Granting the jinn authority over humans
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 3512 ):
Q2: Is the following hadith not a proof regarding granting the jinn authority over humans? It is narrated from Abu al-Sa'ib who said:Mishkat al-Masabih 4118 ... etc. , narrated by Muslim in [ Sahih ] [Mishkat al-Masabih
] Chapter on what is lawful to eat and what is forbidden.
A2: First: The hadith is valid in terms of its chain and text. Second: Humans were created by their father Adam from clay, then they became well-formed humans and their children descended from him. The jinn were created from fire, then they became living beings, with males and females among them. Both the jinn and humans were sent to by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so some of them believed and some disbelieved. A human may harm a jinn, whether he knows it or not, and a jinn may harm a human, overpower him, or kill him, just as a human may harm another human and cause him harm, and a jinn may harm another jinn. Whoever denies this regarding the jinn without having full knowledge of their conditions has spoken without knowledge and contradicted what has come regarding them in the verses of the Qur'an. Allah the Exalted said:[Ar-Rahman 55:14-15] And He said: [Al-Mu'minun 23:12] the verses. Allah the Exalted addressed them like humans in His saying: [Ar-Rahman 55:13] and in His saying: [Ar-Rahman 55:33] And He subjected the jinn, in their various conditions, to His Prophet
Sulayman (peace be upon him). Allah the Exalted said:[Sad 38:36-38] And He the Exalted said: [Saba 34:12] the verses. And He said: [Al-Anbya 21:82] And He the Exalted said: [Al-Ahqaf 46:29-32] And He said: [Al-An'am 6:128-129] , and read the verses from Surah
al-Jinn detailing their conditions and deeds, and the reward of those who believed among them and those who disbelieved. So it is no wonder that a jinn can gain power over a human and cause him harm, just as a human can gain power over a jinn and cause it harm if the jinn takes the form of an animal, for example, as in the hadith mentioned in the question, and as in the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 461 . In summary, every one of the jinn and humans is either a believer or a disbeliever, good or bad, beneficial to others or harmful to them, all by the permission of Allah Mighty and Majestic, as mentioned above. Finally: The knowledge of the jinn and their conditions is unseen (ghayb) for humans; they do not know of it except what has come in the Book of Allah the Exalted or what is authentic from the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory to believe in what is established by the Book and Sunnah regarding this, without surprise or denial, and to remain silent about what is beyond that; because delving into it by denial or affirmation is speaking without knowledge, and Allah the Exalted has forbidden that in His saying:
[Al-Isra 17:36] . And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q2: Is the following hadith not a proof regarding granting the jinn authority over humans? It is narrated from Abu al-Sa'ib who said:
Abus Sa’ib said: We went in to visit Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, and while we were sitting we heard a movement under his couch. When we had looked and found a snake in it I jumped up to kill it, but Abu Sa'id who was engaged in prayer made a gesture to me indicating that I should sit down, so I sat down. When he finished he pointed to a room in the house and asked if I saw it, and when I said I did he told me that a servant of theirs who had recently been married had occupied it. They went out with God’s messenger to the Trench, and that young man was asking permission from God’s messenger to leave after staying half the day and would return to his wife. One day when he asked God's messenger’s permission he told him to carry his weapons with him as he feared Quraiza might do him harm. The man took his weapons and returned, and finding his wife standing between the two doors he was smitten with jealousy and made to pierce her with his lance, but she told him to put away his lance and enter the house to see what had made her come out. He entered and found a huge snake coiled on the bedding, so he made for it with the lance and pierced it with it and then went out and fixed it in the ground in the house, but the snake quivered and attacked him, and no one knew which of them died first, the snake or the young man.
دخلنا على أبي سعيد الخدري فبينما نحن جلوس إذ سمعنا تحت سريره حركة فنظرنا فإذا فيه حية، فوثبت لأقتلها وأبو سعيد يصلي فأشار إلي أن أجلس فجلست فلما انصرف أشار إلى بيت في الدار، فقال: أترى هذا البيت؟ فقلت: نعم، فقال: كان فيه فتى منا حديث عهد بعرس، قال: فخرجنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى الخندق، فكان ذلك الفتى يستأذن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بأنصاف النهار فيرجع إلى أهله، فاستأذنه يومًا فقال له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: خذ عليك سلاحك فإني أخشى عليك قريظة، فأخذ الرجل سلاحه ثم رجع فإذا امرأته بين البابين قائمة فأهوى إليها بالرمح ليطعنها وأصابته غيرة، فقالت له: اكفف عليك رمحك وأدخل البيت حتى تنظر ما الذي أخرجني، فدخل فإذا بحية عظيمة منطوية على الفراش فأهوى إليها بالرمح فانتظمها به ثم خرج فركزه في الدار فاضطربت عليه فما يدري أيهما كان أسرع موتًا الحية أم الفتى] Chapter on what is lawful to eat and what is forbidden.
