The Jinn - (something hidden or which cannot be seen - Ghaib)

The above is the root meaning of the word Jinn. The existence of the Jinn
is firmly established by the Quran and the authentic Sunnah and the
consensus of the Scholars (Ijma)  It suffices to say that the word Jinn and
its derivatives occur more than 29 times in the Quran.  A related word
shaytan and its plural shaytana together occur more than 80 times.  In
fact, there is an entire Surah called Surah Al-Jinn, which speaks in clear
explicit terms about the Jinn.

The reality which we have to affirm is that the Jinn live in an established
world unseen to us.  They eat and drink, and procreate.  Similar to Humans,
some are righteous  while others are not.

The Jinn were created before the creation of mankind.  There origin is from
fire.  The Quran verified these facts in Surah Al-Hijr:
"And verily, We created mankind from sounding clay of altered smooth mud
and the jinn We created from smokeless fire." [Quran 15:26-27]

The creation was also reported by Ibn Abbas (ra):
Two thousand years before (mankind) was created, there were Jinn on (the
Earth), and they caused corruption on it and shed blood. Then Allah sent
against them a troop of Angels who beat them and cast them away to islands
in the seas.  So, when Allah said:  I am placing (mankind) generations
after generations on Earth, They (the Angels) said, Will You place therein
one who will cause corruption and shed blood (Al Baqarah, 2:30), That is:
Just as those Jinn did?? Then Allah said: I know that which you do not
know. [Al-Hakim]

We can not ordinarily see the Jinn, unless they take a material form, which
is usually in an unpleasant or ugly form such as a snake or a black dog, as
opposed to angels who take pleasant and handsome forms.  They can also take
a human form.  For example: In the battle of Badr, a kind of Jinn known as
Ibliss, assumed the form of a man named Suraqah Ibn Malik, and urged the
disbelievers to move forward to the battle, saying:

"There is none who can overcome you today" [Quran  8:48]

Then Allah sent the Angel Jibreel against him and when Ibliss saw him, he
cried out to the disbelievers: I have nothing to do with you ! I see that
which you do not see !  I fear Allah, and Allah is severe in retribution,
and then he fled.

There are 3 types of Jinn as described in the following authentic Hadith:

The Prophet Muhammed (saws) said:
'There are 3 types of Jinn; One type flies through the air, another type
consists of snakes and dogs.  A third is based in one place but travels
about.' [Tabarani and  Buhaqi]

Jinni:Is a term used by the Arabs to refer to one Jinn.

The 3 types of Jinn are as follows:
(1) Amir: (Resident Jinn) used to mean that he is one of those who lives
with people.
(2) Shaytan: Used for a Jinni who is malicious and has become wicked.
(3) Ifrit: Used for a Jinni who is stronger and more powerful than a Shaytan.

The way of life for the Jinn is just like Human Beings.  For Example: they
are accountable for their actions, just as Human Beings are.

Allah says in the Quran:
"I created Jinn and Mankind only in order that they might worship Me."
[Quran 51:56]

There are believers amongst them, who will be rewarded, and disbelievers,
who will be punished, as they admit in the following verse from the Quran:
"And indeed there are amongst us, Muslims and amongst us, wrongdoers.  As
for those who accept Islam, they have sought out the right path. And, as
for the wrongdoers, they will be firewood for Jahannam." [Quran 72:14-15]

'Whenever Allah sent a Prophet to mankind, the Jinn of that time could also
receive his message. Thus, some Jinn came to Prophet Muhammed (saws)  one
night and he recited Quran to them, and taught them about Islam.' [Muslim]

They eat and drink, and have fiqh regulations similar to ours.  Just as we
eat  meat of animals slaughtered in the name of Allah, so do the believers
among the Jinn .  In addition, the Jinn are allowed to eat the bones of
such animals.

With regard to this, the Prophet (saws) has instructed us not  to use
animal bones for istinja (i.e. to clean the private parts after relieving
ones self).

