The Meaning of Allah’s Saying: “From the Jinn and Mankind,” and a Discussion on the Jinn and the Issue of Killing Snakes.
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The Shaykh :[An-Nas 114:5-6] Here it is said “from the jinn.” It is said juna, janna, and jina, with the jīm being thulathah (having three vowel options). So, juna is that by which one is protected, janna is the garden, and jina is that which is hidden from the eyes, meaning it is concealed from them.
It is said a second time, what is it? Janna, juna, and jina. All of them are in the Qur'an; all of them exist in the Qur'an. So, who can bring me the one with the fathah on the jīm? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, my brother, I am speaking about the word “janna.” Rest, rest. May Allah reward you with good. You did not answer. Yes?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Perfect, well done.[Al-Isra 17:91] And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Kahf 18:32].
Now, where is the verse with juna, with the dammah on the jīm?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Mujadila 58:16] May Allah bless you.
Where is jina, with the kasrah on the jīm?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Now, may Allah bless you.[Hud 11:119] Yes. The jinn and janna have the same meaning. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: [As-Saffat 37:158] So, what is janna? We said it is that which is hidden from the eyes. And the jinn, meaning the brothers, the jinn, are a hidden realm. This is the original state: they are from the unseen realm, they are not seen and they do not see, but they may take form. They may take the form of a human, the form of an animal, the form of snakes, and the like. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade killing the jinn that are in houses, meaning the snakes that are in the house; do not kill them, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade this, except for the abtar and the dha al-tufaytayn. The abtar, the scholars said, is a large snake with a short tail; this one is killed, even if it is in the room. And the dha al-tufaytayn, they said, is a snake with two black lines on its back. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the killing of these two in any case by saying that they snatch the sight and cause the contents of pregnant women’s wombs to fall.
As for other snakes, do not kill them, even if they are in the house, even if they are in the room; do not kill them.
Perhaps some of you are saying to yourselves, what is this? Why don’t I kill it? I find a snake in my house and I don’t kill it? Yes, because it might be a jinni. It is established in the authentic hadith that a young man married a woman one day. He came to the house and found the woman outside the house... he found the woman outside the house, so he asked her, “How did you get out?” She said, “Look.” He looked, and there on his bed was a coiled snake. He took a spear and struck it, striking the snake until it died. The narrator of the hadith said: Meaning that the man died immediately and the snake died immediately. Why? Because this snake was a jinni. So when he killed it, its awliya (close friends of Allah) took revenge. [Al-Baqarah 2:179] Yes, this one who killed our son, or our father, or the like, we kill him. And he was actually killed. But it seems you are asking, what do we do if a person finds a snake in his house? If it comes out to the children and scares them, or to the women and they flee from it, what do we do? Praise be to Allah, for every disease there is a cure. I put it in a state of haraj (difficulty) three times. I say, “You are in haraj from me if you remain in my house.” If it is a jinni, it will not come. If it is an ordinary snake, it will come, because it does not understand. So if it comes after you have put it in haraj three times, meaning “You are in haraj from me,” then you kill it. Why? Because we know that it is not a jinni.
So, the important thing is, what are the jinn originally? They are a hidden realm, veiled from us, but we may see them in different forms.
(5) Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind - (6) From among the jinn and mankind."
الذي يوسوس في صدور الناس من الجنة والناسIt is said a second time, what is it? Janna, juna, and jina. All of them are in the Qur'an; all of them exist in the Qur'an. So, who can bring me the one with the fathah on the jīm? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, my brother, I am speaking about the word “janna.” Rest, rest. May Allah reward you with good. You did not answer. Yes?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Perfect, well done.
Or [until] you have a garden of palm tress and grapes
أو تكون لك جنة من نخيل وأعنابAnd present to them an example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens
واضرب لهم مثلا رجلين جعلنا لأحدهما جنتينNow, where is the verse with juna, with the dammah on the jīm?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : His saying, the Exalted:
They took their [false] oaths as a cover, so they averted [people] from the way of Allah
اتخذوا أيمانهم جنة فصدوا عن سبيل اللهWhere is jina, with the kasrah on the jīm?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Now, may Allah bless you.
Except whom your Lord has given mercy, and for that He created them. But the word of your Lord is to be fulfilled that, "I will surely fill Hell with jinn and men all together."
من الجِنة والناسAnd they have claimed between Him and the jinn a lineage
وجعلوا بينه وبين الجنة نسباAs for other snakes, do not kill them, even if they are in the house, even if they are in the room; do not kill them.
Perhaps some of you are saying to yourselves, what is this? Why don’t I kill it? I find a snake in my house and I don’t kill it? Yes, because it might be a jinni. It is established in the authentic hadith that a young man married a woman one day. He came to the house and found the woman outside the house... he found the woman outside the house, so he asked her, “How did you get out?” She said, “Look.” He looked, and there on his bed was a coiled snake. He took a spear and struck it, striking the snake until it died. The narrator of the hadith said:
So which of the two died first, the man or the snake?
فما يدرى أيهما مات أولا الرجل أو الحيةAnd there is for you in legal retribution
ولكم في القصاصSo, the important thing is, what are the jinn originally? They are a hidden realm, veiled from us, but we may see them in different forms.