The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies (14 page)

Trickster plays the fool, but in the end, makes fools of others.
Trickster especially enjoys laughing at the expense of the victims
he dupes. Though he is sometimes duped himself, he often has the
last laugh of chaos and disorder.

Some well-known examples of Trickster figures are Hermes, the
Greek messenger god and god of deceit and thieves, as well as all
arts and sciences; Loki, the sly gender-changing, shapeshifting troublemaker of Norse mythology; and Coyote, the vulgar, fire-stealing
braggart found in serveral Native American traditions.

A strong Trickster element runs through the djinn, and even permeates attempts of humans to define, describe, predict, control,
and best the djinn. Although djinn are explicitly acknowledged in
the Qur'an, Islamic scholars throughout the centuries have debated
their reality. The great Ibn Sina (known to the Romans as Avicenna, 980-1037), a physician and philosopher, was among those
who said there was no reality to the djinn. Later philosophers, such
as Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), acknowledged the djinn and said Allah reserved all of the knowledge about them for himself.'

The djinn are briefly discussed in Phil's book Interdimensional Universe. Shortly after the book was published, he received several letters from people of the Islamic faith from around the word. They found the descriptions and encounters he had with the djinn to be accurate and they offered him congratulations and praise for having the courage to write about a topic that has been largely ignored by the West. These people also stated in their letters that what was covered in the book confirmed their faith in the Qur'an as it proved to them that the djinn are very much alive and active in the modern world.

Recent trends in Islam recognize the undeniable reality of djinn but beliefs about their nature, characteristics, abilities, powers, and lives are, like all forms of supernatural traditions and lore, open to a great deal of interpretation. Modern beliefs blend religion with pre-Islamic folk tales. Some make distinctions between djinn and "devils," who are the evil offspring of Iblis. Some believe in good djinn and bad djinn, while others consider all djinn to be dangerous. Below we discuss traits, abilities, and powers generally attributed to djinn.

They Have Limits to Their Power

Despite the formidable range of djinn abilities and powers, they have limits. Djinn can only operate so much outside of cosmic law and order, for ultimately they are bound by the Qur'anic word of God, as are humans and angels. God gave both humans and djinn power to influence the heavens and earth, but only within the bounds He allows. Those of either race who transgress the limits will be destroyed:
O company of djinn and men, if you have power to penetrate (all) regions of the heavens and the earth, then penetrate (them)! You will never penetrate them save with (Our) sanction. Which is it, of the favors or your Lord do you deny? There will be sent, against you both, heat of fire and flash of brass, and you will not escape.'

Muhammad stated that "... whoever intentionally ascribes something to me falsely; he will surely take his place in the (Hell) Fire."3
If djinn do not accept their limits voluntarily, they can be forced to do so, not only by God's wrath, but by taking refuge in the Qur'an through prayer and recitation. For example, djinn cannot open doors closed by Qur'anic prayer, nor can they pollute or eat food similarly protected. Even so, the djinn still have considerable latitude for destruction in the mortal world-and they use their Trickster wiles to circumvent prohibitions against them. Apparently, some of them have little concern about answering for their transgressions on the Day of judgment, and are instead governed by their whims and immediate desires.

People who tend to live hedonistic lives in addition to those who are inclined to be sinful make easy targets for djinn, but they especially love the challenge of thwarting the faithful. The Qur'an assures that Satan (Iblis and, by extension, his evil djinn followers) have no dominion over the pious; however, sometimes the pious are the most sorely afflicted by djinn.4
A biblical parallel of such Trickster treatment is job's trials at Satan's hands, who asked God for permission to attack him in order to test his faith. Job was the most pious and righteous of men-a perfect target. The faithful may argue that God must allow the attacks of evil, an argument
made through the ages as attempts to explain why bad things happen to good people. Permission or not, evil has sneaky ways of infiltrating good through its cracks. When Iblis defied God, he vowed he would lead Adam and his kind to perdition.'

