The Prophet (SAW) said, "Indeed, the shaytan flees from the house in which Surah Al-Baqarah is recited," (Tirmidhi) |
The Unseen Creatures: Angels and Jinn
In Islam, Muslims believe in the existence of all of the creatures that Allah SWT has created, which other than mankind includes Jinn and Angels. Both Jinn and Angels exist parallel to humans, and there are interactions between them and mankind, however we cannot see them, thus the term of the "unseen." Here is some general knowledge we have about angels and jinn, which we know from Islam's two main sources of evidence, the Qur'an and Hadith (recorded deeds of Prophet Muhammad SAW).
Angels
Angels (ملائكة malāʾikah; singular: ملاك malāk) are a creation of Allah SWT and are made of light. They were created before mankind, and created to follow the commands of Allah SWT. They cannot deviate from obeying His command, therefore they do not have a free will and they are free of sin. says of angels: “Who disobey not, (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.”
Angels can be of different size, status or merit. They cannot be described as male or female, as such an attribute is not assigned them. The number of Angels is unknown to anyone but Allah the All-Mighty. Some people commonly believe Shaytan (Satan/Iblis) is a fallen angel; this belief is FALSE, as Angels are creation which cannot disobey the command of Allah (Shaytan is of the Jinn, which will be explained below).
Angels have many and varied responsibilities assigned to them by the Creator. Some of the tasks we know Angels preside over are: to question people in the grave, to deliver messages, to blow life into the fetus, to record human beings' good and bad deeds, to guard paradise, to carry the throne of Allah SWT, to worship Allah, to blow the horn on the Day of Judgement, to seek out venues of remembrances (dhikr) such as halakah and salah, etc. Additionally, we learn from Qur'an and hadith that Angels were also tasked with protecting and guarding the Prophet Muhammad SAW. These responsibilities mentioned are only a few of the assignments for angels that we know of.
The angels can possess great powers given to them by Allah SWT. For example, they can take on different forms. In Qur'an, Allah describes how He sent the angel Jibril (Gabriel, AS) in the form of a man at the moment of Isa’s (Jesus') conception: “…Then We sent to her [Maryam] Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects,” .
Angels also never tire of worshiping Allah the Almighty: "They celebrate His praises night and day, nor do they ever slacken," .
Angels are not visible to mankind, however the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was able to see the angel Jibril (AS). The Qur'an says that we should not be concerned with how the angels appear, however in one hadith the Prophet SAW said, “I have been given permission to speak about one of the angels of God who carry the Throne. The distance between his ear-lobes and his shoulders is equivalent to a seven-hundred-year journey,” (Abu Dawud).
Muslims should be careful to not assign attributes to the angels which have not been revealed from Qur'an and sunnah. For example, in western culture there is the idea that angels are cherub-like, feathery, billowy, etc. It is best to refrain from depiction of angels so as not to do something sacrilege.
Jinn
There is no English equivalent for the word jinn, therefore we will refer to its Arabic. The Jinn (الجن al-jinn, singular; الجني al-jinnī) are beings created by Allah, who created them from fire and with a free will, as opposed to the angels. The Jinn live on earth in a world parallel to mankind but they are invisible to us. The word jinn is an Arabic word derived from the word 'janna', meaning to hide or conceal. It is commonly believed that most of the jinn are found among places contaminated with ritual impurity such as bathrooms, garbage dumps, and animal yards. (See Du'aa for entering the toilet) The 72nd surah of the Qur'an is titled . In it there is detailed accounts of some activities of Jinn.
In the Qur'an, Allah says: "Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire," 15:26-27.
Just as humans, Jinn are also required to worship Allah and follow Islam. In Qur'an, Surah Ad-Dhariyat says, "I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me." In many ways, the jinn are are like humans in that they have a free will, eat & drink, marry, have children, die, and are judged on the Final Day of Reckoning by Allah the Most High. They will be present with mankind on that Day and will either go to Jannah (Paradise) or Jahannam (Hell). The jinn have a free will, therefore they can either be Muslim or non-Muslim, with the majority of them being non-Muslim due to their nature of being created from fire.
