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91-403: Daimons are lesser divinities or spirits, often personifications of abstract concepts, beings of the same nature as both mortals and deities, similar to ghosts , chthonic heroes, spirit guides , forces of nature, or the deities themselves (see Plato's Symposium ). According to Hesiod's myth, "great and powerful figures were to be honoured after death as a daimon…" A daimon is not so much

182-592: A Cambridge neuroscience study Jalal, Simons-Rudolph, Jalal, & Hinton (2013). 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. 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 ( ṣalāh ) to get rid of these assaults by jinn. Sleep paralysis

273-572: A Goddess and a Horned God , thereby being generally dualistic . In traditional Wicca, as expressed in the writings of Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente , the emphasis is on the theme of divine gender polarity, and the God and Goddess are regarded as equal and opposite divine cosmic forces. In some newer forms of Wicca, such as feminist or Dianic Wicca , the Goddess is given primacy or even exclusivity. In some forms of traditional witchcraft that share

364-616: A daimōn who has obtained the person at his birth by lot, is an idea which we find in Plato, undoubtedly from earlier tradition. The famous, paradoxical saying of Heraclitus is already directed against such a view: 'character is for man his daimon ' ". The Hellenistic Greeks divided daemons into good and evil categories: agathodaímōn ( ἀγαθοδαίμων , "noble spirit"), from agathós ( ἀγαθός , "good, brave, noble, moral, lucky, useful"), and kakodaímōn ( κακοδαίμων , " malevolent spirit "), from kakós ( κακός , "bad, evil"). They resemble

455-417: A daimōnion (literally, a "divine something") that frequently warned him—in the form of a "voice"—against mistakes but never told him what to do. The Platonic Socrates, however, never refers to the daimonion as a daimōn ; it was always referred to as an impersonal "something" or "sign". By this term he seems to indicate the true nature of the human soul , his newfound self-consciousness . Paul Shorey sees

546-956: A god-sent wind saved them from Mongol invasion. Prayers or propitiations are often offered to specific gods to garner favorable interventions in particular enterprises: e.g. safe journeys, success in war, or a season of bountiful crops. Many faiths around the world—from Japanese Shinto and Chinese traditional religion, to certain African practices and the faiths derived from those in the Caribbean, to Native American beliefs—hold that ancestral or household deities offer daily protection and blessings . In monotheistic religions, divine intervention may take very direct forms: miracles , visions , or intercessions by blessed figures. Transcendent force or power may also operate through more subtle and indirect paths. Monotheistic faiths generally support some version of divine providence , which acknowledges that

637-512: A snake form, but can also choose to appear as scorpions , lizards , or humans. They may even engage in sexual affairs with humans and produce offspring. If they are injured by someone, they usually seek revenge or possess the assailant's body, requiring exorcism . Jinn rarely meddle in human affairs, preferring to live with their own kind in tribes similar to those of pre-Islamic Arabia. Individual jinn appear on charms and talismans. They are called upon for protection or magical aid, often under

728-469: A belief in the divine potential of humanity; Smith taught a form of divinization where mortal men and women can become like god through salvation and exaltation . Lorenzo Snow succinctly summarized this using a couplet , which is often repeated within the LDS Church: "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." Wiccan views of divinity are generally theistic , and revolve around

819-449: A man could kill a jinni in single combat, but they are feared for attacking without being seen. Some sources even speak of killed jinn leaving behind a carcass similar to either a serpent or a scorpion. Despite that 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 soothsayers , philosophers, and poets were inspired by

910-467: A model to follow (like angels) nor tempters of the lower self (like Satan) and mostly feature in poetic anecdotes. The jinn are obligated to follow the divine law ( sharīʿa ), as derived from the Quran by Muslim jurists ( faqīh ). Thus, the jinn are considered, along with humans, to be mukallāf . Believers among the jinn are called "Muslim jinn" ( muslimū l-jinn ). Since both creations must perform

