Edward William Lane (British Orientalist, translator and lexicographer):His notes regarding jinni
The frequent mention of Genii (from Arabic جني jinnie) in this work, and the erroneous accounts that have been given of these fabulous beings by various European writers, have induced me to examine the statements respecting them in several Arabic works; and I shall here offer the result of my investigation, with a previous account of the Angels.
The Muslims, in general, believe in three different species of created intelligent beings; namely, Angels, who are created of light; Genii, who are created of fire; and Men, created of earth. The first species are called “Meláïkeh” (sing. “Melek”); the second, “Jinn” or “Ginn” (sing. “Jinnee” or “Ginnee”); the third, “Ins” (sing. “Insee”). Some hold that the Devils (Sheytáns) are of a species distinct from Angels and Jinn; but the more prevailing opinion, and that which rests on the highest authority, is that they are rebellious Jinn.
“It is believed,” says El-Kazweenee, “that the Angels are of a simple substance, endowed with life, and speech, and reason; and that the difference between them and the Jinn and Sheytáns is a difference of species. Know,” he adds, “that the Angels are sanctified from carnal desire and the disturbance of anger: they disobey not God in celebrating of his glory; their drink, the proclaiming of his holiness; their conversation, the commemoration of God, whose name be exalted; their pleasure, his worship: they are created in different forms, and with different powers.” Some are described as having the forms of brutes. Four of them are Archangels; Jebraeel or Jibreel ( Gabriel), the angel of revelations; Meekaeel or Meekál ( Michael), the patron of the Israelites; ’Azraeel, the angel of death; and Isráfeel, the angel of the trumpet, which he is to sound twice, or some say thrice, at the end of the world: one blast will kill all living creatures (himself included): another, forty years after, (he being raised again for this purpose, with Jebraeel and Meekaeel,) will raise the dead. These Archangels are also called Apostolic Angels. They are inferior in dignity to human prophets and apostles, though superior to the rest of the human race: the angelic nature is held to be inferior to the human nature, because all the Angels were commanded to prostrate themselves before Adam. Every believer is attended by two guardian and recording angels; one of whom writes his good actions, the other, his evil actions: or, according to some, the number of these angels is five, or sixty, or a hundred and sixty. There are also two Angels, called Munkar (vulg. Nákir) and Nekeer, who examine all the dead, and torture the wicked in their graves.
The species of Jinn is said to have been created some thousands of years before Adam. According to a tradition from the Prophet, this species consists of five orders or classes; namely, Jánn (who are the least powerful of all), Jinn, Sheytáns ( Devils), ’Efreets, and Márids. The last, it is added, are the most powerful; and the Jánn are transformed Jinn; like as certain apes and swine were transformed men (Kur-án 5:65). It must however, be remarked here, that the terms Jinn and Jánn are generally used indiscriminately, as names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned) whether good or bad; and that the former term is the more common. Also, that “Sheytán” is commonly used to signify any evil Jinnee. An ‘Efreet is a powerful evil Jinnee: a Márid, an evil Jinnee of the most powerful class. The Jinn (but generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians “Deevs;” the most powerful evil, “Narahs” (which signifies “males,” though they are said to be males and females); the good Jinn, “Perees;” though this term more commonly applies to females.
In a tradition from the Prophet, it is said, “The Jánn were created of a smokeless fire.” The word which signifies “a smokeless fire” has been misunderstood by some as meaning “the flame of fire:” El-Jóharee (in the Seháh) renders it rightly; and says that of this fire was the Sheytán (Iblees) created. “El-Jánn” is sometimes used as a name for Iblees; as in the following verse of the Kur-án:- “And the Jánn [the father of the Jinn, i.e. Iblees] we had created before [i.e. before the creation of Adam] of the fire of the samoom [i.e. of the fire without smoke].” “Jánn” also signifies “a serpent;” as in other passages of the Kur-án; and is used in the same book as synonymous with “Jinn.” In the last sense it is generally believed to be used in the tradition quoted in the commencement of this paragraph. There are several apparently contradictory traditions from the Prophet which are reconciled by what has been above stated: in one, it is said, that Iblees was the father of all the Jánn and Sheytáns; Jánn being here synonymous with Jinn: in another, that Jánn was the father of all the Jinn; here, Jánn being used as the name of Iblees.
