Message #19606

[Heba E. Husseyn]

Walaikum Salam Sister.     I think we have taken this aspect in our post but I'm not sure.   Perhaps in the post, Jinn not 'ghost.'  But I can again discuss the basic points here, Insh'Allah.   

The concept of 'ghost' is a false pagan belief claiming that the soul of the deceased returns to earth.   This has been flatly refuted in the Noble Quran:

"Until, when death comes unto one of them, he says:  My Rab!  Send me back,
That I may do right in that which I have left behind!  But nay!  It is but a word that he speaks; and behind them is a barrier until the day when they are raised."   (23:99-100) Surah Al-Muminun.

This Verse asserts that the souls of those who have passed into the permanent world CANNOT return, and uses the term "barrier" or "partition" (in Quran Arabic  بَرزَخُ  or "barzakhun") which the man-written hadith literature has used in a very different sense that is unauthentic.

The problem with Jews and Christians is they don't have their original Scriptures.  Needless to say, the Old and New Testaments are completely altered by human hands, one-hundred percent.  One can be sure that their original Scriptures (the original Torah and Bible in the words of The Almighty) did mention about the jinn (as has the Noble Quran)  but no Jew or Christian knows their original Scripture any longer.   Thus, they only have a very faint and distorted concept of jinn in their culture, in a very light hearted manner like a joke referring to it as "jinni" which is only applicable in children's stories or comedies shows.  As far as the paranormal is concerned, they have gone back to the mythical ideology of the pre-Nasara (or pre-Christian) era of the Celts, Vikings, Barbarians, Anglo Saxons etc. which were hardcore pagan communities steeped in different mythologies and superstitions.   The idea of "ghosts" or the soul of the deceased coming back to visit earth originates from those pagan thoughts based on guesswork.  It also exists in pagan culture of the Hindus and Buddhists.   Thus, at present, Jews and Christians, like other pagans know nothing about the real existence of Jinn.  Instead, citings of jinn are commonly misinterpreted as "ghosts" or 'paranormal.' 

In pre-Islamic Arabia however, I don't think they believed in 'ghosts' even at that time.  That was probably because of the much earlier teachings of Prophet Ismail (Ishmael), son of Prophet Ibraheem (Abraham) [peace on them], both of whom were firm Monotheists.   But with the passage of time (approximately between 2,500 and 3,000 years) the Arabian people corrupted the Monotheistic teachings of Prophet Ismail (pbuh) and by the time Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was born in 570 A.D., Monotheism was completely distorted and destroyed by the Arabians who had by now turned into idolaters.  Therefore, the concept of jinn was also completely distorted and changed and made similar to myths and tales.  They believed jinn to be some sort of demonic spirit or poltergeist that resides in unclean places where garbage and fecal matters were dumped (and thus the false hadith notion that jinn dwell in washrooms).   Many of the idolaters also worshipped the jinn.  The ignorant ideas had variations, typical of the Days of Jahilya. 

Therefor,  pagans of all parts of the world followed their own concoctions about the supernatural.

It's only the Quran that clarifies this aspect.  Jinn, as a separate species, are created by The Almighty just as He created humans, animals etc.  Allah Almighty has disclosed to us the basic information about the existence of the jinn which has been covered in this thread.   

Unfortunately, many traditional Muslim sources (mainly because of the falsifications of Hadith) have woven unfounded stories about the jinn similar to ancient times NOT warranted by the Quran.  All such falsifications must be trashed.