Also in Qur'an Allah says, "Indeed he (Iblis) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them," . All of the non-Muslim jinn form a part of the army of the most well-known jinn, Iblis - the Shaytan (Satan). Consequently, the disbelieving jinns are also called Shaytans.
Regarding the jinns who are Muslims: the first of them did so in the time of the Prophet (SAW) when a group of them were amazed by the recitation of the Qur'an. Allah revealed to the Prophet (SAW) details of this event in the following ayat: "Say (O' Muhammed): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said; 'Indeed we have heard a marvelous Qur'an. It guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our lord,'" .
It is a widely held Muslim belief that there is a jinn assigned to each person. In one hadith, reported by Ibn Mas‘ud (RA): "The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: 'There is not one of you who does not have a jinnī appointed to be his constant companion (qarīn).' They said, 'And you too, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Me too, but Allah has helped me and he has submitted, so that he only helps me to do good,'" (Muslim).
The following hadith, I think, speaks loudly to the nature of jinn: Jabir bin 'Abdullah (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, "Cover your utensils and tie your water skins, and close your doors and keep your children close to you at night, as the Jinns spread out at such time and snatch things away. When you go to bed, put out your lights, for the mischief-doer (i.e. the rat) may drag away the wick of the candle and burn the dwellers of the house." Ata said, "The devils" (instead of the Jinns), Sahih Bukhari 4:533.
Clearly, the jinn are a being which mankind should seek protection from. In a hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said: “O, Abu Habis! Would you like me to tell you of the best words, which people may voice searching [for] the protection of Allah?” He said: “Of course, O, Allah rasul!” In return, the Prophet (SAW) read the last two surahs of Qur'an (Al-Falaq--113 and An-Nas--114) and added: “These two surahs are used [by people] for Allah’s protection.” (Follow link to listen to these two surahs) --See also the hadith quotation at the head of this page for another source in Qur'an which is used for protection.
In Common Culture
As far as depictions of Jinn goes, I judge that based on the guideline listed earlier regarding the permissibility of depicting angels, the same would apply to Jinn. Therefore, jinn (and angels) should not be depicted, as applying attributes to them would be inappropriate. And Allah knows best.
Angels
Angels (ملائكة malāʾikah; singular: ملاك malāk) are a creation of Allah SWT and are made of light. They were created before mankind, and created to follow the commands of Allah SWT. They cannot deviate from obeying His command, therefore they do not have a free will and they are free of sin. says of angels: “Who disobey not, (from executing) the commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.”
Angels can be of different size, status or merit. They cannot be described as male or female, as such an attribute is not assigned them. The number of Angels is unknown to anyone but Allah the All-Mighty. Some people commonly believe Shaytan (Satan/Iblis) is a fallen angel; this belief is FALSE, as Angels are creation which cannot disobey the command of Allah (Shaytan is of the Jinn, which will be explained below).
Angels have many and varied responsibilities assigned to them by the Creator. Some of the tasks we know Angels preside over are: to question people in the grave, to deliver messages, to blow life into the fetus, to record human beings' good and bad deeds, to guard paradise, to carry the throne of Allah SWT, to worship Allah, to blow the horn on the Day of Judgement, to seek out venues of remembrances (dhikr) such as halakah and salah, etc. Additionally, we learn from Qur'an and hadith that Angels were also tasked with protecting and guarding the Prophet Muhammad SAW. These responsibilities mentioned are only a few of the assignments for angels that we know of.
The angels can possess great powers given to them by Allah SWT. For example, they can take on different forms. In Qur'an, Allah describes how He sent the angel Jibril (Gabriel, AS) in the form of a man at the moment of Isa’s (Jesus') conception: “…Then We sent to her [Maryam] Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects,” .
Angels also never tire of worshiping Allah the Almighty: "They celebrate His praises night and day, nor do they ever slacken," .