The Jinn also have conjugal relations; as evident from this verse:
"Therein (in heaven) are (women) of modest gaze, whom neither human being
nor Jinn have touched before." [Quran  55:56]

Another verse establishes that they beget children:
"Will you then take (Ibliss) and his offspring as protectors in preference
to Me, although  they are an enemy to you?" [Quran 18:50]

The Jinn, as any other living creature, will also die. This is mentioned in
the Quran:
"Allah will say, 'Enter you in the company of nations who passed away
before you, of men and Jinn, into the Fire'." [Quran 7:38]

Ibliss, however, has been given respite up to the Day of Resurrection.

"Allah said, you are, then, among those given respite up to the day of the
time known (and appointed)." [Quran 38:81-82]

Ibliss is the Jinn who disobeyed Allahs command to prostrate to Adam (as),
and was consequently expelled from Heaven.  Allah had promised him eternal
Hell, but he had asked Allah to give him time before going to Hell to win
over Adams descendants as their followers.  Allah had granted him time, and
Ibliss has worked towards the destruction of mankind ever since.  Shaytan
is the term used to refer to Ibliss and other disbelieving Jinn.

Ibliss has his throne in the sea, and he sends out his dispatchments of
shaytan to aggravate people. The dearest of them to him is the one who
causes the most fitna  (tribulation).

One of his workers comes and tells him; 'I did not leave (my victim) until
I brought about separation between him and his wife.' Ibliss draws him near
and says to him, 'Yes, You (are the best).' [Muslim]

Because of this evil nature of the shaytan, the term shayatan is also used
for those disbelieving human beings who are active in corrupting and
fighting righteousness.  Allah has said:

"Thus,  have We made, for every Prophet, an enemy, the shaytan of mankind
and Jinn, inspiring one another with, adorned speech by way of deception."
[Quran 6:112]

One of the shaytans endeavours in their attempt towards human destruction
is to go up to the heavens and eavesdrop any news to carry on to earth.
This news will be passed on to the fortune-tellers.

Aisha (ra) said that she asked the Prophet (saws) about how it is that the
fortune-tellers sometimes foretell something which turns out to be true.
He replied, thats the word of truth that the Jinn manages to catch, and so
he comes and whispers in the ear of the fortune-teller, and to one truth he
adds one hundred lies.[Bukhari and Muslim]

Man is always accompanied by a Jinn, who tries to incite him to evil, but
the Prophet (saws) was protected from this harm.

On the authority of Ibn Musud the Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
'There is not any one of you except that he has been assigned his companion
from among the Jinn and his companion from among the Angels.'  They the
Companions said, 'Even you, O Messenger of Allah,' He replied 'Even me,
except that Allah has helped me against the Jinn, so that I am unharmed,
and so he orders me to do nothing but good.'[Muslim]

Thus terrible thoughts may sometimes occur to us, but we are not
responsible for these promptings provided, we neither allow them to take
root within us, nor act upon them.  The fact that we recognise them as evil
is itself a sign of faith.  It is possible for a Jinn to enter human beings
and possess them as Allah says:

"Those who consume interest (riba) do not arise except as the one whom
Satan has driven to madness by his touch." [Quran 2:275]

Seek protection from the Jinn.  In an Authentic hadith related by Bukhari
and Muslim, The Prophet (saws) has instructed us to recite some
supplications to protect ourselves from the harm of Satan. These include:

1. Before having sexual intercourse, we should say:
"Bismillah, Allahumma jannibnash-shaytina wa jannibish-shaytina ma
razaqtana."
In the name of Allah. O Allah! Spare us from Satan and repel Satan from
what you provide us with. Then, if a child is conceived, Satan will never
harm him.

2. The shaytan like to frequent filthy areas such as toilets. Thus we
should ensure that we recite the sunnah supplication (narrated by Al
Bukhari and Muslim) before entering the toilet:
"Allahumma inni authu bika minal-khubthi wal-khabaith."

O Allah! I seek refuge with you from male and female devils.