1001-588: A monotheistic framework without demonizing them. An example of this can be seen in the writings of Syed Sultan who treated Shiva and Parvati as "created beings" and casts the Suras and Asuras into the roles of the jinn in Islamic haggadic tradition. Besides local deities, the existence of purely malevolent spirits is also acknowledged. Thus, jinn exist alongside other mythological entities, such as demons ( Dēw ) and fairies ( parī ). The moral attitude of

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1092-568: A phenomenal range of creatures that can be found on the eight-pointed tiles of the Seal of Sulaymān device. Among these were the jinn, that belonged among Solomon's army and as Solomon claimed to have control over the jinn, so did the Rūm Seljuk sultan that claimed to be the Sulaymān of his time. In fact, one of the most common representations of jinn are alongside or in association with King Solomon. It

1183-406: A scale from good to bad. ... [Plutarch] speaks of ‘great and strong beings in the atmosphere, malevolent and morose, who rejoice in [unlucky days, religious festivals involving violence against the self, etc.], and after gaining them as their lot, they turn to nothing worse.’ ... The use of such malign daemones by human beings seems not to be even remotely imagined here: Xenocrates' intention

1274-745: A similar duotheistic theology, the Horned God is given precedence over the Goddess. Jinn Jinn ( Arabic : جِنّ ‎ ), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies , are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabia and later in Islamic culture and beliefs . Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers ( Muslims ) or disbelievers ( kafir ), depending on whether they accept God 's guidance. Since jinn are neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam acknowledged spirits from other religions and could adapt them during its expansion. Jinn are not

1365-510: A strictly Islamic concept; they may represent several pagan beliefs integrated into Islam. Islam places jinn and humans on the same plane in relation to God, both being subject to God's judgement and an afterlife. The Quran condemns the pre-Islamic Arabian practice of worshipping or seeking protection from them. Although usually invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies ( Arabic : أَجْسَام , romanized :  ajsām ), and can change at will. They favor

1456-681: A superstitional belief and hinders the common people to instigate military power. Similarly, the Deobandi movement , although not denying the reality of jinn, mostly depicts jinn as malevolent beings who need to be avoided or exorcised. In modern Iran, (evil) jinn are often substituted by devils. Similarly, in many modern tales, the term jinn is used for div (demon), causing a shift in meaning. Nonetheless, traditional belief in jinn remains popular in Islamic culture. The negative evaluations of jinn are not static, but rather entangled with traditional and also positive depictions of jinn. According to

1547-510: A survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center in 2012: 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 talisman for protection against jinn; 12% support offerings and appeal given to the jinn. Sleep paralysis is understood as a "jinn attack" by many sleep paralysis sufferers in Egypt, as discovered by

1638-686: A type of quasi-divine being, according to Walter Burkert , but rather a non-personified "peculiar mode" of their activity. In Hesiod 's Theogony , Phaëton becomes an incorporeal daimon or a divine spirit, but, for example, the ills released by Pandora are deadly deities, keres , not daimones . From Hesiod also, the people of the Golden Age were transformed into daimones by the will of Zeus , to serve mortals benevolently as their guardian spirits; "good beings who dispense riches…[nevertheless], they remain invisible, known only by their acts". The daimones of venerated heroes were localized by

1729-664: Is about the revelation to jinn. The same Surah mentions righteous jinn on one hand, and malicious jinn on the other. The jinn can neither harm nor benefit humans, for they are occupied with looking after themselves and their own place in the cosmos. This is in notable contrast to demons and devils in the Judeo-Christian tradition . The Quran does not condemn the jinn as a source of harm, but by mistaking them for beings deserving cultic veneration ( 72:6 ). Jinn and humans are blamed for ascribing divine attributes to another creature (i.e. jinn); jinn to themselves and humans to

1820-562: Is an Arabic collective noun deriving from the Semitic root JNN ( Arabic : 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'. Cognates include the Arabic majnūn ( مَجْنُون , 'possessed' or, generally, 'insane'), jannah ( جَنَّة , 'garden', 'eden' or 'heaven'), and janīn ( جَنِين , 'embryo'). Jinn

