Questioner: Assalamualaikum, Huzoor it is stated in Surah Nas about Jinn, could you please explain the reality of the Jinn, what their function is or do they exist now?
Huzoor: You see Jinn’s are different types of people or different types of forms of existence. According to the Holy Quran there are so many types of Jinn which have been mentioned in the Holy Quran.
Some people who visited the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) from some far off place secretly, and came in the dead of night. They met the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) , heard the Holy Quran and believed in him. They are known to be a tribe from somewhere who wanted to hide their identity and who came quietly and the proof that they were like ordinary people was seen the next day when they had left. That where they had stayed, they had stayed like human beings, they had built fires and the remains of their usage of that place were witnessed by other people.
So they knew this was the place which was occupied by those visitors. So from the remains of those people it was established that they were human beings, otherwise the Jinn which are the product of many imaginations do not build fires like this, you know, they do not have to occupy a place like human beings do.
Again the Holy Quran tells us about the Jinn which were subjugated for the sake of Hazrat Dawood (as) and Hazrat Sulaiman (as). Those Jinn according to the Holy Quran among other qualities had two very positive characteristics. Number one, they could be chained and they could be bound with heavy chains. So if the Jinn are ethereal things which can cross walls and stones and mountains, nothing can stop them, how could they be chained with iron chains? They do not have fists like us, they do not have a body like us, they cannot be chained. Then the Holy Quran tells us that some Jinn used to dive in the water and bring the underwater wealth, minerals and pearls from underneath. And the Holy Quran also refers to Jinn as having been made of fire.
At least these Jinn were not made of fire because the fire, the moment it went into the sea should have got extinguished altogether. Fire and water cannot live together. So that means the word Jinn is applicable to many different things. So if you understand the basic sense of the word Jinn and the essential meaning of the word Jinn, then the whole problem will be resolved and every Jinn, whatever he is, must contain the same central meaning.
The word Jinn means that is which is hidden from the sight. And the word Jinn in Arabic also means big people, it means people of the mountains. And the word Jinn also according to the Holy Quran means fiery people, rebellious people. So those powers, those types of human beings on earth, which live a remote life from ordinary people, they are referred to as Jinn. Like big people as known in the world, you know, capitalists and very wealthy people or royal society and royal families, etc. They never come in or I mean, they seldom come into contact with ordinary human beings.
Similarly, big powers on earth can be referred to as Jinn. Rebellious people can be referred to as Jinn. And very sturdy and hardy people like the Jinn of Hazrat Suleiman and Dawood can also be referred to as Jinn. Jinn can also refer to bacteria. But all this has one central meaning, that something which lives a life remote from ordinary people. Because the people who were subjugated by Hazrat Suleiman, Hazrat Dawood first and Hazrat Suleiman later on, were not the people of the same area, but they were mountaineer people, who were very sturdy and hardy people and rebellious also.
So, because they were removed from ordinary sight of the people living on plains, they were referred to as Jinn. Similarly, the word Jinn applies to bacteria. And this usage is proved from the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself. Because the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) once prohibited people to use bone for cleaning themselves after urinating or after going to the call of nature. So, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) instructed them that if you don’t have water, use clay or anything but do not use bone.
Because he said, the Jinn’s feed on bone, so they may harm you. Now, at that time nobody could understand that these bones are food for some type of existence, some type of life. But whatever fed on bones was referred to by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as Jinn. Now you know that bacteria feed on bones. And if you use bones for cleaning yourself, wiping yourself, those bacteria may harm you and you may suffer from septic wounds or fever, etc., you know, these bacteria would enter your life system and hurt you. So, the Jinn’s in that sense are bacteria as well, who are hidden from sight.
Women are also referred to as Jinn in Arabic. Snakes are referred to as Jinn in Arabic. Jaan is a word which means both Jinn and snakes because snakes also live a separate life of their own, hidden from the common sight. And also they are rebellious in nature, I mean they are dangerous things. So, Jinn’s are volatile people, people removed from common people, very powerful people, those people who hide themselves from the sight, and those types of life which are not visible through the naked eye.
