The Possession of Humans by Jinn and the Response to Those Who Deny It

Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh! There are several interviews with Shaykh Ali al-'Umrī, in which he stated that most of what he used to do in the past regarding the expulsion of jinn was incorrect, and that they were actually psychological illnesses, and that he would leave this work. We want to know your opinion on this matter, and why this did not happen until now, after many of the patients were beaten and their money was taken?

Answer:
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this in *Zad al-Ma'ad*, stating that jinn possess humans, and that a person's condition may be, from the perspective of medicine, a psychiatric illness caused by some of the humors that change within him, as the doctors say, or it may be possession by jinn. This is a reality, and this is a reality. As for the one who claims that jinn do not possess humans, he is mistaken. However, this may occur and that may occur: the mixing of some humors, the severing of some vessels, or the splitting of some vessels, which causes his mind to become disordered. It may be said to be possession of a human by a jinn, as in His saying (Exalted and Majestic is He) , and as in the story of the woman who . This is a matter known among the people of the Sunnah and the community by consensus; there is no dispute among the people of the Sunnah that jinn possess humans. As for the denial by some people, that is an illness. But some people may confuse the illness with possession; it may be an illness, or it may be possession. I tell you, in al-Kharj, I was in the jurisdiction of al-Kharj, a person who was struck by what is called *haththaul* (a type of madness) was afflicted with something like possession many times. It was sufficient to cauterize him; we would bring the *liqwan* (a cauterizing tool), and it was enough to sweat on his head, and his mind would return to him. It would be due to an illness in his head; the sweat would cause a vessel to be severed in him, and he would be afflicted with something like possession, becoming disordered. And if you take him to the place, by the permission of Allah, no.