Wednesday, August 14, 2013

WHO ARE JINN?

Scholars of the natural sciences say that the entities which man can perceive by his senses are marginal in comparison to those that cannot be perceived by them.
Prior to the discovery of microscopic organisms, no one would have believed that in one drop of water or blood, there existed hundreds and thousands of living entities that man could not see.
The scientists also state: Our eyes can see a limited range of colors and our ears can hear a limited range of sound waves; the colors and sounds that cannot be perceived by our eyes and ears are more numerous than those that can be perceived by them.
When the state of the world is such, why should an existence of a species of living entities, which we can not be perceived by our senses, be so astonishing?
The Noble Qur’an has informed us of the existence of Jinn, we should disregard the superstitions of the general public in connection with these beings.
The Noble Qur’an says: “It is an entity that has been created from the flames of fire, unlike man, who has been created from earth.” (55:15)
“Possess knowledge, perception, the faculty of logic, the power of reasoning, and can distinguish between truth and falsehood.” (Various Ayahs of Sura al-Jinn)
“Possess religious obligations and responsibilities.” (Various Ayahs of Sura al-Jinn & Sura al-Wa’qia)
Some of them are believers while others are disbelievers.
“As for us, some of us are righteous and others are not. We have all followed different ways.” (72:11)
They shall be resurrected. “The deviators from the Truth will be the fuel of Hell” (72:15)
They initially possessed the power to penetrate the skies, but were later prohibited.
“We used to sit nearby and try to listen to the heaven, but shooting flames now await those who try to do that.” (72:9)
They used to establish contact with some of the people and, by means of the limited knowledge of the Unseen that they possessed, endeavored to misguide the people.
“Certain human beings sought refuge with certain Jinn and this increased their loss and failures.” (72:6)
Among the Jinn, some of them possessed great powers.
“A monstrous Jinn said; “I can bring it before you (Prophet Suleiman) even stand up. I am powerful and trustworthy.” (27:39)
They possessed the power to perform some of the tasks that are required by man.
“And of the Jinn there were those who worked before him by the Command of his Lord; and whoever turned aside from our Command from among them, We made him taste of the punishment of burning. They made for him what he pleased of the fortress, and images, and bowls (large) as watering troughs and cooking pots that will not move from their place.” (34:12-13)
Their creation on the earth was prior to man’s creation.
“And the Jinn We created before, of intensely hot fire” (15:27)

All Divine Prophets have been chosen from mankind; moreover many Jinn had believed in Prophets of Allah. Man’s superiority over Jinn was perfected when Allah ordered all angels to prostrate Adam and Shaitan (who was a Jinn) refused.
At times the term Jinn is used in more expansive meaning; one that tends to include a number of invisible entities, including animals.
In the book; “Sheikh Abbas Qummi’s Safinat-ul- Bihar volume 1 page 186; the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.) says: “Allah has created Jinn in five kinds – some are like the wind in the air, some are in the form of snakes, some in the form of scorpions, some in the form of insects of the earth while some are like the humans and they shall be subjected to Reckoning and punishment.”
This explains some of the Traditions of Imam Ali (a.s.) reported by Abu Jaffer Yaqub al-Kulaini in “al-Kafi volume 6 page 385: “Do not drink water from the broken portion of the vessel nor from the portion of the handle, for surely, the Shaitan sits upon the handle and the broken portion.” The broken portion of the vessel and its handle are the places of accumulation of numerous microbes.
In many narrations relating to A’imma of AhlulBayt, at many occasions, Jinn dressed like Indian gypsies visited them for acquiring knowledge. On one occasion, when Imam Ali (a.s.) was delivering a sermon, a serpent entered the mosque and went straight to the Imam. The Imam made a gesture for him to wait. When the sermon was over, the Imam inquired to which he replied: “I am Amr ibne Uthman, your deputy among the Jinn. My father has died and I was told by him to take further instructions from you.”
The Imam (a.s.) replied: “I ask you to be pious before Allah and go back and act as the successor of your father among the Jinn. I appoint you as my deputy over Jinn.”
The righteous Jinn wept on the Martyrdom of Imam Hussayn (a.s.) as reported by Umme Salemah, one of the wives of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.)

References:

The Noble Qur’an
Al-Kafi                         Abu Jaffer Yaqub al-Kulaini
180 Questions inquiring about Islam      Ayatulla Shaikh Nasir Makaram Shirazi
Commentary of Surat al-Jinn                  Ayatullah Shaikh Nasir Makaram Shirazi
Tafseer-e-Namoona                                 Ayatullah Shaikh Nasir Makaram Shirazi

We cry for Hussayn (a.s.)                        Yasser al-Madani

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