The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies (32 page)

OW CAN HUMANITY COUNTER THE influences of beings as
powerful as the djinn? They seem to have many advantages
over us-but we are not without recourse. Since ancient times,
people have developed ways of warding off and repelling all sorts
of negative entities and their effects. Some remedies against demons can be applied to troublesome djinn but others do not work.
Here we discuss some of the ways humans have successfully dealt
with djinn.

Exorcizing Djinn

Islamic belief holds that djinn possess people for a variety of reasons. They attack those whose faith is weak or nonexistent and
those who are not religiously inclined. Sudden emotional and physical shocks, bouts of depression, and fear and anxiety make a person vulnerable to possession by ripping tears in his or her barrier of
spiritual protection (the aura). The djinn, having no defined form,
can slip through these tears and cracks quite easily. It is believed
that a person should never go to bed crying or with feelings of fear
and worry, as this invites the djinn to attack during sleep. A fall in the bathroom-considered a polluted place-is especially dangerous, and can result in djinn possession. People who willfully or accidentally injure djinn can become ill or possessed as well. And as explained earlier, people with whom the djinn have become infatuated may become possessed. Whatever the causes of djinn possession, exorcism is usually required.

Exorcism is not only rightful, but obligatory, part of one's duty to aid the oppressed, fight evil, and promote righteousness. Muhammad said that those who aid others will be rewarded on the Day of Resurrection. The duty to alleviate suffering extends to both humans and djinn. Some modern scholars dispute the reality of djinn possession, but traditionalists point to the Qur'an, hadith literature, and the anecdotal record as evidence that possessions have indeed occurred throughout history and continue to plague people in modern times. It is not permissible to abandon or decline to treat a person who is possessed if someone has the ability and time to do so. Exorcism, said the Qur'anic scholar Ibn Tameeyah, "is the most noble of deeds. It is among the deeds performed by the prophets and the righteous who have continually repelled the devils from mankind using what has been commanded by Allah and His Messenger."2
Aid should be rendered in only the same way that Muhammad and his companions acted. Whatever actions are allowed concerning humans are allowed concerning djinn.

Djinn have been ordered to worship Allah, according to Islamic law.'
Possession without the consent of the human is a grave of fense against God and is forbidden-but djinn do it anyway. They
must be informed that they do not have the right to occupy a human body-or home, for that matter-without consent. If a djinni
has possessed a person out of lust, it must be so informed that it has
committed a forbidden act. If it possesses a person who has accidentally harmed a djinni, it must be told that the person acted out
of ignorance and with no intent to harm.

If the djinn do not cease after being warned, it is permissible to
punish them. A person can summon one djinni to banish or kill
another who is causing possession-but whether or not they obey
such commands is questionable.

Taking Refuge in the Qur'an

The most reliable and permissible ways of exorcizing or repelling
djinn involve reciting certain verses from the Qur'an. All of the
verses of the Qur'an are considered the will of Allah, and create
a structure and order to daily life. The words are powerful, and if
recited with deep faith, have a great positive effect. In relation to
djinn, certain verses will chase them away and purify any environment. Angels listen to the words as well, and can be called upon
for help.

Qur'anic verses considered especially effective against the djinn
and their whisperings in the ear are the Al-Mu'awwidhatayn and
the Al-Kursi. The Al-Mu'awwidhatayn are the last two chapters of
the Qur'an, Al-Falaq (The Dawn) and An-Nas (Mankind), 113
and 114, respectively:

The Al-Kursi (The Footstool or The Throne) is verse 255 from
the second surah of the Qur'an, Al-Baqarah (The Cow). It is considered to be highly effective in warding off djinn and countering
their evil spells, as well as exorcizing them from the possessed. It
also nullifies illusions caused by the djinn, devil-aided supernatural feats, and the erroneous thinking and acts of musicians, tyrants
and the lecherous and lustful:

According to hadith literature, the Al-Kursi recommendation
came from a djinni. The Sahih al-Bukhari tells a story of a man
whom Muhammad put in charge of the food collected for charity at the end of Ramadan. One night, the man caught a stranger
rummaging through the food. The stranger said he was in great need because he was poor and had a family. The man let the stranger go. When informed, Muhammad said the stranger was a liar and would return. Sure enough, he did, and once again begged off on claims of poverty, promising he would not return. The man let him go. Muhammad repeated that the stranger was a liar and would return. On the next night, the stranger came back and the man grabbed him. This time, the stranger said that in exchange for letting him go, he would give him some words that would prevent Satan from approaching during sleep at night. It was the Al-Kursi. Muhammad told the man that the stranger told the truth, but revealed his identity as an "evil djinni."4

Reading the entire chapter of Al-Baqarah at night is good for keeping evil djinn away and for banishing a troublesome qarin. Muhammad said, "Everything has a hump and the Qur'an's hump is surah al-Baqarah. Satan will not enter the house of whoever reads it at night for three days."5

Another accepted practice is to read just the last two verses (285 and 286) of Al-Baqarah for three consecutive nights:

The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. They say, "We make no distinction between one another of His Messen- gers"-and they say, "We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your Forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all)."

Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our
Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to
bear. Pardon us and grant us Forgiveness. Have mercy on us.
You are our Matron (Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people."

Invoking the name of Allah and cursing is another tactic. Muhammad repelled Iblis once when the djinni attempted to interfere with his prayer. Iblis thrust a fiery torch in his face, and Muhammad said three times, "I seek refuge in Allah from you" and then three times, "I curse you by Allah's perfect curse."6
But Iblis did not back off, so Muhammad grabbed hold of him and choked him, and could feel the coldness of the djinni's spittle on his hands. Had it not been for Solomon's prayer, Muhammad said, he would have tied Iblis to a post as a public spectacle.'
Allah forced the djinni away. This incident established the precedent for evoking Allah's curse against offending djinn.

"I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan" is recited prior to reading the Qur'an and serves as a general protection from the influences of evil. There are ninety-nine "beautiful names" of Allah that can be invoked. Each name has an angel servant. Some believe there are both a djinni and an angel who attend each name. Repeating a name with enough faith can make its servant appear. If a person is pure, the angel comes; if not, the djinni comes.'

Possessing djinn should be urged to convert to Islam. As we noted earlier, djinn who say they will convert or have converted often lie, and repeatedly possess people. In 1987, a possession case of a
Muslim woman in Riyadh made international news. The offending djinni had supposedly already converted to Islam, but possessed the woman anyway. The exorcist reminded the djinni that it was committing a sin, and it replied (through the female victim but in a male voice) that it was a Buddhist djinni from India. The exorcist cajoled and shamed the djinni into converting to Islam, and to agreeing to preach conversion to its own people. It departed the woman, who remained free of possession for at least two months, at the last report. Whether or not the deceitful djinni possessed anyone else, or fulfilled its promise to proselytize to other djinn, is not known.'

Beating the Djinn Out of a Body

If Qur'anic recitations, orders, cajoling, and cursing have no effect on djinn, tradition holds that it is permissible to threaten them with beating and strike them by actually beating the victim. It is believed that only the djinni, and not the victim, feels any pain from the blows. If the victim screams, it is really the djinni screaming in agony. Hundreds of blows may be necessary to drive a djinni from a person's body-which supposedly will show no signs of the beating.")

Muhammad used beatings to exorcize djinn. He struck one possessed boy with great force, and then wiped his face with water and said a prayer over him. The exorcism was successful.