“It is held,” says El-Kazweenee, “that the Jinn are aerial animals, with transparent bodies, which can assume various forms. People differ in opinion respecting these beings: some consider the Jinn and Sheytáns as unruly men; but these persons are of the Moatezileh [a sect of Muslim freethinkers]: and some hold, that God, whose name be exalted, created the Angels of the light of fire, and the Jinn of its flame [but this is at variance with the general opinion] and the Sheytáns of its smoke [which is also at variance with the common opinion]; and that [all] these kinds of beings are [usually] invisible to men, but that they assume what forms they please, and when their form becomes condensed they are visible.” - This last remark illustrates several descriptions of Jinnees in this work; where the form of the monster is at first undefined, or like an enormous pillar, and then gradually assumes a human shape and less gigantic size. The particular forms of brutes , reptiles, &c., in which the Jinn most frequently appear will be mentioned hereafter.
It is said that God created the Jánn [or Jinn] two thousand years before Adam [or, according to some writers, much earlier]; and that there are believers and infidels and every sect among them, as among men. Some say that a prophet, named Yoosuf, was sent to the Jinn: others, that they had only preachers, or admonishers: others, again, that seventy apostles were sent, before Mohammed, to Jinn and men conjointly. It is commonly believed that preadamite Jinn were governed by forty (or, according to some, seventy-two) kings, to each of which the Arab writers give the name of Suleymán (or Solomon); and that they derive their appellation from the last of these, who was called Jánn Ibn-Jánn, and who, some say, built the pyramids of Egypt. The following account of the preadamite Jinn is given by Al-Kazweenee.- “It is related in histories, that a race of Jinn, in ancient times, before the creation of Adam, inhabited the earth and covered it, the land and the sea, and the plains and the mountains; and the favours of God were multiplied upon them, and they had government, and prophecy, and religion, and law; but they transgressed and offended, and opposed their prophets, and made wickedness to abound in the earth; whereupon, God, whose name be exalted, sent against them an army of Angels, who took possession of the earth, and drove away the Jinn to the regions of the islands, and made many of them prisoners; and of those who were made prisoners was ’Azázeel [afterwards called Iblees, from his despair]; and a slaughter was made among them. At that time, ’Azázeel was young: he grew up among the Angels [and probably for that reason was called one of them], and became learned in their knowledge, and assumed the government of them; and his days were prolonged until he became their chief; and thus it continued for a long time, until the affair between him and Adam happened, as God, whose name be exalted, hath said, ‘When we said unto the Angels, Worship ye Adam, and [all] worshipped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn.’”
“Iblees,” we are told by another authority, “was sent as a governor upon the earth, and judged among the Jinn a thousand years, after which he ascended into heaven, and remained employed in worship until the creation of Adam.” The name of Iblees was originally, according to some, ’Azázeel (as before mentioned; and according to others, El-Hárith: his patronymic is Aboo-Murrah, or Abu-l-Ghimr. It is disputed whether he was of the Angels or of the Jinn. There are three opinions on this point. - 1. That he was of the Angels, from a tradition from Ibn-‘Abbás. - 2. That he was of the Sheytáns (or evil Jinn); as it is said in the Ku-rán, “except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn:” this was the opinion of El-Hasan El-Basree, and is that commonly held. - 3. That he was neither of the Angels nor of the Jinn; but created alone, of fire. - Ibn-‘Abbás founds his opinion on the same text from which El-Hasan El-Basree derives his: “When we said unto the Angels, Worship ye Adam, and [all] worshipped except Iblees, [who] was [one] of the Jinn” (before quoted: which he explains by saying, that the most noble and honourable among the Angels are called “the Jinn,” because they are veiled from the eyes of the other Angels on account of their superiority; and that Iblees was one of these Jinn. He adds, that he had the government of the lowest heaven and of the earth, and was called the Táoos (literally, Peacock) of the Angels; and that there was not a spot in the lowest heaven but he had prostrated himself upon it: but when the Jinn rebelled upon the earth, God sent a troop of Angels who drove them to the islands and mountains; and Iblees being elated with pride, and refusing to prostrate himself before Adam, God transformed him into a Sheytán. - But this reasoning is opposed by other verses, in which Iblees is represented as saying, “Thou has created me of fire, and hast created him [Adam] of earth.” It is therefore argued, “If he were created originally of fire, how was he created of light? For the Angels were [all] created of light.” - The former verse may be explained by the tradition, that Iblees, having been taken captive, was exalted among the Angels; or perhaps there is an ellipsis after the word “Angels;” for it might be inferred that the command given to the Angels was also (and à fortiori) to be obeyed by the Jinn.
