The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (( ... and of the jinn, some work before him by the permission of his Lord, and whoever among them deviates from Our command, We will make him taste the punishment of the Blazing Fire ))
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
And among the benefits of this noble verse is the existence of the jinn, which is established by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims. Therefore, whoever denies the existence of the jinn has lied about the Qur'an and is judged to be a disbeliever. But do these jinn work for humans or not? We say that among the benefits of the noble verse is that the jinn work for humans, based on His saying... And there is no doubt that their working before him is a sign for him, indicating his prophethood and his message. But do they work for other than the prophets? The Shaykh al-Islam says: "Yes, they work for other than the prophets, and their working for other than the prophets has a cause. Either the cause is shirk (associating partners with Allah), meaning that the jinn command him to associate partners, so he worships them, or they command him to associate partners, so he worships those whom they revere. This is one case. Or the cause may be that they are in love with this person and love him, meaning not for the sake of Allah, but for example, for the beauty of his image or something similar. And among the reasons they work for him is that they work for him out of love for Allah, because they are righteous, so they loved this righteous man and worked for him. Yes, their working for him: The Shaykh al-Islam says: 'If they work for him in a forbidden matter, then that is haram (forbidden), such as if he uses them to harm Muslims or to aggress against a specific person, terrifying them, or driving away his camels, or something similar. Then that is haram.' So if he seeks their help through the path of disobedience or for the sake of disobedience, then that is haram without a doubt. But if he seeks their help in a permissible matter, there is no harm in it, provided it is free from shirk and aggression against others. If you say that the statement of the permissibility of seeking their help in other than disobedience contradicts my understanding of the saying of Allah the Exalted [Al-An'am: 128], for the apparent meaning of this is that it is not permissible for the jinn to benefit from humans, nor for humans to benefit from the jinn? The answer to that is... there is no harm in it. And he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in his book *Al-Nubuwwat* and in his book *I'ladh al-Dalalah 'ala 'Umm al-Risalah* clear things from the Salaf that they sometimes benefited from them in reporting about distant things, and the reality of the matter is a witness to that. For we hear cases about some people that the jinn, even if they are as they wish, with their righteousness and lack of shirk and lack of disobedience. Now, if you ask, is it possible for a jinni to aggress against a human? The answer is yes, it is possible. And is it possible for a human to aggress against a jinni? Yes, it is possible. As for the first, it is apparent that the jinn sometimes aggress against humans, terrifying them on the roads, and perhaps even in houses. Sometimes they spoil their affairs, sometimes they throw stones at them, and sometimes they harm them with sounds. This is a matter that does not require seeking evidence, because it is a real, observed matter. Likewise, humans sometimes aggress against the jinn. If someone were to clean himself with a stone or with dung, that would be... Yes, if someone were to clean himself with a bone, I made a mistake, if someone were to clean himself with a bone or with dung, he would be aggressing against the jinn. Why? Because bones are the food of the jinn, and dung is the food of their beasts. So in this there is aggression from humans against the jinn. Now, is it possible for a jinni to enter the body of a human? Yes, and it does not require seeking evidence, because this is a real, tangible matter, established by reports, mass-transmitted, and witnessed by people. And we have mentioned that Imam Ahmad and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah were brought epileptics, and they would address them, and the address would be to the one who possessed him, and they would strike them, and the striking would be on the one who possessed him, meaning on the possessor, not on the possessed. And in the Qur'an there is what points to that, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted [Al-Baqarah: 275], and *mas* means epilepsy. Therefore, it is said that he is possessed by the jinn, meaning he is epileptic. And the one whom Satan torments with *mas* means he becomes insane, not feeling or knowing. The scholars said that these people rise from their graves like the insane whom the devils have afflicted. And as for the denial of some people of this, Shaykh al-Islam said: "These philosophers who denied that do not know the Shari'ah as the people of the Shari'ah know it. So they deny what is hidden from them and do not accept except the tangible thing. And he (Shaykh al-Islam) denied their denial greatly in *Zad al-Ma'ad*."