They Are Untrustworthy and Vindictive

Before people were created, the djinn reigned supreme, building great cities and enjoying God's favor. Egyptian lore tells of this more peaceful time, ruled by a succession of either forty or seventytwo kings all named Sulayman (Solomon), the last of whom was Gann Ibn Gann. The djinn under this last king were said to have built the great pyramids of Egypt, a belief still held by some at the turn of the twentieth century.6

The status, nature, and fate of the djinn changed drastically when God created Adam and ordered both angels and djinn to kneel. The defiant djinn were forced to give up their place, and were consumed by resentment and revenge. They became bent on using deceit, evil, and any means possible to strike back at the source of their misfortune: us. By the time the biblical King Solomon had subjected them, they had already made up their minds.

Like Trickster, the djinn are untrustworthy and unpredictable because they make no distinction between good and evil. While technically more amoral than they are truly evil, they can be quite nefarious and deadly at times, as whatever means are at hand justify their ends of revenge. Tricksters lack concern for the welfare of people; if people are harmed or if they die as a result of a Trickster's actions, it's just too bad for them. Similarly, the djinn have little regard for our
welfare. For sport, they sometimes perch upon rooftops and hurl bricks down on people, wounding and even killing them.'

Djinn are vindictive, and will never forgive the person who tries to harm them deliberately. For example, if people try to get rid of a djinni attached to or possessing them, the djinni will take offense. It may leave temporarily, but return with greater force and increased malice.

They Are Masters of Deceit and Illusion

Djinn can never be trusted to tell the truth, no matter how sincere and convincing they appear. If they don't know the answer to a question, they make one up on the spot, with no regard to consequences. They make false promises and abandon people. One story tells of a war in which believers engaged in battle against a band of infidels. Iblis promised to protect the believers and said they would be unconquerable. But when the enemy armies came into view, he fled.'

Another story is told about a pious man who was entrusted with the care of a virgin girl while her three brothers went off to war. Iblis gradually persuaded him to seduce her, and she gave birth to a son. Horrified at what the brothers would probably do to him upon their return, the man followed the guidance of Iblis and murdered both girl and infant, burying them in a ditch. When the brothers returned, the man made a great show of sorrow over their unfortunate deaths. Iblis then appeared to the brothers in dreams, taking the form of a traveler, and told them what the man had actually done, and where the bodies were buried. They discovered the corpses and confronted the man, who confessed. The brothers decided to punish him by crucifixion. As the man suffered on the
cross, Iblis appeared to him and promised to save him if he would deny Allah. The man did, and Iblis vanished, leaving him to face excruciating death and divine wrath.'
One can hear Iblis' Trickster laughter trailing after him as he disappeared into his parallel dimension. Even the djinn who have converted to Islam cannot be trusted. Or, they may claim they have converted when they have not, in order to gain a person's trust.

Sheikhs (a term that applies to both religious authorities and tribal leaders), magicians, and others who dominate and control djinn for the purposes of magic, fortune-telling, and healing are, in the eyes of many, vulnerable to the illusions and lies of the djinn. The Qur'an states that djinn cannot perform miracles, a gift possessed only by the true messengers of Allah."
Rather, djinn can only execute the illusion of miracles. Thus, they tell lies and perform tricks to give the appearances of magic and miracles, fooling both practitioner and client.

They Possess Invisibility and Superior Speed and Strength

As residents of a parallel realm, djinn are invisible to us unless they choose to appear, giving them a great advantage over us humans. They love to lurk and spy on people, especially in bathrooms, garbage dumps, and dirty, polluted places-but also in homes and intimate places such as bedrooms. They watch and wait for opportunities to strike.

Their invisibility creates many problems for people, who may injure or even kill a djinni without realizing it. The people of the ancient Arabic world believed that you should never cast a stone or even a date pit out into the open, for you may strike an invisible djinni. Never throw water, especially boiling water, out of a window,
for the same reason. Driving a stake into the ground may hit a djinni in his subterranean home."
Djinn who receive injury rally their clans, who react like a swarm of angry hornets. Together, they rain all manners of disaster, illness, bad luck, nightmares, and even possession down on the offending person and his family.