1911-416: Is an equivalent cohort of malefic supernatural beings and powers, such as demons , devils , afreet , etc., which are not conventionally referred to as divine; demonic is often used instead. Polytheistic and animistic systems of belief make no such distinction; gods and other beings of transcendent power often have complex, ignoble, or even incomprehensible motivations for their acts. Note that while

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2002-515: Is closely associated with storms and thunder throughout much of the Old Testament . He is said to speak in thunder, and thunder is seen as a token of his anger. This power was then extended to prophets like Moses and Samuel , who caused thunderous storms to rain down on their enemies. Divinity always carries connotations of goodness , beauty , beneficence, justice , and other positive, pro-social attributes. In monotheistic faiths there

2093-533: Is generally associated with great fear in Egypt, especially if believed to be supernatural in origin. Similarly, European patients with a Muslim background often attribute mental illnesses to jinn. Most common attributations to jinn are symptoms of hallucination and psychotic symptoms, but can also include mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Capgras syndrome , and epilepsy . It has been noted that not all Muslims who believe in jinn, believe they can possess people. Furthermore, belief in possession

2184-652: Is in accordance with the will of God. The doctrine of the divine right of kings was introduced as late as the 17th century, proposing that kings rule by divine decree; Japanese Emperors ruled by divine mandate until the inception of the Japanese constitution after World War II . Less politically, most faiths have any number of people that are believed to have been touched by divine forces: saints , prophets , heroes , oracles , martyrs , and enlightened beings, among others. Saint Francis of Assisi , in Catholicism,

2275-428: Is not limited to Muslims. Contrary to the assumption that higher education is proportional to disenchantment , belief in jinn-possession may remain intact even after medical graduation . 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

2366-403: Is often implied in works of architecture by the presence of apotropaic devices like serpents, which were intended to ward off evil spirits. Lastly, King Solomon is illustrated very often with jinn as the commander of an army that included them. In addition to these representations of jinn in vicinity to kingship, there were also architectural references to jinn throughout the Islamic world. In

2457-483: Is presented as someone who is totally controlled by the jinni entering. The soothsayer was consulted to reveal hidden information or settle disputes, as it was believed, the jinn speaking through them revealed hidden knowledge. Jinn have been called an integral part of the Muslim tradition or faith, completely accepted in official Islam; prominently featured in folklore. Medieval and modern scholars have studied

2548-640: Is properly treated as a plural (however in Classical Arabic , may also appear as jānn , جَانّ ), with the singular being jinnī ( جِنِّيّ ), which the English word "genie" is derived from. The origin of the word jinn remains uncertain. Some scholars relate the Arabic term jinn to the Latin genius – a guardian spirit of people and places in Roman religion – as a result of syncretism during

2639-445: Is said to have received instruction directly from God and it is believed that he grants plenary indulgence to all who confess their sins and visit his chapel on the appropriate day. In Greek mythology, Achilles ' mother bathed him in the river Styx to give him immortality, and Hercules —as the son of Zeus —inherited near-godly powers. In religious Taoism , Laozi is venerated as a saint with his own powers. Various individuals in

2730-570: Is the Latin divus meaning of or belonging to a God ( deus ). The word entered English from Medieval Latin in the 14th century. Divinity as a quality has two distinct usages: Overlap occurs between these usages because deities or godly entities are often identical with or identified by the powers and forces that are credited to them—in many cases, a deity is merely a power or force personified—and these powers and forces may then be extended or granted to mortal individuals. For instance, Jehovah

2821-422: Is the most blessed existence, the highest origin of everything. ‘This is the god. On such a principle heaven depends, and the cosmos.’ The highest, the best is one; but for the movement of the planets a plurality of unmoved movers must further be assumed. In the monotheism of the mind, philosophical speculation has reached an end-point. That even this is a self-projection of a human, of the thinking philosopher,

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2912-754: Is this: Colossians 2:9 The word "divine" in the New Testament is the Greek word θείας ( theias ), and is the adjective form of "divinity". Biblical examples from the King James Bible are below: The most prominent conception of divine entities in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is the Godhead , a divine council of three distinct beings: Elohim ( the Father ), Jehovah (

