6 Islamic articles on: Jinns in Islam

Table of contents for the topic Jinns in Islam
  1. Can jinns possess human beings?
  2. The difference between devils and jinns
  3. Her friend is said to suffer from “jinn possession”
  4. Can jinns possess objects or show themselves?
  5. The Islamic Case for Scientific Empiricism and Skepticism toward Supernatural Phenomena
  6. Can angels read and understand the Quran or not?

IslamQA: Can jinns possess human beings?

Assalamualaikum I'd like to know what we know about Jinns from the Quraan and the authentic hadiths. Can they possess human beings?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

The Quran refers to jinn possession in a few places, for example:

Those who swallow usury will not rise, except as someone driven mad by Satan's touch. That is because they say, “Commerce is like usury.” But God has permitted commerce, and has forbidden usury. Whoever, on receiving advice from his Lord, refrains, may keep his past earnings, and his case rests with God. But whoever resumes—these are the dwellers of the Fire, wherein they will abide forever. (The Quran, verse 2:275)

And also:

Do they not think? There is no madness in their friend. He is but a plain warner. (Verse 7:184)

The above verse uses the sentence mā bi-hi min jinna (literally: “there are no jinns with him / possessing him”). Whether this literally refers to jinn possession or it is just using a common idiom for “madness” we cannot tell.

The Quran tells us that Satan has no power over humans:

And Satan will say, when the issue is settled, “God has promised you the promise of truth, and I promised you, but I failed you. I had no power/authority over you, except that I called you, and you answered me. So do not blame me, but blame yourselves. I cannot come to your aid, nor can you come to my aid. I reject your associating with me in the past. The wrongdoers will have a torment most painful.” (Verse 14:22)

And also:

[God speaking to Satan] “Over My servants you have no power/authority, except for the sinners who follow you.”

So it appears that jinns have only power when a person opens themselves to them by abandoning God’s obedience and remembrance.

The idea that jinn can simply possess a good person and turn them mad has no support in the Quran or authentic hadith. They only have power over those who open their hearts to them by completely turning away from God.

Some hadiths mention jinns interacting with the physical world, as in a hadith of Abu Huraira that mentions a “devil” being seen at the mosque. But I’m highly skeptical of those hadiths because they are not widely transmitted. The Quran also mentions jinns doing physical work for Prophet Sulayman [as], but that appears to have been an exception made especially for him. The Quran never mentions anywhere else that jinns can interact with the physical world, and there is no widely transmitted hadith that supports such a notion.

Also note that there is very little support for the Islamic practice of ruqya (a kind of exorcism) when done for jinn possession, as discussed in the following article. The most authentic hadith on ruqya says Muslims will not use it: Is ruqya part of Islam? A study of the hadiths on ruqya using probability theory

IslamQA: The difference between devils and jinns

assalamu alaykum, what is the difference between devils and jinns?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

Being a “devil” is a moral quality. The Quran suggests that both humans and jinns can be “devils”:

Likewise, We have assigned for every prophet an enemy—human and jinn devils—inspiring one another with fancy words in order to deceive. But had your Lord willed, they would not have done it. So leave them to their fabrications. (The Quran, verse 6:112)

So perhaps we can say that a devil is any person, human or jinn, who is intent on knowingly spreading evil and falsehood and opposing God’s wishes.

As for jinns, they are creatures that we cannot see but who can see us. We know very little about them, and most of what you hear from Islamic sources is questionable unless it is found in the Quran or sound hadith. The Quran tells us that there are good and bad people among them:

[Jinns speaking:] “Some of us are righteous, but some of us are less than that; we follow divergent paths.” (The Quran, verse 72:11)

IslamQA: Her friend is said to suffer from “jinn possession”

Salaam, I have a friend who is suffering from jinn possession. Someone did black magic to her in order to destroy her and her marriage. She's now severely depressed, what can be done to help her?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

As I explain in my answer Can jinns possess objects or show themselves? we must be extremely skeptical toward claims regarding jinns. Unless your friend has undeniable proofs that her depression is caused by jinns, we should assume it is just a medical condition.

This world is not a playground for jinns doing whatever they want to humans as some superstitiously believe. Their only power it seems is to inspire thoughts in humans, and even then their power is strongly limited by God’s protection of His believers. The Quran says:

30. Surely, those who say: “Our Lord is God,” and then remain steadfast, the angels will descend upon them: “Do not fear, and do not grieve, but rejoice in the news of the Garden which you were promised.

31. We are your allies and protectors in this life and in the Hereafter, wherein you will have whatever your souls desire, and you will have therein whatever you call for.” (The Quran, verses 41:30-31)

The Quran also says:

There are succeeding ones assigned to him; before him and behind him, protecting him by God’s command. God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves. And if God wills any hardship for a people, there is no turning it back; and apart from Him they have no protector. (The Quran, verse 13:11)

Imam Mujāhid b. Jabr (d. 722 CE) says in his interpretation of this verse:

There is not a servant of God except that he has an angel protecting him in his sleep and wakefulness from jinns, humans and natural dangers [hawām, literally meaning deadly and disease-causing animals and insects]...

Since the believers enjoy God’s protection and since jinns have so little power, we should always be extremely skeptical about claims of jinns doing things to humans. Such things are not impossible as far as we know, but they are extremely unlikely.

My recommendation therefore is for your friend to seek medical help for her depression. She can also read the Quran and do extra worship to be closer to God and enjoy His protection more, and maybe this will help reduce her fears of being possessed by jinns.

