Statement on the Appearance of the Jinn to Humans
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Do the jinn appear to some people and form friendships with them, and is the jinni the Shaytan?
The Shaykh:
The jinn may appear to some people. The jinn are an independent creation distinct from humans. It is well known among the scholars that they are the offspring of Satan, just as Adam is the father of humans. The Satan who is the jinn that refused to prostrate to Adam is the father of the jinn. So their believer is good, and their disbeliever is like the disbeliever among humans, vile. Among them are the open sinner, the disbeliever, the good believer, and the sinner. They are categories like humans. Some people may have contact with them; they may speak to them and they speak to them; some people may see them. But the majority of the time, they do not see us, as He the Exalted and Majestic is He said:[Al-A'raf 7:27] meaning they see us from where we do not see them. And if we hear them but do not see them, we may see them, but from where we do not see them, they may see us.
The presenter:
It is possible.
The Shaykh:
They see us in it, but we do not see them in it. However, a jinni may appear to some people in the desert and in houses. It may address them. A group of scholars have narrated to us many incidents of this, where some jinn attended gatherings of knowledge and asked about some knowledge, even though they were not seen.
The presenter:
Hmm.
The Shaykh:
Some people may see them; they may take form in the desert and in places other than the desert. But it is not permissible to worship them instead of Allah, nor to call for aid from them, nor to seek their help in harming Muslims, nor to ask them about the unseen. Rather, they must be feared. As for calling them to Allah if you know them, teaching them what benefits them, advising them, preaching to them, and reminding them, there is nothing wrong with that. As for seeking their help, calling for aid from them, making vows to them, or drawing near to them with sacrifices out of fear of their evil, all of this is wrong. Allah the Exalted and Majestic is He said:[Al-Jinn 72:6] meaning they increased them in evil and affliction. The verse has two interpretations: one is that they, meaning the jinn, increased the humans in fear and terror, for the jinn increased the humans in fear and terror of them.
The second meaning is that they increased them in arrogance, for the humans increased the jinn in arrogance, meaning transgression, disbelief, and aggression against them. This is because when they saw people fearing them, they became arrogant toward them and increased in harming them.
In any case, it is not permissible to ask them, call for aid from them, make vows to them, or call out to them to seek a need, the healing of a sick person, or the like. However, if one speaks to them, advises them, reminds them, calls them to Allah, and teaches them what benefits them, there is no harm in that, just as with a human.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.
Do the jinn appear to some people and form friendships with them, and is the jinni the Shaytan?
The Shaykh:
The jinn may appear to some people. The jinn are an independent creation distinct from humans. It is well known among the scholars that they are the offspring of Satan, just as Adam is the father of humans. The Satan who is the jinn that refused to prostrate to Adam is the father of the jinn. So their believer is good, and their disbeliever is like the disbeliever among humans, vile. Among them are the open sinner, the disbeliever, the good believer, and the sinner. They are categories like humans. Some people may have contact with them; they may speak to them and they speak to them; some people may see them. But the majority of the time, they do not see us, as He the Exalted and Majestic is He said:
Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them
إِنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْThe presenter:
It is possible.
The Shaykh:
They see us in it, but we do not see them in it. However, a jinni may appear to some people in the desert and in houses. It may address them. A group of scholars have narrated to us many incidents of this, where some jinn attended gatherings of knowledge and asked about some knowledge, even though they were not seen.
The presenter:
Hmm.
The Shaykh:
Some people may see them; they may take form in the desert and in places other than the desert. But it is not permissible to worship them instead of Allah, nor to call for aid from them, nor to seek their help in harming Muslims, nor to ask them about the unseen. Rather, they must be feared. As for calling them to Allah if you know them, teaching them what benefits them, advising them, preaching to them, and reminding them, there is nothing wrong with that. As for seeking their help, calling for aid from them, making vows to them, or drawing near to them with sacrifices out of fear of their evil, all of this is wrong. Allah the Exalted and Majestic is He said:
And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden.
وَأَنَّهُ كَانَ رِجَالٌ مِّنَ الْإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍ مِّنَ الْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًاThe second meaning is that they increased them in arrogance, for the humans increased the jinn in arrogance, meaning transgression, disbelief, and aggression against them. This is because when they saw people fearing them, they became arrogant toward them and increased in harming them.
In any case, it is not permissible to ask them, call for aid from them, make vows to them, or call out to them to seek a need, the healing of a sick person, or the like. However, if one speaks to them, advises them, reminds them, calls them to Allah, and teaches them what benefits them, there is no harm in that, just as with a human.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 3036 - بيان القول في ظهور الجن للإنس - نور على الدرب — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.