[Saba 34:12] And there is no doubt that their work before him is a sign for him, indicating his prophethood and his messengership. But do they work for anyone other than the prophets? Shaykh al-Islam says:"Yes, they work for people other than the prophets, and their work for people other than the prophets has a cause. Either the cause is shirk (associating partners with Allah),meaning that the jinn command him to associate partners with Allah, so he worships them, or they command him to associate partners with Allah, so he worships those whom they revere. This is one case. Another possibility is that the cause is that they are in love with this person and love him with a love that is not for Allah, but rather, for example, because of the beauty of his appearance or something similar. Another possibility is that they do this for him because of their love for Allah, since they are righteous, so they loved this righteous man and did this for him. Yes, regarding their doing this for him, the Shaykh al-Islam says:"If they do something forbidden for him, that is forbidden. For example, if he uses them to harm Muslims, or to attack a specific person by terrifying them, or to drive away his camels, or in something similar to that, then that is forbidden."If one seeks their assistance through the path of disobedience or for the sake of disobedience, that is forbidden without a doubt. However, if one seeks their assistance in a permissible matter, there is no harm in it, provided it is free from shirk (associating partners with Allah) and aggression against others. If you say that the statement permitting seeking their assistance in matters other than disobedience creates a difficulty for you regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-An'am 6:128] The apparent meaning of this is that it is not permissible for the jinn to take pleasure in humans, nor for humans to take pleasure in the jinn? The answer to that is... there is no harm in it. And he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in *Kitab al-Nubuwwat* and in *Ithar al-Dalalah 'ala 'Umm al-Risalah* clear things about the Salaf, namely that they sometimes benefited from them in reporting about distant things, and the actual situation is a witness to that. For we hear cases about some people that the jinn, even if they are as they wish, with their righteousness and the absence of their associating partners with Allah and the absence of their disobedience. Now, if I ask: is it possible for a jinni to transgress against a human? The answer is yes, it is possible. And is it possible for a human to transgress against a jinni? Yes, it is possible. As for the first, it is clearly evident that the jinn sometimes transgress against humans; they terrify them on the roads, and perhaps even in the houses. Sometimes they spoil their affairs, sometimes they throw stones at them, and sometimes they harm them with sounds. This is something that does not require seeking evidence, because it is a real, observed matter. Likewise, humans sometimes transgress against the jinn. If someone were to clean himself with a stone or with dung, that would be... yes, if someone were to clean himself with a bone—I made a mistake—if someone were to clean himself with a bone or with dung, he would be transgressing against the jinn. Why? Because bones are the food of the jinn, and dung is the food of their beasts. So in this there is transgression from humans against the jinn. Now, is it possible for a jinni to enter the body of a human? Yes, and it does not require seeking evidence, because this is a real, tangible matter, established by reports, mass-transmitted, and witnessed by people. And we have mentioned that Imam Ahmad and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah were brought epileptic patients, and they would address them, and the address would be directed to the one who had seized him, and they would also strike them, and the striking would be directed to the one who had seized him, meaning the seizer, not the one who was seized. And in the Qur'an there is what points to that, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[al-Baqarah:275] And *al-mas* means being possessed, which is why it is said that a person has been touched by a jinn, meaning he has been possessed. And the one whom Satan torments with possession means he becomes deranged, feeling nothing and knowing nothing. The scholars said that these people will rise from their graves like the madmen who were afflicted by the devils. As for the denial of this by some people, the Shaykh al-Islam said:"Indeed, these philosophers who denied this do not know the Shari'ah as the people of the Shari'ah know it. So they deny what is hidden from them and do not accept anything but the tangible. He refuted their denial with a great refutation in *Zad al-Ma'ad*."
Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the jinn witness, or perhaps they witness. Where is the concept of the verse from? From His saying[Saba 34:12]. So the apparent meaning is that they witness while they are working before Sulayman, meaning in front of him.