IslamQA: Can jinns possess objects or show themselves?

assalamu alaykum, can jinns posess inanimate objects like dolls?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

As I explain in my answer The Islamic Case for Scientific Empiricism and Skepticism toward Supernatural Phenomena, the Quran’s theology strongly supports having a skeptical view toward supposedly supernatural phenomena, because the Quran often suggests that we will never see evidence for the Unseen world until the Day of Judgment. Anything that is provably supernatural can be said to be evidence for the Unseen, which contradicts the Quran’s position that the Unseen will remain, well, unseen, until the world ends.

From what I gather, jinns have only one power: to inspire thoughts in humans. They have no power over the physical world. In the story of Prophet Sulayman we have mentions of jinns/devils building things for him and carrying out other tasks. That appears to have been an exception that was specifically made for Sulayman, similar to magical-sounding powers he was given by God. There is not the slightest hint in the Quran that jinns can interact with the physical world as a general rule. There are many hadith narrations of varying authenticity that mention the jinns. Some of them fit the Quran’s view that jinns can only interact through inspiration, while others mention them doing physical things. Such hadith narrations should be treated with great skepticism since hadith scholars like al-Bukhari used lax criteria when dealing with hadiths that did not contain legal doctrines. On the issue of jinns interacting with the physical world, since this is apparently against Quranic doctrine, we should demand extremely high standards of authenticity before believing in them (one high standard is to require three separate Companions to transmit the same hadith). I have not done a thorough study in all the main books of hadith, but my short study of some sources did not turn up any hadiths that mention jinns interacting with the physical world that matched the three-Companion standard.

Their ability to inspire thoughts is counterbalanced by God and the angels who protect faithful humans from such thoughts. The farther that a person strays away from God, the more unprotected they become and the more vulnerable to evil inspirations.

The devils inspire their followers to argue with you; but if you obey them, you would be polytheists. (The Quran, verse 6:121)

God is the Lord of those who believe; He brings them out of darkness and into light. As for those who disbelieve, their lords are the evil ones; they bring them out of light and into darkness... (The Quran, verse 2:257)

Some He has guided, and some have deserved misguidance. They have adopted the devils for patrons rather than God, and they assume that they are guided. (The Quran, verse 7:30)

11. They will say, “Our Lord, you made us die twice, and twice you gave us life. Now we acknowledge our sins. Is there any way out?”12. That is because when God alone was called upon, you disbelieved; but when others were associated with Him, you believed. Judgment rests with God the Sublime, the Majestic. (The Quran, verse 40:11-12)

The Islamic Case for Scientific Empiricism and Skepticism toward Supernatural Phenomena

In answer to questions regarding people observing miracles

I would explore all possible scientific explanations for seemingly miraculous events before thinking of supernatural causes. Even if there is no scientific explanation now, one may find such an explanation one day. As I mention in my essays on why God allows evil to exist and on reconciling Islam and the theory of evolution, one of God’s self-imposed rules is the principle of plausible deniability: God never performs anything provably supernatural for us to see.  God always wants Himself to be hidden from us. That is what His dual attributes of al-Ẓāhir al-Bāṭin (The Clearly Visible, the Hidden) refer to. God is everywhere to be seen for a person who has faith in Him. But He is also completely hidden from direct observation.

We hear stories about some person’s friend’s relative who saw a clear and obvious miracle but miraculously failed to take a video of it. Rather than believing such stories, if we were to take the Quran seriously, we would be as skeptical about them as an atheist is. We fully believe in the miracles mentioned in the Quran, but we also believe the Quran when it says God will no longer show us any miracles that force us to believe in Him.

God is involved in our lives every moment of every day, but, and this is a very important point, He never provably involves Himself in our lives. He will always leave sufficient room for doubt so that when He answers a prayer we can always later say it was actually just an accident that the prayer came true. God does not want us to see Him or see effects of His actions directly. He wants our faith in Him to be a completely free and unforced choice. He wants us to proactively appreciate Him and love Him. He does not want us to passively be forced by external evidence to submit to Him.

I occasionally get messages from Muslims asking what “proof” there is that God exists and that Islam is the true religion. They have the mistaken idea that it is the job of Islamic scholars to prove Islam for them. They got it backward: It is their job to seek God and seek proofs of the correctness of Islam. Islamic scholars can help, but ultimately the business of faith is a personal business between each person and God. God has zero need for people. A person who fails to do their homework of proactively seeking God has no one to blame but themselves on the Day of Judgment.

IslamQA: Can angels read and understand the Quran or not?

Is it true that Allah didn't grant the angels the wisdom to read and understand the Quran? Why? Is it the same with the shaytans?

The few opinions I found say that it is a baseless speculation to say whether the angels can or cannot read the Quran since we have no conclusive evidence either way.

As for the jinn (shaytans are considered a type of jinn), the Quran mentions them listening to and understanding the Quran:

29. Recall when We dispatched towards you a number of jinn, to listen to the Quran. When they came in its presence, they said, “Pay attention!” Then, when it was concluded, they rushed to their people, warning them.

30. They said, “O our people, we have heard a Scripture, sent down after Moses, confirming what came before it. It guides to the truth, and to a straight path.

31. O our people! Answer the caller to God, and believe in Him; and He will forgive you your sins, and will save you from a painful punishment.” (Verses 46:20-31)

Sura 72 gives more details.