Allah he was thrown out of paradise and called Shaitan. Djinn are frequently mentioned in the Qur’an Sura 72 of the Qur’an (Al- Jinn) is entirely about them. Another Sura (Al-Nas) mentions Djinn in the last verse. The Qur’an also mentions that Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both humanity and the djinn.
· Similar to humans Jinnn have free will allowing them to follow any religion they choose. They are usually invisible to humans and humans do not appear clear to them. However Jinn often harass and even possess humans for various reasons such as infatuation revenge or because of a deal made with a practitioner of black magic
· Jinn’s have the power to travel large distances extremely quickly and live on remote areas, mountains, seas, trees, and the air, in their own communities. Like humans Jinn’s will also be judged on the Day of Judgment and will be sent to heaven or hell according to their deeds(Genie (N.d.) Wikipedia)
References:
Genie (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved September 25, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genie
Steiger, B. (2010). Real Vampires, Night Stalkers and Creatures from the Darkside. Canton. MI: Visible Ink Press