All these are Jinn’s. Now if you must insist that there should also be some Jinn which can be bottled, and then opened up for usage, by rubbing the lamp of Aladdin, etc., well, you may believe in it, I have nothing against it, but so far, in the real world such Jinn’s have not been positively proved to exist. Yet I would not deny that. I won’t go to the extent of saying it is impossible for them to exist. God has created so many things, maybe he has also created Jinn’s of…
Questioner: Of Aladdin,
Huzoor: No, not Aladdin Jinn, I mean that is also just a fake thing. I mean something which is not visible, but which exists, a sort of spiritual being which cannot be seen with naked eyes, but which can appear and disappear and lose some time, some mischief, etc., I don’t say we must rule them out.
Because so much evidence keeps pouring from everywhere in the world that something of that nature happens and I have also witnessed sometimes things which speak of a phenomenon beyond common experience. So that is why I do not categorically deny the very possibility of such existence. But as far as human beings are concerned, they should not be afraid of them, they do not mean anything to us, we must not be cowered their presence or live in superstition.
God has created us as the best of creation, as such we are created to rule and not to be ruled.
Questioner: Yes, sir.
Huzoor: You understand? Yes, sir.
Questioner: But sir, according to your first definition that Jinn are rebellious people,
Huzoor: Can be.
Questioner: Can be. Yes, sir. But sir, then what is the difference between man and Jinn, sir?
Huzoor: That is the difference of common people and the big people. In Surah An-Nas, the Holy Quran particularly uses this word to describe two types of human beings, not different types of life.
For instance, if you read the Surah An-Nas, you will come to a point where you have to understand that the word Jinn also applies to human beings. Because it says,
قُلۡ اَعُوۡذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ مَلِکِ النَّاسِ اِلٰہِ النَّاسِ
No Jinn are mentioned here, only Nas, divided into three categories.
مِنۡ شَرِّ الۡوَسۡوَاسِ ۬ۙ الۡخَنَّاسِ
Waswasil Khannas, is one person or one type of existence, which breathes into people,
مِنَ الۡجِنَّۃِ وَالنَّاسِ
Those people are divided into two classes, Jinn and Nas. Starting from the beginning of the Surah, you come to understand that only Nas are being discussed. And when it says that Khannas breathe into them, into these Nas, then the Nas are divided into two categories, Jinn and Nas.
So Nas means people in general, human beings in general. And also Nas means proletariat, not bourgeois. So the word Jinn here would apply to bourgeois. And the word Nas would apply to the proletariat. But both of them would still be human beings. So this differentiation is made elsewhere also in Surah Ar-Rahman.
یٰمَعۡشَرَ الۡجِنِّ وَالۡاِنۡسِ اِنِ اسۡتَطَعۡتُمۡ اَنۡ تَنۡفُذُوۡا مِنۡ اَقۡطَارِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ فَانۡفُذُوۡا ؕ لَا تَنۡفُذُوۡنَ اِلَّا بِسُلۡطٰنٍ
The Holy Qur’an says, O the very essence or the leaders of An-Nas, and O the very leaders of Al-Jinn, both of you would try to transcend the barriers of the universe. Whatever you may do, you will never be able to transcend the barriers or the ultimate limits of the universe. This is the verdict of the Qur’an. And what do you find today?
Two types of people on earth are attempting or have been attempting for the last two decades to transcend the barriers of the universe, Americans and theRussians. Russians stand for proletariats. Americans stand for bourgeois. So they are the Jinns and they are the Nas. And Mashar means the very top, the very, you know, the essence of the leadership. So not every bourgeois power will be able to do that. Only very rich and very powerful among them would be able to think of, would be able to even imagine that they could cross these barriers and would start attempting to do so.
So here the Holy Qur’an explains itself in relation to what we are observing today. So the translation that Jinn may apply on a larger section of human society which belong to capitalists. And the Nas, the word Nas may apply to a larger section of humanity which belong to a system which can be described as pro-system or proletariats. So the word Jinn is very wide in its application. It should be understood according to its context, according to the context in which it is being used. Right?
Questioner: Yes, sir. And sir, if the Americans are the Jinn and the Russians are the Nas, where do we fit in, sir?
Huzoor: You are neither a Jinn nor a Nas. You are belong to Momineen, which are described separately by the Holy Qur’an. You see, there are three types of people, one on the right, one on the left and one who are forward. So you belong to the Sadiqoon, neither to the leftist nor to the rightist. I hope so.
Questioner: Yes, sir. Yeah. Thank you, sir.
Huzoor: Good.
