Djinn

From TinWiki.org

Djinn(Paraphrased and edited from various online sources.)

Djinn: a race of spirits. A male spirit of the Djinn is called a “djinni”; a female djinni is called a “djinniye.”

The ancient Hebrews believed that the djinn were spirits of invisible peoples who acted from twilight until the first light of dawn. They could make themselves invisible and change their shape into animals and of man. The Marid, the most blood-thirsty of the djinn, made use of animals forms to claim human life and drink their blood. These spirits were commonly blamed for diseases of the body and mind; sufferers claimed that they were “tormented by the djinn that possessed them."

The ancient Arabs believed that the djinn were spirits of fire; by this they meant that the djinn did not possess physical form, but could be seen and felt. but not touched. The female djinn were also associated with succubi — demons who took the forms of beautiful women, incubi were the male version of the demon.

In the Qu'ran, the djinn are said to be created by God/Allah from a smokeless fire (in much the same way that humans were made of earth). Imbued with free will, the djinn can choose good or evil. In the Qu'ran, the djinn are mentioned frequently (Surat 72 is entirely about them), and Muhammad was said to have been sent as a prophet to both humans and djinn. Satan or"Shaitan" was said to be the leader of the Djinn who refused to bow down to Adam in defiance to the will of God.

The djinn have been omitted from western culture because they were considered Muslim fairy tales. However, they have communities much like human societies — they eat, marry, produce children, die, etc. They can see us, but we cannot see them — although they are able to make themselves visible when they choose.

The djinn were said to be controllable by magically binding them to objects; the Spirit of the Lamp in the story of Aladdin was such a djinni, bound to an oil lamp. In the West, the genie-in-the-oil-lamp myth took hold — as did the expectation that a released djinn would grant wishes. What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" 29For Jesus had commanded the evil[c] spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. 30Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

 "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 

32A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. 33When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Legion in this case signified a great number, a Roman army, and the demons (djinn) were confined to the bodies of a large herd of swine, giving credence to the belief that the djinn could be magically bound.

There is very little real information about the real djinn posted anywhere. Mostly all that can be found is lifeless tales told too many times. Even those who profess to believe lack the ardor of experience. I hope to change that. God created the Angels, they are beings of light. This is a literal meaning, they are light. God then created the Djinn from a "smokeless fire", they too are non-physical entities. This also is a literal statement. They were not the smoke nor the flame, but the shimmering heat that rises above the flame. This is their appearance. Then God created Man out of the Earth, this was a startling departure for both Angels and Djinn. Man had a physical form that had the power to move things that they did not. God was pleased with what he had done and gave Man a soul. God gave Adam dominion over the earth and the creatures thereon God called the Angels and the Djinn together and commanded them to bow before Adam, signifying their submission to him. A third of the Angels and Satan, the great Shaitan of the Djinn refused to bow down to Adam. Thus began the enmity between the beings of light and the beings of mortal clay. Everything beyond this is conjecture, information by rote. The djinn are still on this planet with us, many of them are actively waging war on humanity.