3003-537: Is towards these daemones that we direct purifications and apotropaic rites , all kinds of divination, the art of reading chance utterances, and so on.’ ... This account differs from that of the early Academy in reaching back to the other, Archaic, view of daemones as souls, and thus anticipates the views of Plutarch and Apuleius in the Principate ... It clearly implies that daemones can cause illness to livestock: this traditional dominated view has now reached

3094-559: The Academy , of the daemon as a potentially dangerous lesser spirit: Burkert states that in the Symposium , Plato has "laid the foundation" that would make it all but impossible to imagine the daimon in any other way with Eros , who is neither god nor mortal but a mediator in between, and his metaphysical doctrine of an incorporeal, pure actuality, energeia  ... identical to its performance: ‘thinking of thinking’, noesis noeseos

3185-546: The Citadel of Aleppo , the entrance gate Bab al-Hayyat made reference to 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. Alongside these depictions of the jinn found at the Aleppo Citadel, depictions of the jinn can be found in the Rūm Seljuk palace. There are

3276-427: The daimonion not as an inspiration but as "a kind of spiritual tact checking Socrates from any act opposed to his true moral and intellectual interests." Regarding the charge brought against Socrates in 399 BC, Plato surmised "Socrates does wrong because he does not believe in the gods in whom the city believes, but introduces other daemonic beings..." Burkert notes that "a special being watches over each individual,

3367-574: The required prayers ( salah ), Muslim jurists debated if one is allowed to perform the prayer behind a jinni. Shibli cites two 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. Because humans and jinn are capable of procreation, Muslim jurists dealt with the issue of permissibility of intercourse between these two types of creatures. Some Ḥadīths , though considered fabricated ( mawḍūʻ ) by some muhaddith (hadith scholars) , pushed

3458-476: The six articles of Islamic faith , as belief in angels is. Nonetheless, many Muslim scholars, including the Hanbalī scholar ibn Taymiyya and the Ẓāhirī scholar ibn Hazm , believe they are essential to the Islamic faith since they are mentioned in the Quran. It is generally accepted by the majority of Muslim scholars that jinn can possess individuals. This is considered to be part of the doctrines ( aqidah ) of

3549-588: The " people of the Sunnah " ( ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a ) in the tradition of Ash'ari . The Atharī scholars ibn Taimiyya and ibn Qayyim agree on this matter. From among the Sunni schools of theology, only the Māturīdīs seems to debate possession. Al-Rustughfanī deemed jinn-possession impossible. Al-Māturīdī focuses on the dynamics between jinn and humans based on Quran 72:6 . He states that seeking refuge among

3640-635: The 1980s, this genre has become prominent in Turkish literature. The story by Tekin deals with folkloric and religious belief in a rationalized society . Contrary to the neutral to positive depiction of jinn in Tekin's novels, since 2004 jinn have become a common trope in Middle Eastern horror movies . The presentation of jinn usually combines Quranic with oral and cultural beliefs about jinn. Out of 89 films, 59 have direct references to jinn as

3731-632: The Arabic jinni (or genie ), and in their humble efforts to help mediate the good and ill fortunes of human life, they resemble the Christian guardian angel and adversarial demon , respectively. Eudaimonia ( εὐδαιμονία ) came to mean "well-being" or "happiness". The comparable Roman concept is the genius who accompanies and protects a person or presides over a place (see genius loci ). A distorted view of Homer 's daemon results from an anachronistic reading in light of later characterizations by Plato and Xenocrates , his successor as head of

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3822-414: The Arabic translation for the Greek nymph (' arūsa ) is also used for jinn by Middle Eastern sources. 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. The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear. Belief in jinn in pre-Islamic Arab religion is testified not only by

3913-595: The Buddhist faith, beginning with Siddhartha , are considered to be enlightened, and in religious forms of Buddhism they are credited with divine powers. Christ in the Bible is said to be God's Son and is said to have performed divine miracles. In general, mortals with divine qualities are carefully distinguished from the deity or deities in their religion's main pantheon . Even the Christian faith, which generally holds Christ to be identical to God, distinguishes between God