According to a tradition, Iblees and all the Sheytáns are distinguished from the other Jinn by a longer existence. “The Sheytáns,” it is added, “are the children of Iblees, and die not but with him: whereas the [other] Jinn die before him;” though they may live many centuries. But this is not altogether accordant with the popular belief: Iblees and many other evil Jinn are to survive mankind; but they are to die before the general resurrection; as also even the Angels; the last of whom will be the Angel of Death, ’Azraeel: yet not all the evil Jinn are to live thus long: many of them are killed by shooting stars , hurled at them from heaven; wherefore, the Arabs, when they see a shooting star (shiháb), often exclaim, “May God transfix the enemy of the faith!” - Many also are killed by other Jinn; and some, even by men. The fire of which the Jinnee is created circulates in his veins, in place of blood: therefore, when he receives a mortal wound, this fire, issuing from his veins, generally consumes him to ashes. - The Jinn, it has been already shown, are peccable. They also eat and drink, and propagate their species, sometimes in conjunction with human beings; in which latter case, the offspring partakes of the nature of both parents. In all these respects they differ from the Angels. Among the evil Jinn are distinguished the five sons of their chief, Iblees; namely, Teer, who brings about calamities, losses, and injuries; El-Aawar, who encourages debauchery; Sót, who suggests lies, Dásim, who causes hatred between man and wife; and Zelemboor, who presides over places of traffic.
The most common forms and habitations or places of resort of the Jinn must now be described.
The following traditions from the Prophet are the most to the purpose that I have seen. - The Jinn are of various shapes; having the forms of serpents, scorpions, lions, wolves, jackals, &c. - The Jinn are of three kinds; one on the land; one in the sea; and one in the air. The Jinn consist of forty troops; each troop consisting of six hundred thousand. - The Jinn are of three kinds; one have wings, and fly; another are snakes, and dogs; and the third move about from place to place like men. - Domestic snakes are asserted to be Jinn on the same authority.
The Prophet ordered his followers to kill serpents and scorpions if they intruded at prayers; but on other occasions, he seems to have required first to admonish them to depart, and then, if they remained, to kill them. The Doctors, however, differ in opinion whether all kinds of snakes or serpents should be admonished first; or whether any should; for the Prophet, say they, took a covenant of the Jinn [probably after the above-mentioned command], that they should not enter the houses of the faithful: therefore, it is argued, if they enter, they break their covenant, and it becomes lawful to kill them without previous admonishment. Yet it is related that ’Áïsheh, the Prophet’s wife, having killed a serpent in her chamber, was alarmed by a dream, and, fearing that it might have been a Muslim Jinnee, as it did not enter her chamber when she was undressed, gave in alms, as an expiation, twelve thousand dirhems (about £300), the price of the blood of a Muslim.
The Jinn are said to appear to mankind most commonly in the shapes of serpents, dogs, cats or human beings. In the last case, they are sometimes of the stature of men, and sometimes of a size enormously gigantic. If good, they are generally resplendently handsome: if evil, horribly hideous. They become invisible at pleasure (by a rapid extension or rarefaction of the particles which compose them), or suddenly disappear in the earth or air, or through a solid wall. Many Muslims in the present day profess to have seen and held intercourse with them.
The Zóba’ah, which is a whirlwind that raises the sand or dust in the form of a pillar of prodigious height, often seen sweeping across the deserts or fields, is believed to be caused by the flight of an evil Jinnee. To defend themselves from a Jinnee thus “riding in the whirlwind,” the Arabs often exclaim “Iron! Iron!” (Hadeed! Hadeed!), or, “Iron! Thou unlucky! (Hadeed! yá mashoom!), as the Jinn are supposed to have a great dread of that metal: or they exclaim, “God is most great!” (Alláhu akbar!), A similar superstition prevails with respect to the water-spout at sea, as the reader may have discovered from the first instance of the description of a Jinnee in the present work, which occasions this note to be here inserted.
