Jinn Article Part 1

This is an article, not a magical ritual.

JINN
Jinn(Arabic:al-jinn), also Romanized as Djinnor anglicized as genies(with the more broad meaning of spirits or demons, depending on the source), are supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology and theology as well as early pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. Besides the jinn, Islam acknowledges the existence of demons(Shaitan). The lines between demons and jinn are blurred since malevolent jinn are also called Shaitan. However, both Islam and non-Islamic scholarship generally distinguishes between angels, jinn and demons (Shaitan) as three different types of spiritual entities in Islamic traditions. The jinn is distinguished from demons in that they can be both evil and good, while genuine demons are exclusively evil. Some academic scholars assert that demons are related to monotheistic traditions and jinn to polytheistic traditions.
In an Islamic context, the term jinn is used for both a collective designation for any supernatural creature and also to refer to a specific type of supernatural creature. Jinn is not a strictly Islamic concept, but are also found in pagan beliefs predating Islam. The historian Tobias Nnlist argues that, since jinn is neither innately evil nor innately good, Islam was able to adapt spirits from other religions during its expansion.

PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIA
Jinn was worshipped by many Arabs during the Pre-Islamic period, but, unlike gods, jinn was not regarded as immortal. In ancient Arabia, the term jinn also applied to all kinds of supernatural entities among various religions and cults; thus, Zoroastrian, Christian, and Jewish angels and demons were also called "jinn".

The exact origins of belief in jinn are not entirely clear. 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. According to common Arabian belief, soothsayers, pre-Islamic philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn. However, jinn was also feared and thought to be responsible for causing various diseases and mental illnesses. Julius Wellhausen observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy, and dark places and that they were feared. One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult

ISLAMIC THEOLOGY
In the Islamic sense, the term jinn is used in two different ways:

• An invisible entity, who roamed the earth before Adam, created by God out of a "mixture of fire" or "smokeless fire". They are believed to resemble humans in that they eat and drink, have children and die, are subject to judgment, so will either be sent to heaven or hell according to their deeds. But they were much faster and stronger than humans. Jinn are also related to heavenly beings, a sub-category of angels or a tribe of angelic beings, who is able to sin and created from fire, unlike their light-created counterpart. However, these jinns must be distinguished, from the pre-Adamite jinn-race, who share many characteristics with human, instead of angels.
• As the opposite of al-Ins(something in shape) referring to any object that cannot be detected by human sensory organs, including angels, demons and the interior of human beings. Thus every demon and every angel is also a jinn, but not every jinn is an angel or a demon.

Belief in jinn is not included among the six articles of Islamic faith, as belief in angels is, however at least some Muslims believe it essential to the Islamic faith. Jinn is mentioned approximately 29 times in the Quran often together with humans, and the 72 Surah (chapter) named after them (Al-Jinn). They are also mentioned in collections of (authentic) hadith. One hadith divides them into three groups, with one type flying through the air; another that are snakes and dogs; and a third that moves from place to place like a human.
In Islamic tradition, Muhammad was sent as a prophet to both human and jinn communities, and that prophets and messengers were sent to both communities. Traditionally Surah 72 is held to tell about the revelation to jinn and several stories mention one of Muhammad's followers accompanied him, witnessing the revelation to the jinn.
Another Islamic prophet, who is related to interactions with jinn, is Solomon. In the Quran, he is said to be a king in ancient Israel and was gifted by God to talk to animals and jinn. God granted him authority over the rebellious jinn or marid,thus Solomon forced them to build the First Temple. Beliefs regarding Solomon and his power over the jinn were later extended in folklore and folktales.
Related to common traditions, the angels were created on Wednesday, the jinn on Thursday and humans on Friday, but not the very next day, rather more than 1000 years later. The community of the jinn race were like those of humans, but then corruption and injustice among them increased and all warnings sent by God were ignored. Consequently, God sent his angels to battle the infidel jinn. Just a few survived, and were ousted to far islands or to the mountains. With the revelation of Islam, the jinn was given a new chance to access salvation. But because of their prior creation, the jinn would attribute themselves to superiority over humans and envy them for their place and rank on earth

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