4004-647: The Father and Christ the begotten Son. There are, however, certain esoteric and mystical schools of thought, present in many faiths— Sufis in Islam, Gnostics in Christianity, Advaitan Hindus, Zen Buddhists , as well as several non-specific perspectives developed in new age philosophy—which hold that all humans are in essence divine, or unified with the Divine in a non-trivial way. Such divinity, in these faiths, would express itself naturally if it were not obscured by

4095-587: The Quran affirms their existence. Although depictions are categorized into little tradition ( folklore ) and greater tradition (official Islam) for research purposes, both depictions are largely the same. 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. Islam allowed to integrate local beliefs about spirits and deities from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India, into

4186-604: The Quran, but also by pre-Islamic Arabic poetry . 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; others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance. Jinn were already worshipped by many Arabs during in pre-Islamic Arabia . Julius Wellhausen observed that jinn were often thought to "inhabit or haunt desolate, dark and dingy places in

4277-659: The Son , or Jesus ), and the Holy Spirit . Joseph Smith described a nontrinitarian Godhead, with God the Father and Jesus Christ each having individual physical bodies, and the Holy Spirit as a distinct personage with a spirit body . Smith also introduced the existence of a Heavenly Mother in the King Follett Discourse , but very little is acknowledged or known beyond her existence. Mormons hold

4368-690: The antagonist, 12 use other sorts of demons, while other types of horror, such as the impending apocalypse, hauntings, or ghosts, constitute only 14 films. The popularity of jinn as a choice of monster can best be explained by their affirmation in the Quran. They are still a popular trope today. A study from 2020 shows that jinn are still the favorite Horror element among teenagers. Jinn further feature in Iranian horror movies. Though discouraged by some teachings of modern Islam, cultural beliefs about jinn remain popular among Muslim societies and their understanding of cosmology and anthropology. Affirmation on

4459-665: The belief that spiritually gifted people can act as intermediaries between humans and jinn. Most of the time, jinn are believed not to interfere with humans and live mostly in desolate or abandoned places. This is, for example, evident from the Turkish phrase İn Cin top oynuyor . It is only when they are angered or disturbed, for example, if their children are trodden upon or hot water is thrown on them, 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

4550-467: The consequences implied by their existence, legal status, the possible relations between them and mankind, especially in questions of marriage and property. Jinn are mentioned approximately 29 times in the Quran , exclusively in Meccan surahs . The Quran assumes that the audience is familiar with the subject without elaborating on the jinn much further. According to the Quran 51:56-57 , Muhammad

4641-410: The construction of shrines, so as not to wander restlessly, and were believed to confer protection and good fortune on those offering their respects. One tradition of Greek thought, which found agreement in the mind of Plato , was of a daimon which existed within a person from their birth, and that each individual was obtained by a singular daimon prior to their birth by way of lot . Homer 's use of

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4732-466: The conventional workings of the world; from the subtle redressing of minor personal wrongs to such large-scale havoc as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or the biblical Great Flood . Other faiths are even more subtle: the doctrine of karma shared by Buddhism and Hinduism is a divine law similar to divine retribution but without the connotation of punishment: our acts, good or bad, intentional or unintentional, reflect back on us as part of

4823-507: The deities, these figures were not always depicted without considerable moral ambiguity: On this account, the other traditional notion of the daemon as related to the souls of the dead is elided in favour of a spatial scenario which evidently also graduated in moral terms; though [Plato] says nothing of that here, it is a necessary inference from her account, just as Eros is midway between deficiency and plenitude. ... Indeed, Xenocrates ... explicitly understood daemones as ranged along

4914-504: The desert". For that reason, they were held responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses. Emilie Savage-Smith asserts that malicious jinn and good gods were distinct in pre-Islamic Arabia, but admits that such distinction is not absolute. In the regions north to the Hejaz , Palmyra and Baalbek , the terms jinni and ilah (deity) were often used interchangeably. Julius Wellhausen likewise agrees that in pre-Islamic Arabia it

5005-400: The divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity . What is or is not divine may be loosely defined, as it is used by different belief systems . Under monotheism and polytheism this is clearly delineated. However, in pantheism and animism this becomes synonymous with concepts of sacredness and transcendence . The root of the word divinity