Among its benefits is that the jinn are accountable, meaning that if they disobey, they are punished. And to complete the justice of Allah, if they obey, they are blessed. As for their being punished if they disobey, this is a matter agreed upon by the scholars, and that their disbelievers enter the Fire. As for the entry of their believers into Paradise, there is disagreement among the scholars, and the correct view is that they enter Paradise, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Rahman, where He is addressing the jinn and the humans: وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ * فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ [الرحمن46:47]فيكون هؤلاء الجن إذا خافوا الله فلهم الجنة وقال في أثناء ذلك لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلا جَانٌّ [الرحمن:74]وكلمة ولا جان لا تتناسب مع الإنس وإنما تتناسب مع من ؟ مع الجن وهذا هو القول الحق المتعين ولا يعارض ذلك قوله تعالى عن الجن الذين صرفهم الله للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يستمعون القرآن حين ولوا إلى قومهم منذرين قَالُوا يَا قَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَى طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ * يَا قَوْمَنَا أَجِيبُوا دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ وَآمِنُوا بِهِ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُجِرْكُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ [الأحقاف30:31]فيقال إن الله إذا أجارهم من العذاب الأليم فلازم ذلك أن يدخلوا الجنة لأن الآخرة ليس فيها إلا داران هما الجنة أو النار فمن نجا من النار دخل الجنة ولابد إذاً الجن مكلفون لكن هل تكليفهم كتكليف الإنس بمعنى أن صلاتهم كصلاتنا وصيامهم كصيامنا وحجهم كحجنا أو يختلفوا عنا ؟ في هذا احتمالان :
أحدهما : أن يكون ما كلفوا به مساوياً لما كلفنا به من كل وجه ما دام الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم مبعوثاً للجن والإنس ولم تأت السنة بالتفريق بين أحكام الإنس والجن فالواجب إيش ؟ إجرائها على ماهي عليه وأن تكون هذه الأحكام ثابتة في حق الإنس والجن على حد سواء .
والاحتمال الثاني : أن تكون الواجبات بالنسبة للجن موافقة لما هم عليه مناسبة لهم فلا يلزم على هذا أن يكونوا مساويين للإنس لأن الله عز وجل يشرع أحكام مناسبة لمن شرعت له فهذا المريض مثلاً هل عليه صوم ؟ إذا كان المريض لا يجازى على مرضه ففرضه الإطعام والفقير ليس عليه زكاة وليس عليه حج فلما كان اختلاف الشرائع ظاهراً بالنسبة للإنس لاختلاف أحوالهم فإنهم يلزم أن تكون الشرائع أيضاً مختلفة في الجن عن الإنس لأن الجن لاشك كما قال شيخ الإسلام : " And for those who fear the standing before their Lord are two gardens. So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny? [Ar-Rahman 46:47] So these jinn, if they fear Allah, have Paradise. And He said in the course of that: No human has touched them before, nor any jinn [Ar-Rahman:74]. The phrase "nor any jinn" does not fit with humans; rather, it fits with whom? With the jinn. This is the correct and established view. This is not contradicted by His saying, Exalted is He, about the jinn whom Allah directed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to listen to the Qur'an, when they returned to their people as warners: They said, "O our people, indeed we have heard a Book revealed after Moses, confirming what is before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path. O our people, respond to the Messenger of Allah and believe in Him that He may forgive you your sins and save you from a painful punishment" [Al-Ahqaf 30:31]. It is said that if Allah saves them from the painful punishment, it necessarily follows that they enter Paradise, because the Hereafter contains only two abodes: Paradise or the Fire. So whoever is saved from the Fire enters Paradise. Therefore, the jinn are obligated to obey, but is their obligation like that of humans, meaning their prayer is like our prayer, their fasting is like our fasting, and their Hajj is like our Hajj, or do they differ from us? There are two possibilities in this: The first is that what they are obligated to do is equal to what we are obligated to do in every respect, as long as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to the jinn and humans, and the Sunnah did not come with a distinction between the rulings for humans and jinn. So what is obligatory? Implementing them as they are, and that these rulings remain established for humans and jinn equally. The second possibility is that the obligations for the jinn are in accordance with their nature, suitable for them. So it is not necessary that they be equal to humans, because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, legislates rulings suitable for those for whom they are legislated. For example, does this sick person have to fast? If the sick person is not held accountable for his illness, his obligation