Jinn, Black Magic & The Occult

Part 1: The Unseen

A nefarious individual has been a hot topic as of late, as acts of utmost obscenity, horror and inhumanity were detailed in documents that only recently came to light. But more than that, he was not alone. Many popular figures and those from the elite and upper echelons of society were exposed to be in association with him, indulging in such acts. Something relevant to Muslims is that the individual was seeking to obtain the kiswah with email correspondents mentioning how the kiswah was "touched by 10 million Muslims... Hoping after that all their prayers to be accepted". This is relevant as it becomes quite obvious that the kiswah was not only sought after as merely a display piece. Rather, it suggests the purpose was something far more esoteric.

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Muslims are aware of another realm besides what we can see, and in it resides another of Allah's creation: the jinn.

As Muslims, having authentic knowledge of the jinn has provided much explanation of supernatural events of the world. While much has been said about them we can know with certainty (from the Quran and sunnah) that the jinn are a creation of Allah that is made of a "smokeless fire", unlike humans who are created from "clay" and angels from "light". And this characteristic of theirs has granted them physical strength and faculties far beyond human capability.

"And He created the Jinn from a smokeless flame of fire. "

Quran, Surah Ar-Rahman: Ayah 15

and

"An Ifrit of the jinn said: I will bring it (the throne of Queen Bilqis, from Yemen to Jerusalem) to you before you rise from your place, and indeed, I am for this [task] strong and trustworthy. "

Quran, Surah An-Naml: Ayah 39

But like humans, they intermingle, have societies, marry and produce offspring. And like us, they have also have a free will: if they are commanded to obey Allah, there too, are Muslim and non-Muslim jinn, good and bad jinn, and jinn that will enter Jannah as well as jinn that will enter Jahannam.

"And I did not create the Jinn and Mankind except to worship Me "

Quran, Surah Adh-Dhariyat: Ayah 56

and

"Except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them. But the word of your Lord is to be fulfilled that: "I will surely fill Hell with jinn and men all together."

Quran, Surah Hud: Ayah 119

While many cultures across the history of Mankind has it's own folklore of creatures, we as Muslims can simply dismiss off them as being the jinn. Due to their shapeshifting abilities, they play mischief with Man, scaring them by turning into "ghosts" and "monsters". They listen in to the whispered rumours of folk tales and purposefully make themselves appear to frighten men.

An important point to take note: Shaytan (lit. "to be far") is not a "species" of jinn. Rather, the term shaytan is used to describe those from amongst both jinn and man that are especially evil and rebellious (towards Allah) or seeks to bring us to Hellfire. And Iblis is the first Shaytan.

"And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy - devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion."

Quran, Al-An'am: Ayah 112

and

"[Iblees] said: "By your might, I will surely mislead them all except, among them, Your chosen servants.

Quran, Surah Sad: Ayah 82-83

Part 2: The Unlawful

Islam acknowledges the existence of so-called "black magic". It may seem superstitious or mysterious to those who do not know, but in reality, it is the jinn who perform such acts. Just as how a stage magician may appear to his audience to perform "magic" (such as floating in air with the help of thin ropes or appear to be cut in half with the help of additional stage actors), likewise there are jinn "behind the scenes" working within their capabilities to do things that may appear to us as "magic". And this is well-documented in all of human history: shamans, witch doctors and oracles have all interacted with the jinn, whether or not they realise its reality. The jinn perform possession, protection, divination, curses, love potions and the like to fulfil the desires of Man. And the jinn have only one benefit from this: they bring Mankind astray. In fact, many practitioners of black magic have to perform blasphemous acts in exchange for such services - not because it may benefit the jinn directly, but because such sins are so heinous in nature that creates a seal over their hearts and causes Allah's curse to fall on themselves, damning themselves to Hellfire.

As for those who practice black magic: the elite of them are the shaytan of mankind as they seek to spread corruption in the land; the higher of them are the allies of shaytan as they enjoin others upon evil; the lower ones of them are the playthings of the shaytan as they allow shaytan to lead them into hellfire. The shayateen may give false promises of fulfilling men's desire in the dunya, but their only desire is to bring us to hellfire. This is just like the promise of "snake oil" salesman. He may will promise you benefits of his products which may contain substances which grant short-term benefits - but are actually harmful in the long run. And once the victim falls ill, they are no where to be found. Likewise, they shaytan may grant someone some sort of power, to the point the victim feels dependant on it. They will never leave it or shaytan may make him feel trapped by it for they desire to secure him a place in Hellfire.

We might feel intimidated against those who may perform witch craft, but they do not posses any real power as we see many of them lead wretched lives and meet wretched ends. And only true power lies with Allah.

"And Satan will say when the matter has been concluded, "Indeed, Allah had promised you the promise of truth. And I promised you, but I betrayed you. But I had no authority over you except that I invited you, and you responded to me. So do not blame me; but blame yourselves. I cannot be called to your aid, nor can you be called to my aid. Indeed, I deny your association of me [with Allah ] before. Indeed, for the wrongdoers is a painful punishment."

Quran, Surah 'Ibrahim: Ayah 22

and

[Allāh] said, "The truth [is My oath], and the truth I say - that I will surely fill Hell with you (Iblees) and those of them that follow you all together."

Quran, Surah Sad: Ayah 84-85

Part 3: Islam

Indeed, Islam has been a blessing to Mankind. It gave us knowledge of the jinn, and we learn from the Prophetic sunnah how to protect ourselves from them. And when Islam came, the jinn were prevented from eavesdropping the heavens (which contained knowledge of the future).

The jinn may seem like an "easy way out" of situations in our lives, and indeed Allah has created "magic" to be a test for us. But since it is a sin of the highest order, He has warned us of it's heavy price. Just as how hackers may be banned from certain software or jailed for cheating their way into stealing money, obtaining digital products for free and infringing upon the rights of others, Allah has threatened those who deal with the jinn to be "banned" from Paradise as they are the "hackers" of the real world.

"And they followed [instead] what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt. But they [i.e., the two angels] do not teach anyone unless they say, "We are a trial, so do not disbelieve [by practicing magic]." And [yet] they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allāh. And they [i.e., people] learn what harms them and does not benefit them. But they [i.e., the Children of Israel] certainly knew that whoever purchased it [i.e., magic] would not have in the Hereafter any share. And wretched is that for which they sold themselves, if they only knew."

Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah 102

Should we fear the jinn? A very good explanation for this that I have heard is that we have every right to fear them, but to fear them in a way like we encounter a menacing creature, like a tiger for example. Both of them are stronger than us and their sight may incite fear in us, but that does not mean we should raise our fear of them to a level that is not reasonable and create superstition around them. For this would just make the jinn happy as it makes it easier for them to bring us astray: people will start worshipping them out of fear, asking for their protection. If one would encounter a tiger, he should behave in a way as described by animal experts to protect himself, such as walking backwards slowly and avoiding eye contact. Likewise, when one encounters a jinn, we should react with knowledge as taught by our Prophet peace and blessing upon him, such as reading ayat from the Qur'an. We should avoid doing superstitious acts such as throwing salt, carry or wear amulets and the like as this is not from the Qur'an and sunnah, but is an innovation that encourages the mischief from the jinn. We should also avoid spreading rumours in such a manner that it becomes a folk tale which is passed around and is believed in by the people, causing even more superstition to arise.

"Say: Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector. And upon Allah let the believer rely."

Quran, Surah At-Tawbah: Ayah 51

And this is true for all harms from the seen and the unseen.

May Allah protect us from evil and the evil ones, amin.

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