5096-510: The divinity of the faith has a profound but unknowable plan always unfolding in the world. Unforeseeable, overwhelming, or seemingly unjust events are often thrown on 'the will of the Divine', in deferences like the Muslim inshallah ('as God wills it') and Christian ' God works in mysterious ways '. Often such faiths hold out the possibility of divine retribution as well, where the divinity will unexpectedly bring evil -doers to justice through

5187-527: The exception of the agathodaemon , honored first with a libation in ceremonial wine-drinking, especially at the sanctuary of Dionysus , and represented in iconography by the chthonic serpent . Burkert suggests that, for Plato, theology rests on two Forms : the Good and the Simple; which "Xenocrates unequivocally called the unity god" in sharp contrast to the poet's gods of epic and tragedy. Although much like

5278-606: The existence of jinn as sapient creatures living along with humans is still widespread in the Middle Eastern world (including Egypt), and West Africa , mental illnesses are still often attributed to jinn possession. Since modern times, jinn were often portrayed in a more negative light. After the failure of the rebellion against the East India Company , the Muslim elite regarded jinn-veneration in India as

5369-400: The form of an animal, favoring the form of a snake. Other chthonic animals regarded as forms of jinn include scorpions and lizards . 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. Although the power of jinn usually exceed those of humans, it is conceivable

5460-402: The human realm. As previously noted, divinities are closely related to the transcendent force(s) or power(s) credited to them, so much so that in some cases the powers or forces may themselves be invoked independently. This leads to the second usage of the word divine (and less common usage of divinity ): to refer to the operation of transcendent power in the world. In its most direct form,

5551-461: The intellectuals. In the Archaic or early Classical period, the daimon had been democratized and internalized for each person, whom it served to guide, motivate, and inspire, as one possessed of such good spirits. Similarly, the first-century Roman imperial cult began by venerating the genius or numen of Augustus , a distinction that blurred in time. Divinity Divinity or

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5642-560: The jinn increases fear and anxiety, however, not because 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 širk , due to the reliance on a created thing instead of God. Although jinn frequently appear in hagiographic Sufi literature and their existence is never doubted, they do not play any major role in Sufi cosmology . Because of their similarities to humans, they function neither as

5733-638: 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 . Besides Islam, they could also practise Christianity and Judaism. Good jinn might teach people moral lessons and might be benevolent, or aid spiritual persons, such as shamans ( kam ) in Central Asia , or spiritual healers in Senegal . Mediha Esenel 's studies in 1940 Anatolia mentions

5824-413: The jinn occupy no fundamentally different position in the Quran than humans. Like humans, the jinn have no knowledge of the future. Like humanity, jinn face epistemic limitations regarding "the hidden/occult", have to rely on God's messengers, and face eschatological judgement. In Quranic interpretation, the term jinn can be used in two different ways: Belief in jinn is not included among

5915-403: The jinn" ("wa-akhī min al-jinn al-baṣīr"). 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. He is supposed to have taught her the arts of healing. The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different than that of a jinni and a soothsayer ( kāhin ). The soothsayer

6006-513: The jinn. In the Quranic account, despite their similarities, there are important differences between the two species. Whereas humans are made from "clay" or "dirt", jinn were created from "smokeless fire" (Quran 15:27 , Quran 55:15 ), which is possibly the reason why they are credited with some extraordinary abilities, such as invisibility, transformation, and ascending into the air like devils (Quran 72:8 ). Despite some superhuman powers,

6097-408: The jinn. The Arabian poet al-A'sha (d. after 3/625) is said to have gotten his inspiration for his poetry by a friend named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") and further calls him his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī"). Similarly, the poet 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

6188-438: The leadership of a king. Many people who believe in jinn wear amulets to protect themselves against the assaults of the jinn, sent out by sorcerers and witches. A commonly held belief is that jinn cannot hurt someone who wears something with the name of God written on it. While some Muslim scholars in the past had ambivalent attitudes towards jinn, contemporary Muslim scholarship increasingly associate jinn with idolatry . Jinn