is to feed [the poor]. And the poor person does not have to pay zakah, nor does he have to perform Hajj. So when the difference in legislations is apparent for humans due to their differing conditions, it is necessary that the legislations also differ for the jinn from those for humans, because the jinn, without doubt, as Shaykh al-Islam said: ". The jinn differ from the humans in limit and reality. Their reality is not like the reality of humans, and their limits and capacities are not like the limits and capacities of humans. So if they differ from humans in limit and reality, it follows that they differ from them in the rulings of the Shari'ah. This is in what can differ. As for what cannot differ, such as tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the message, the origin of the message, and something similar, this is a matter we know with certainty that the jinn are equal to the humans in those rulings. But the discussion is about the branch issues in which the addressed differ due to the difference in their conditions. So the issue has two possibilities. But Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) affirmed that the rulings for which the jinn are accountable differ from the rulings for which the humans are accountable, and that they are accountable in general without being equal to the humans. And knowledge is with Allah. Now.
And among the jinn were those who worked for him
وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْه"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."
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ قَدِ اسْتَكْثَرْتُمْ مِنَ الإِنسِ وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمْ مِنَ الإِنسِ رَبَّنَا اسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍ وَبَلَغْنَا أَجَلَنَا الَّذِي أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا قَالَ النَّارُ مَثْوَاكُمْ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا إِلَّا مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌThose who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into insanity
الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَا لا يَقُومُونَ إِلَّا كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِي يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنَ الْمَسِّAmong the benefits of this noble verse is that the jinn witness, or perhaps they witness. Where is the concept of the verse from? From His saying
And to Solomon [We subjected] the wind - its morning [journey was that of] a month - and its afternoon [journey was that of] a month, and We made flow for him a spring of [liquid] copper. And 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.
مَنْ يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِAmong its benefits is that the jinn are accountable, meaning that if they disobey, they are punished. And to complete the justice of Allah, if they obey, they are blessed. As for their being punished if they disobey, this is a matter agreed upon by the scholars, and that their disbelievers enter the Fire. As for the entry of their believers into Paradise, there is disagreement among the scholars, and the correct view is that they enter Paradise, based on the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Rahman, where He is addressing the jinn and the humans: وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ * فَبِأَيِّ آلاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ [الرحمن46:47]فيكون هؤلاء الجن إذا خافوا الله فلهم الجنة وقال في أثناء ذلك لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلا جَانٌّ [الرحمن:74]وكلمة ولا جان لا تتناسب مع الإنس وإنما تتناسب مع من ؟ مع الجن وهذا هو القول الحق المتعين ولا يعارض ذلك قوله تعالى عن الجن الذين صرفهم الله للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يستمعون القرآن حين ولوا إلى قومهم منذرين قَالُوا يَا قَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَى طَرِيقٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ * يَا قَوْمَنَا أَجِيبُوا دَاعِيَ اللَّهِ وَآمِنُوا بِهِ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُجِرْكُمْ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ [الأحقاف30:31]فيقال إن الله إذا أجارهم من العذاب الأليم فلازم ذلك أن يدخلوا الجنة لأن الآخرة ليس فيها إلا داران هما الجنة أو النار فمن نجا من النار دخل الجنة ولابد إذاً الجن مكلفون لكن هل تكليفهم كتكليف الإنس بمعنى أن صلاتهم كصلاتنا وصيامهم كصيامنا وحجهم كحجنا أو يختلفوا عنا ؟ في هذا احتمالان :
أحدهما : أن يكون ما كلفوا به مساوياً لما كلفنا به من كل وجه ما دام الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم مبعوثاً للجن والإنس ولم تأت السنة بالتفريق بين أحكام الإنس والجن فالواجب إيش ؟ إجرائها على ماهي عليه وأن تكون هذه الأحكام ثابتة في حق الإنس والجن على حد سواء .