Their natural form-smokeless fire or plasma-and supernatural power enable djinn to move with tremendous speed. In the story of Aladdin in The Book of 1001 Nights, a djinni builds the hero an entire palace in one night. In Egyptian lore, a djinni can travel the distance from Cairo up the Nile to Aswan (982 kilometers, or about 610 miles) in one second.12
Thus, when they choose to be visible, they can be seen in one spot one second and then vanish and be seen in a distant place almost instantly.

The djinn have superhuman strength and can use their powers to lift and levitate objects of great size and weight, such as the gigantic pieces of marble transported for the building of Solomon's temple. Any person thinking he can best a djinni in a physical confrontation is making a fatal mistake: at the least, he will be severely beaten; at the worst he will be killed in an instant.

They Influence Thoughts and Dreams

Djinn influence a person's thoughts and dreams by whispering temptations and suggestions in their ear. A djinni could be considered the "evil" force sitting on a person's shoulder to counter the good influences of an angel on the other. The ability to hear djinn whispering occurs between the ages of twelve and fourteen. Prior to that, children are protected from a djinni's influence by angels.

Besides whispering, djinn create disturbances such as whistling and strange noises, which distract people at crucial moments. They confuse people by speaking in their own language, Surian, which sounds like a combination of Greek and Latin, or German and Italian. Certain sheikhs are able to understand it.13

Djinn can enter peoples' dreams and can influence their thoughts and actions for the worse. They can prey upon desires and weaknesses, and give false counsel. They can appear as figures claiming to be messengers of God-but, as we have noted above, they cannot masquerade as Muhammad himself. Djinn who fall in love with humans come to them in their dreams and whisper in their ears, inciting them to fight with their spouses. They cause nightmares. Djinn can appear in dreams in animal guises, especially as camels, the symbol of evil djinn.

Djinn will also appear in dreams for the illusion of fortune-telling. One method of consulting them calls for taking a piece of someone's clothing-preferably unwashed underwear-and placing it beneath one's pillow, asking for information about the person. The djinn respond with the desired information, delivering it in the dream. Trusting the information is risky, given the djinn propensity for lying and deceit.

They Cast the Evil Eye

One of the most dreaded of evils since ancient times is the evil eye, a withering look that causes illness, misfortune, calamity, and death. Belief in the evil eye is universal. The oldest recorded reference to it dates to about 3000 BCE in the cuneiform texts of the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians. The ancient Egyptians believed in it, and it is referred to in both Old and New Testaments. Evil eye beliefs are especially strong in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

The evil eye is powered by envy, a force considered in parts of the Middle East to be the root of all evil.14
In many cases, the evil eye is cast involuntarily, such as when someone, especially a stranger, admires one's family, business, or possessions; casts anyone a withering glance; or praises anything belonging to another person. Unless immediate preventive measures are taken such as ritual gestures and prayers or invoking Allah's name, disaster will strike. Children will fall ill, possessions will be stolen, or good fortune in business will turn sour. If the evil eye cannot be warded off, victims must turn to sheikhs for help. The evil eye can also be deliberate, like in a black magic spell. Djinn can influence a person to cast the evil eye and if shapeshifted into human form, the djinn can cast the evil eye themselves.

Modesty and avoiding displays of good fortune and wealth are ways to avoid the evil eye, either from other people or djinn. However, djinn know the secrets of people's wealth, their vanities, and their ambitions-all these things serve as ammunition for a weapon such as the evil eye.

They Are Capable of Possession

The djinn can stage a complete takeover of a person by dominating their thoughts and dreams as described earlier, and by entering the body. Their indefinable form enables them to easily penetrate a body and circulate through the blood. They cause all manner of physical discomforts and illnesses, in addition to paralysis, fits, and convulsions. They also cause aberrant and bizarre behavior, such as tearing one's clothes off, laughing hysterically, or dancing wildly in the street. They "come on to the tongue" of a person and speak through them. They cause extreme, even suicidal depression, and insanity. They can incite a person to crime and murder.