6279-458: The malevolent spirits called ' demon ' and mostly-benevolent 'heavenly angels', in literature. In Assyrian art , the modern term used for creatures ontologically between humans and divinities is also genie . 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 source. In turn,

6370-444: The natural working of the universe . Philosophical Taoism also proposes a transcendent operant principle—transliterated in English as tao or dao , meaning 'the way'—which is neither an entity nor a being per se, but reflects the natural ongoing process of the world. Modern western mysticism and new age philosophy often use the term 'the Divine' as a noun in this latter sense: a non-specific principle or being that gives rise to

6461-739: The necessity for an explanation: "The Hour will come when the children of jinn will become many among you." "Among you are those who are expatriated (mugharrabûn);" and this, he explained, meant "crossed with jinn." Although there are recorded cases of purported human-jinn relationships most Muslim jurists agree that such a relationship is not permissible. Even those scholars who allowed such relationships, still considered them undesirable ( makruh ). Offspring of human-jinn relationships are nonetheless, usually considered to be gifted and talented people with special abilities. The jinn (also known as: Albanian : Xhindi , Bosnian : Džin , Turkish : Cin ) were adopted by later Islamic culture , since

6552-401: The operation of transcendent power implies some form of divine intervention . For monotheistic and polytheistic faiths this usually implies the direct action of one god or another on the course of human events. In Greek legend , for instance, it was Poseidon (god of the sea) who raised the storms that blew Odysseus 's craft off course on his return journey, and Japanese tradition holds that

6643-429: The place. Angered or straightforwardly evil mannered jinn, could hurt people by inflicting physical damage, causing illness, or taking control over a human's body . A human can be controlled by jinn under certain circumstances. The individual needs to be in a state of dha'iyfah ( Arabic : ضَعِيفَة , "(mental) weakness"). Feelings of insecurity, mental instability, unhappy love and depression (being "tired from

6734-456: The priestess Diotima teaches Socrates that love is not a deity, but rather a "great daimōn" (202d). She goes on to explain that "everything daimōnion is between divine and mortal" (202d–e), and she describes daimōns as "interpreting and transporting human things to the gods and divine things to men; entreaties and sacrifices from below, and ordinances and requitals from above..." (202e). In Plato's Apology of Socrates , Socrates claimed to have

6825-510: The reign of the Roman empire under Tiberius and Augustus ; however, this derivation is also disputed. Supporters argue that both Roman genii as well as Arabian jinn are considered to be lesser deities inhabiting local sanctuaries , trees or springs, and persons or families. Aramaic ginnaya ( Classical Syriac : ܓܢܝܐ ) with the meaning of ' tutelary deity ' or 'guardian' are attributed to similar functions and are another possible origin of

6916-530: The sight of humans, they would have been called jinn. The anglicized form genie is a borrowing of the French génie , also from the Latin genius . It first appeared in 18th century translations of the Thousand and One Nights from the 1706 French edition, where it had been used owing to its rough similarity in sound and sense and further applies to benevolent intermediary spirits, in contrast to

7007-621: The social and physical worlds we live in; it needs to be brought to the fore through appropriate spiritual practices . In the New Testament the Greek word θεῖον ( theion ) in the Douay Version , is translated as "divinity". Examples are below: The word translated as either "deity", "Godhead", or "divinity" in the Greek New Testament is also the Greek word θεότητος ( theotētos ), and the one verse that contains it

7098-486: The soul") are forms of dha'iyfah . In that case, it is believed that an exorcism is required to save the person from the assaulting jinni. To protect oneself from jinn, many Muslims wear amulets with the name of God graved on. Jinn are also said to be scared of iron and wolves . Jinn feature in the magical realism genre , introduced into Turkish literature by Latife Tekin (1983), who uses magical elements known from pre-Islamic and Islamic Anatolian lore. Since

7189-416: The term jinn refers to foreign, invisible, or unknown anthropomorphic beings, which are nonetheless subject to the same considerations as the former. They were both created to worship God ( 51:56 ). Because they are supposed to worship God from free will, they are both able for good and evil deeds ( 7:179 , 55:56 ). They are, like humans, rational beings formed of nations ( 7:38 ). Surah al-jinn