Angels are not visible to mankind, however the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was able to see the angel Jibril (AS). The Qur'an says that we should not be concerned with how the angels appear, however in one hadith the Prophet SAW said, “I have been given permission to speak about one of the angels of God who carry the Throne. The distance between his ear-lobes and his shoulders is equivalent to a seven-hundred-year journey,” (Abu Dawud).
Muslims should be careful to not assign attributes to the angels which have not been revealed from Qur'an and sunnah. For example, in western culture there is the idea that angels are cherub-like, feathery, billowy, etc. It is best to refrain from depiction of angels so as not to do something sacrilege.
Jinn
There is no English equivalent for the word jinn, therefore we will refer to its Arabic. The Jinn (الجن al-jinn, singular; الجني al-jinnī) are beings created by Allah, who created them from fire and with a free will, as opposed to the angels. The Jinn live on earth in a world parallel to mankind but they are invisible to us. The word jinn is an Arabic word derived from the word 'janna', meaning to hide or conceal. It is commonly believed that most of the jinn are found among places contaminated with ritual impurity such as bathrooms, garbage dumps, and animal yards. (See Du'aa for entering the toilet) The 72nd surah of the Qur'an is titled . In it there is detailed accounts of some activities of Jinn.
In the Qur'an, Allah says: "Indeed We created man from dried clay of black smooth mud. And We created the Jinn before that from the smokeless flame of fire," 15:26-27.
Just as humans, Jinn are also required to worship Allah and follow Islam. In Qur'an, Surah Ad-Dhariyat says, "I did not create the Jinn and mankind except to worship Me." In many ways, the jinn are are like humans in that they have a free will, eat & drink, marry, have children, die, and are judged on the Final Day of Reckoning by Allah the Most High. They will be present with mankind on that Day and will either go to Jannah (Paradise) or Jahannam (Hell). The jinn have a free will, therefore they can either be Muslim or non-Muslim, with the majority of them being non-Muslim due to their nature of being created from fire.
Also in Qur'an Allah says, "Indeed he (Iblis) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them," . All of the non-Muslim jinn form a part of the army of the most well-known jinn, Iblis - the Shaytan (Satan). Consequently, the disbelieving jinns are also called Shaytans.
Regarding the jinns who are Muslims: the first of them did so in the time of the Prophet (SAW) when a group of them were amazed by the recitation of the Qur'an. Allah revealed to the Prophet (SAW) details of this event in the following ayat: "Say (O' Muhammed): It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened and said; 'Indeed we have heard a marvelous Qur'an. It guides unto righteousness so we have believed in it, and we will never make partners with our lord,'" .
It is a widely held Muslim belief that there is a jinn assigned to each person. In one hadith, reported by Ibn Mas‘ud (RA): "The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: 'There is not one of you who does not have a jinnī appointed to be his constant companion (qarīn).' They said, 'And you too, O Messenger of Allah?' He said, 'Me too, but Allah has helped me and he has submitted, so that he only helps me to do good,'" (Muslim).
Clearly, the jinn are a being which mankind should seek protection from. In a hadith, the Prophet (SAW) said: “O, Abu Habis! Would you like me to tell you of the best words, which people may voice searching [for] the protection of Allah?” He said: “Of course, O, Allah rasul!” In return, the Prophet (SAW) read the last two surahs of Qur'an (Al-Falaq--113 and An-Nas--114) and added: “These two surahs are used [by people] for Allah’s protection.” (Follow link to listen to these two surahs) --See also the hadith quotation at the head of this page for another source in Qur'an which is used for protection.
In Common Culture
As far as depictions of Jinn goes, I judge that based on the guideline listed earlier regarding the permissibility of depicting angels, the same would apply to Jinn. Therefore, jinn (and angels) should not be depicted, as applying attributes to them would be inappropriate. And Allah knows best.
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with numerous hadith related to angels.
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An interesting lecture with a lot more information about the jinn:
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