It is believed that the chief mode of the Jinn is in the mountains of Káf, which are supposed (as mentioned on a former occasion) to encompass the whole of our earth. But they are also believed to pervade the solid body of our earth, and the firmament; and to choose, as their principal places of resort, or of occasional abode, baths, wells, the latrina, ovens, ruined houses, market-places, the junctures of the roads, the sea, and rivers. The Arabs, therefore, when they pour water, &c., on the ground, or enter a bath, or let down a bucket into a well, or visit the latrina, and on various other occasions, say, “Permission!” or “Permission, ye blessed!” (Destoor! Or, Destoor yá mubara-keen!”). - The evil spirits (or evil Jinn), it is said, had liberty to enter any of the seven heavens till the birth of Jesus, when they were excluded from three of them: on the birth of Mohammed, they were forbidden the other four. They continue, however, to ascend to the confines of the lowest heaven, and there listening to the conversation of the Angels respecting things decreed by God, obtain knowledge of futurity, which they sometimes impart to men, who, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, make them to serve the purposes of magical performances. To this particular subject it will be necessary to revert. - What the Prophet said of Iblees, in the following tradition, applies to the evil Jinn over whom he presides: - His chief abode [among men] is the bath; his chief places of resort are the markets, and the junctures of roads; his food is whatever is killed without the name of God being pronounced over it; his drink, whatever is intoxicating; his muëddin, the mizmár (a musical pipe; i.e. any musical instrument); his kur-án, poetry; his written character, the marks made in geomancy; his speech, falsehood; his snares are women.
That particular Jinnees presided over particular places, was an opinion of the early Arabs. It is said in the Kur-án, “And there were certain men who sought refuge with certain of the Jinn.” In the commentary of the Jeláleyn, I find the following remark on these words: - “When they halted, on their journey, in a place of fear, each man said, ‘I seek refuge with the lord of this place, from the mischief of his foolish ones!’”. In illustration of this, I may insert the following tradition, translated from El-Kazweenee: - “It is related by a certain narrator of traditions, that he descended into a valley, with his sheep, and a wolf carried off a ewe from among them; and he arose, and raised his voice, and cried, ‘O inhabitant of the valley!’ whereupon he heard a voice saying, ‘O wolf, restore to him his sheep!’ and the wolf came with the ewe, and left her, and departed.” - The same opinion is held by the modern Arabs, though probably they do not use such an invocation. - A similar superstition, a relic of ancient Egyptian credulity, still prevails among the people of Cairo. It is believed that each quarter of the city has its peculiar guardian-genius, or Agathodæmon, which has the form of a serpent.
It has already been mentioned that some of the Jinn are Muslims; and others, infidels. The good Jinn acquit themselves of imperative duties of religion; namely, prayers, alms-giving, fasting during the month of Ramadán, and pilgrimage to Mekkeh and Mount ’Arafát: but in the performance of these duties they are generally invisible to human beings. Some examples of the mode in which good Jinn pay the alms required of them by the law, I have given in a former work.
Of the services and injuries done by Jinn to men, some account must be given.
It has been stated, that, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, men are said to obtain the services of Jinn; and the manner in which the latter are enabled to assist magicians, by imparting to them the knowledge of future events, has been explained. No man ever attained such absolute power over the Jinn as Suleymán Ibn-Dáood (Solomon, the Son of David). This he did by virtue of a most wonderful talisman, which is said to have come down to him from heaven. It was a seal-ring, upon which was engraved “the most great name” of God; and was partly composed of brass, and partly of iron. With the brass he stamped his written commands to the good Jinn; with the iron (for a reason before mentioned), those to the evil Jinn, or Devils. Over both orders, he had unlimited power; as well as over the birds and the winds, and, as is generally said, the wild beasts. His Wezeer, Ásaf the son of Barkhiya, is also said to have been acquainted with “the most great name,” by uttering which, the greatest miracles may be performed; even that of raising the dead. By virtue of this name, engraved in his ring, Suleymán compelled the Jinn to assist in building the Temple of Jerusalem, and in various other works. Many of the evil Jinn he converted to the true faith; and many others of this class, who remained obstinate in infidelity, he confined in prisons. He is said to have been monarch of the whole earth. Hence, perhaps, the name of Suleymán is given to the universal monarch of the preadamite Jinn; unless the story of his own universal dominion originated from confounding him with those kings of the Jinn.