والاحتمال الثاني : أن تكون الواجبات بالنسبة للجن موافقة لما هم عليه مناسبة لهم فلا يلزم على هذا أن يكونوا مساويين للإنس لأن الله عز وجل يشرع أحكام مناسبة لمن شرعت له فهذا المريض مثلاً هل عليه صوم ؟ إذا كان المريض لا يجازى على مرضه ففرضه الإطعام والفقير ليس عليه زكاة وليس عليه حج فلما كان اختلاف الشرائع ظاهراً بالنسبة للإنس لاختلاف أحوالهم فإنهم يلزم أن تكون الشرائع أيضاً مختلفة في الجن عن الإنس لأن الجن لاشك كما قال شيخ الإسلام : " And for those who fear the standing before their Lord are two gardens. So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny? [Ar-Rahman 46:47] So these jinn, if they fear Allah, have Paradise. And He said in the course of that: No human has touched them before, nor any jinn [Ar-Rahman:74]. The phrase "nor any jinn" does not fit with humans; rather, it fits with whom? With the jinn. This is the correct and established view. This is not contradicted by His saying, Exalted is He, about the jinn whom Allah directed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to listen to the Qur'an, when they returned to their people as warners: They said, "O our people, indeed we have heard a Book revealed after Moses, confirming what is before it. It guides to the truth and to a straight path. O our people, respond to the Messenger of Allah and believe in Him that He may forgive you your sins and save you from a painful punishment" [Al-Ahqaf 30:31]. It is said that if Allah saves them from the painful punishment, it necessarily follows that they enter Paradise, because the Hereafter contains only two abodes: Paradise or the Fire. So whoever is saved from the Fire enters Paradise. Therefore, the jinn are obligated to obey, but is their obligation like that of humans, meaning their prayer is like our prayer, their fasting is like our fasting, and their Hajj is like our Hajj, or do they differ from us? There are two possibilities in this: The first is that what they are obligated to do is equal to what we are obligated to do in every respect, as long as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent to the jinn and humans, and the Sunnah did not come with a distinction between the rulings for humans and jinn. So what is obligatory? Implementing them as they are, and that these rulings remain established for humans and jinn equally. The second possibility is that the obligations for the jinn are in accordance with their nature, suitable for them. So it is not necessary that they be equal to humans, because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, legislates rulings suitable for those for whom they are legislated. For example, does this sick person have to fast? If the sick person is not held accountable for his illness, his obligation is to feed [the poor]. And the poor person does not have to pay zakah, nor does he have to perform Hajj. So when the difference in legislations is apparent for humans due to their differing conditions, it is necessary that the legislations also differ for the jinn from those for humans, because the jinn, without doubt, as Shaykh al-Islam said: ". The jinn differ from the humans in limit and reality. Their reality is not like the reality of humans, and their limits and capacities are not like the limits and capacities of humans. So if they differ from humans in limit and reality, it follows that they differ from them in the rulings of the Shari'ah. This is in what can differ. As for what cannot differ, such as tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and the message, the origin of the message, and something similar, this is a matter we know with certainty that the jinn are equal to the humans in those rulings. But the discussion is about the branch issues in which the addressed differ due to the difference in their conditions. So the issue has two possibilities. But Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) affirmed that the rulings for which the jinn are accountable differ from the rulings for which the humans are accountable, and that they are accountable in general without being equal to the humans. And knowledge is with Allah. Now.