Praise be to Allaah.
The shayaateen are from among the jinn; they are the rebellious
ones and the most evil among them, just as the devils among mankind
are the rebellious ones and the most evil among them. There are among
the jinn, as is the case among mankind, devils who are the rebellious
ones and the most evil, kaafirs and evildoers. There are also Muslims
among them who are righteous and good. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
“And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies — Shayaateen
(devils) among mankind and jinn, inspiring one another with adorned
speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed,
they would not have done it; so leave them alone with their fabrications”
[al-‘An’aam 6:112]
The Shaytaan is
the father of the jinn according to many scholars. He is the one who
disobeyed his Lord and was too proud to prostrate to Adam, so Allaah
expelled him and banished him. Other scholars say that the Shaytaan
was one of a group of angels who were called al-jinn; he was
too proud to prostrate, so Allaah expelled him and banished him. He
became the leader of every evildoer and wicked one, every kaafir and
wrongdoer. Every person has a shaytaan and an angel with him, as the
Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:
“There is no one among you but he has with him a constant companion
(qareen) from among the jinn and a constant companion from among
the angels.” They said, “You too, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “Me
too, but Allaah has helped me against him (the devil-companion) and
he has become Muslim.”
And the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said that the Shaytaan inspires man to evil and calls man
to evil. There are times when he has control over man's heart and can
find out, by Allaah’s decree, what a person intends to do of good or
evil. There are also times when the angel has control over a person’s
heart. He makes him incline towards good and calls him to good. These
are things that Allaah has enabled them to do, i.e., He has enabled
the two companions, the jinn-companion and the angel-companion, to do
these things. Even the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a shaytaan with him,
his constant companion (qareen) from among the jinn, as stated
above, in the hadeeth which says that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“There is no one among you but he has with him a constant companion
(qareen) from among the jinn and a constant companion from among
the angels.” They said, “You too, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said, “Me
too, but Allaah has helped me against him (the devil-companion) and
he has become Muslim.”
The point is that every man has with him a companion from among the
angels and a companion from among the shayateen. The believer suppresses
his shaytaan by obeying Allaah and adhering steadfastly to His religion,
so he humiliates his shaytaan until he becomes weak and unable to stop
the believer doing good or make him fall into evil, except what Allaah
wills. The sinner, by his disobedience and evil actions, gives his shaytaan
the strength to make him do evil and encourageshim to do evil, and discourage
him from doing good. The believer has to fear Allaah and strive
against his shaytaan by obeying Allaah and His Messenger, and seeking
refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan. And he should strive to help his
angel by obeying Allaah and His Messenger and heeding the commands of
Allaah.
The Muslims help their brothers among the jinn to obey
Allaah and His Messenger just as they help their human brothers. Humans
may help them in some matters without realizing it. They may help them
to obey Allaah and His Messenger by teaching and reminding other humans,
for the jinn may attend the lessons of humans in the mosques and elsewhere
and benefit from them. Humans may also hear some things from the jinn
which benefit them; they may wake them up to pray or draw their attention
to things which may benefit them or harm them. All of this happens even
though the jinn do not make themselves visible to humans. A jinn may
make himself visible to some people when pointing them towards something
good or something evil. This may happen, although it is rare. Usually
they do not appear to humans, although their voices may be heard on
some occasions when they wake a person for prayer or tell him of some
things. In conclusion, the believing jinn help the believers even though
the believers may not realize it, and they love everything good for
them. Similarly, believing humans love everything good for their believing
brethren among the jinn, and they ask Allaah to give them everything
good. They may attend lessons, and they love to listen to the Qur’aan
and knowledge, as stated above. The believers among the jinn attend
the lessons of humans, at some times and in some lands, and they benefit
from the lessons of humans. All of this happens and is well known. This
has been clearly stated by many of the scholars whom the jinn contacted
and asked about some issues; they told them that they had attended their
lessons. All of this is well-known, and Allaah is the One Whose help
we seek.
Allaah has told us that the jinn listened to the Qur’aan
from the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). At the end of Soorat al-Ahqaaf, He says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) when We sent towards you (Muhammad) a group (three
to ten persons) of the jinn, (quietly) listening to the Qur’aan. When
they stood in the presence thereof, they said: ‘Listen in silence!’
And when it was finished, they returned to their people, as warners.
They said: ‘O our people! Verily, we have heard a Book (this Qur’aan)
sent down after Moosa (Moses), confirming what came before it, it guides
to the truth and to the Straight Path (i.e. Islam)”
[al-Ahqaaf 46:29-30]
And Allaah revealed
other aayahs in a separate soorah, where He says:
“Say (O Muhammad): “It has been revealed to me that a group (from
three to ten in number) of jinn listened (to this Qur’aan). They said:
‘Verily, we have heard a wonderful Recitation (this Qur’aan)!” [al-Jinn
72:1]
Many books have been written on this matter. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah
have mercy on him) mentioned a great deal on this topic in his books.
There is also a book by one of the scholars entitled al-Marjaan fi
Bayaan Ahkaam al-Jaan, by al-Shibli, which is a useful book. There
are other books written on this topic as well. You can look for them
and ask for them in any bookstore. You could also read the books of
Tafseer and learn from the commentary on Soorat al-Jinn and the
other aayahs from Soorat al-Ahqaaf and elsewhere which speak
of the jinn. You can learn a lot from what the mufassireen (may Allaah
have mercy on them) said about the jinn, both the good and the bad among
them.
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