A2: First: The hadith is valid in terms of its chain and text. Second: Humans were created by their father Adam from clay, then they became well-formed humans and their children descended from him. The jinn were created from fire, then they became living beings, with males and females among them. Both the jinn and humans were sent to by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so some of them believed and some disbelieved. A human may harm a jinn, whether he knows it or not, and a jinn may harm a human, overpower him, or kill him, just as a human may harm another human and cause him harm, and a jinn may harm another jinn. Whoever denies this regarding the jinn without having full knowledge of their conditions has spoken without knowledge and contradicted what has come regarding them in the verses of the Qur'an. Allah the Exalted said:
(14) He created man from clay like [that of] pottery. (15) And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire.
خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ كَالْفَخَّارِ (14) وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِنْ مَارِجٍ مِنْ نَارٍAnd certainly did We create man from an extract of clay.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُلالَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍSo which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِO company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah].
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالإِنْسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَنْفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ فَانْفُذُوا لاَ تَنْفُذُونَ إِلا بِسُلْطَانٍSulayman (peace be upon him). Allah the Exalted said:
(36) So We subjected to him the wind blowing by his command, gently, wherever he directed, (37) And [also] the devils [of jinn] - every builder and diver (38) And others bound together in shackles.
فَسَخَّرْنَا لَهُ الرِّيحَ تَجْرِي بِأَمْرِهِ رُخَاءً حَيْثُ أَصَابَ (36) وَالشَّيَاطِينَ كُلَّ بَنَّاءٍ وَغَوَّاصٍ (37) وَآخَرِينَ مُقَرَّنِينَ فِي الأَصْفَادِAnd among the jinn were those who worked for him by the permission of his Lord. And whoever deviated among them from Our command - We will make him taste of the punishment of the Blaze.
وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ وَمَنْ يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِAnd of the devils were those who dived for him and did work other than that
وَمِنَ الشَّيَاطِينِ مَنْ يَغُوصُونَ لَهُ وَيَعْمَلُونَ عَمَلا دُونَ ذَلِكَ(29) And [mention, O Muhammad], when We directed to you a few of the jinn, listening to the Qur'an. And when they attended it, they said, "Listen quietly." And when it was concluded, they went back to their people as warners. (30) They said, "O our people, indeed we have heard a [recited] Book revealed after Moses confirming what was before it which guides to the truth and to a straight path. (31) O our people, respond to the Messenger of Allah and believe in him; Allah will forgive for you your sins and protect you from a painful punishment. (32) But he who does not respond to the Caller of Allah will not cause failure [to Him] upon earth, and he will not have besides Him any protectors. Those are in manifest error."
وَإِذْ صَرَفْنَا إِلَيْكَ نَفَرًا مِنَ الْجِنِّ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقُرْآنَ فَلَمَّا حَضَرُوهُ قَالُوا أَنْصِتُوا فَلَمَّا قُضِيَ وَلَّوْا إِلَى قَوْمِهِمْ مُنْذِرِينَ (29) قَالُوا يَا قَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنْـزِلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَى طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (30) يَا قَوْمَنَا أَجِيبُوا دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ وَآمِنُوا بِهِ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُجِرْكُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (31) وَمَنْ لاَ يُجِبْ دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ بِمُعْجِزٍ فِي الأَرْضِ وَلَيْسَ لَهُ مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءُ أُولَئِكَ فِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ(128) And [mention, O Muhammad], the Day when He will gather them together [and say], "O company of jinn, you have [misled] many of mankind." And their allies among mankind will say, "Our Lord, some of us made use of others, and we have [now] reached our term, which you appointed for us." He will say, "The Fire is your residence, wherein you will abide eternally, except for what Allah wills. Indeed, your Lord is Wise and Knowing." (129) And thus will We make some of the wrongdoers allies of others for what they used to earn.
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ قَدِ اسْتَكْثَرْتُمْ مِنَ الإِنْسِ وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمْ مِنَ الإِنْسِ رَبَّنَا اسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍ وَبَلَغْنَا أَجَلَنَا الَّذِي أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا قَالَ النَّارُ مَثْوَاكُمْ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا إِلا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ (128) وَكَذَلِكَ نُوَلِّي بَعْضَ الظَّالِمِينَ بَعْضًا بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَal-Jinn detailing their conditions and deeds, and the reward of those who believed among them and those who disbelieved. So it is no wonder that a jinn can gain power over a human and cause him harm, just as a human can gain power over a jinn and cause it harm if the jinn takes the form of an animal, for example, as in the hadith mentioned in the question, and as in the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Last night a big demon (afreet) from the Jinns came to me and wanted to interrupt my prayers (or said something similar) but Allah enabled me to overpower him. I wanted to fasten him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that all of you could See him in the morning but I remembered the statement of my brother Solomon (as stated in Quran): My Lord! Forgive me and bestow on me a kingdom such as shall not belong to anybody after me (38.35)." The sub narrator Rauh said, "He (the demon) was dismissed humiliated.
إن عفريتًا من الجن تفلت عليّ البارحة ليقطع عليّ الصلاة فأمكنني الله منه فأردت أن أربطه إلى سارية من سواري المسجد حتى تصبحوا وتنظروا إليه كلكم، فذكرت قول أخي سليمان: رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لاَ يَنْبَغِي لأَحَدٍ مِنْ بَعْدِي ، فرده خائبًاAnd do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned.
وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولا
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.