3. Reciting Ayat al Kursi (the verse of the throne in Surat Al Baqarah,
2:255) at bedtime ensures that no devil comes close to you until the
morning. [Related by  Bukhari]

4. Saying: "La ilaha illallahu wah-dahu la sharika lahu; lahul-mulku wa
lahul-hamdu wa-hawa;ala kulli shay;in qadir."
There is no God but Allah, alone, without any partner, His kingdom, and His
is the praise, and He has power over all things.

100 times in the morning provides protection till the evening.[Bukhari &
Muslim]
In General, frequent remembrance of Allah and obedience to Him provide
immunity from the Shaytan.

Allah Says:
"Whoever withdraws himself from the remembrance of (Allah) most gracious,
We assign to him a Shaytan to be his comrade." [Quran 43:36]

In another verse Allah says:
"Satan has no authority over those who believe and place trust in their
Lord." [Quran 16:99]

Amongst the things that will keep the believer far away from falling into
the snares of Shaytan is to refrain from excess in glances, words, food and
socialising with people.  By these four doors Shaytan gains power over the
son of Adam and obtains what he wants from him.

As for looking, the Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
'Do not follow a glance with a glance. You are allowed the first but not
the second.' Narrated in the Musnad (Hadith Book) of Ahmad B. Hanbal
(Sahih)

As for excess words, the Prophet (saws) said:
'Part of the excellence of a Mans Islam is that he leaves what does not
concern him.'[Ahmad]

As for excess food, the Prophet (saws) said:
'A man does not fill a worse vessel than his belly.'[Ahmad]

Luqman the sage used to say to his son,
'My son, when the intestines are full, reflection goes to sleep, wisdom
falls silent, and the limbs cease to worship.'

'As for excessive socialising, it is a chronic disease which attracts evil.
How frequently are socialising and company empty of blessings ! How often
do the sow enmity ! How often they plant rancor in the heart and as long as
it remains in the heart it erodes firm mountains of good action!
Excessive socialising contains loss for this world and the next world.  The
slave must only indulge in that amount of socialising which in necessary.'

One of the greatest fortresses which protect the believer against Shaytan
is Knowledge.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
'One Faqih (Someone learned in Religious matters) is stronger against
Shaytan than a thousand worshippers.'[Tirmidhi]

The importance of knowledge for the believer in opposing Shaytan is well
illustrated by the following story related by Ibn Abbass:

The Shaytan says to Ibliss, 'Master we delight in the death of a man of
knowledge more than we rejoice in that of a man of worship. We are harmed
by the man with knowledge, but not harmed by the man of worship.'

Ibliss says, 'Come on, lets go.' So off they go to a man of worship and
they come to him while he is worshipping and tell him they want to ask him
a
question. Ibliss says, 'Can your lord put this world inside an egg?'

The worshipper replies, 'I don't know.' Ibliss says to the Shaytans, 'Don't
you see there is disbelief in his answer?'

They then go to a man of knowledge in his circle joking with his companions
and say, 'We want to ask you a question.'

He says, 'Ask' so Ibliss says to him, 'Can your Lord put this world inside
an egg?'
He replies, 'Yes.'
Ibliss asks, 'How?'
The man of knowledge says,"His command when He desires a thing that He says
to it Be and it is."(Quran 36:82)

Ibliss says to the Shaytans 'Don't you see that, the man (the worshipper)
does not have any effect beyond himself, while this man (the man of
knowledge) estranges much of the world from me?'

It is well known that Shaytan is with those who oppose the community.  For
that reason, the Muslim must keep to the Muslim community because that will
keep him far from the errors and snares of Shaytan.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
'Whoever of you desires the heart of the Garden should cling to the
community. Shaytan is with the solitary person and further off from the
couple.'[Timidhi and Ahmad]

The Messenger of Allah (saws) also said:
'The hand of Allah is over the community. Shaytan is with the one who
opposes the community.'[Ibn Sa;id]

References: The Jinn (In the Qur;an and Sunnah) by Mustafa Ashour