7280-602: The term jinn . Another suggestion holds that the word is of Persian origin and appeared in the form of the Avestic Jaini , a wicked (female) spirit. Jaini were among various creatures in the possibly even pre-Zoroastrian mythology of peoples of Iran . 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 affect would be an incarnation of said spirit. Since these spirits are covered from

7371-457: The terms demon and demonic are used in monotheistic faiths as antonyms to divine , they are in fact derived from the Greek word daimón (δαίμων), which itself translates as divinity . There are three distinct usages of divinity and divine in religious discourse : In monotheistic faiths, the word divinity is often used to refer to the singular God central to that faith. Often

7462-464: The third usage, extensions of divinity and divine power are credited to living, mortal individuals. Political leaders are known to have claimed actual divinity in certain early societies—the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs being the premier case—taking a role as objects of worship and being credited with superhuman status and powers. More commonly, and more pertinent to recent history, leaders merely claim some form of divine mandate , suggesting that their rule

7553-556: The word takes the definite article and is capitalized— "the Divinity" —as though it were a proper name or definitive honorific. Divine —capitalized—may be used as an adjective to refer to the manifestations of such a Divinity or its powers: e.g. "basking in the Divine presence..." The terms divinity and divine —uncapitalized, and lacking the definite article—are sometimes used to denote 'god(s) or certain other beings and entities which fall short of absolute Godhood but lie outside

7644-490: The words theoí ( θεοί , "gods") and daímones ( δαίμονες ) suggests that, while distinct, they are similar in kind. Later writers developed the distinction between the two. Plato in Cratylus speculates that the word daimōn ( δαίμων , "deity") is synonymous to daēmōn ( δαήμων , "knowing or wise"); however, it is more probably daiō ( δαίω , "to divide, to distribute destinies, to allot"). In Plato's Symposium ,

7735-474: The world, and acts as the source or wellspring of life . In these latter cases, the faiths do not promote deference, as happens in monotheisms; rather each suggests a path of action that will bring the practitioner into conformance with the divine law: ahimsa —'no harm'—for Buddhist and Hindu faiths; de or te —'virtuous action'—in Taoism; and any of numerous practices of peace and love in new age thinking. In

7826-787: 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. 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. 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 ), cattle , wild beasts, birds , and reptiles . Jinn are further known as shapeshifters, often assuming

7917-525: Was first made remains unanswerable. Much the same thought as [Plato's] is to be found in an explicitly Pythagorean context of probably late Hellenistic composition, the Pythagorean Commentaries , which evidently draws on older popular representations: ‘The whole air is full of souls. We call them daemones and heroes, and it is they who send dreams, signs and illnesses to men; and not only men, but also to sheep and other domestic animals. It

8008-525: Was not reflected on in ancient philosophy. In Plato there is an incipient tendency toward the apotheosis of nous . ... He needs a closeness and availability of the divine that is offered neither by the stars nor by metaphysical principles. Here a name emerged to fill the gap, a name which had always designated the incomprehensible yet present activity of a higher power, daimon . Daemons scarcely figure in Greek mythology or Greek art : they are felt, but their unseen presence can only be presumed, with

8099-521: Was sent as a prophet to both human and jinn communities, and prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Throughout the Quran, humans and jinn ( al-ins wa-l-jinn ) appear frequently as a pair, designating their equal status in regards of their creation and rejecting that jinn share divinity with the Creator. The term ins derives from anisa , which means "to be familiar with", and refers to recognisable familiar human beings. In contrast,

8190-553: Was thought that King Solomon had very close ties to the jinn, and even had control over many of them. The idea that a great and just ruler commands jinn was also extended to other emperors, such as Alexander the Great . 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

8281-400: Was to provide an explanation for the sheer variety of polytheistic religious worship; but it is the potential for moral discrimination offered by the notion of daemones which later ... became one further means of conceptualizing what distinguishes dominated practice from civic religion, and furthering the transformation of that practice into intentional profanation ... Quite when the point

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