The injuries related to have been inflicted upon human beings by evil Jinn are of various kinds. Jinnees are said to have often carried off beautiful women, whom they have forcibly kept as their wives or concubines. I have mentioned in a former work, that malicious or disturbed Jinnees are asserted often to station themselves on the roofs, or at the windows, of houses, and to throw down bricks and stones on persons passing by. When they take possession of an uninhabited house, they seldom fail to persecute terribly any person who goes to reside in it. They are also very apt to pilfer provisions, &c. Many learned and devout persons, to secure their property from such depredations, repeat the words “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!” on locking the doors of their houses, rooms, or closets, and on covering the bread-basket, or anything containing food. During the month of Ramadán, the evil Jinn are believed to be confined in prison; and therefore, on the last night of that month, with the same view, women sometimes repeat the words above mentioned, and sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments of their houses.
To complete this sketch of Arabian mythology, an account must be added of several creatures believed to be of inferior orders of the Jinn.
One of these is the Ghool, which is commonly regarded as a kind of Sheytán, or evil Jinnee, that eats men; and is described by some as a Jinnee or an enchanter who assumes various forms. The ghools are said to appear in the forms of various animals, and of human beings, and in many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds and other sequestered spots; to feed upon dead human bodies; and to kill and devour any human creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way: whence the term “Ghool” is applied to any cannibal. An opinion quoted by a celebrated author, respecting the Ghool, is, that it is a demoniacal animal, which passes a solitary existence in the deserts, resembling both man and brute; that it appears to a person travelling alone in the night and in solitary places, and, being supposed by him to be itself a traveller, lures him out of his way. Another opinions stated by him is this: that, when the Sheytáns attempt to hear words by stealth [from the confines of the lowest heaven], they are struck by shooting stars; and some are burnt; some, falling into the sea, or rather a large river (bahr), become converted into crocodiles; and some, falling upon the land, become Ghools. The same author adds the following tradition:- “The Ghool is any Jinnee that is opposed to travels, assuming various forms and appearances;” and affirms that several of the Companions of the Prophet saw Ghools in their travels; and that ’Omar, among them, saw a Ghool while on a journey to Syria, before El-Islám, and struck it with his sword. - It appears that “Ghool” is, properly speaking, a name only given to a female demon of the kind above described: the male is called “Kutrub.” It is said that these beings, and the Gheddár, or Gharrár, and other similar creatures which will presently be mentioned, are the offspring of Iblees and of a wife whom God created for him of the fire of the Samoon (which here signifies, as an instance before mentioned, “a smokeless fire”); and that they sprang from an egg. The female Ghool, it is added, appears to men in the deserts, in various forms, converses with them, and sometimes prostitutes herself to them.
The Sealáh, or Saaláh, is another demoniacal creature, described by some [or rather, by most authors] as of the Jinn. It is said that it is mostly found in forests; and that when it captures a man, it makes him dance, and plays with him as the cat plays with the mouse. A man of Isfahán asserted that many beings of this kind abounded in his country; that sometimes the wolf would hunt one of them by night, and devour it, and that, when it had seized it, the Sealáh would cry out, “Who will liberate me? I have a hundred deenárs, and he shall receive them!” but the people knowing that it was the cry of the Sealáh, no one would liberate it; and so the wolf would eat it. - An island in the sea of Es-Seen (or China) is called “the Island of the Sealáh,” by Arab geographers, from its being said to be inhabited by the demons so named: they are described as creatures of hideous forms, supposed to be Sheytáns, the offspring of human beings and Jinn, who eat men.
The Ghaddár, or Gharrár (for its name is written differently in two different MSS. In my possession), is another creature of a similar nature, described as being found in the borders of El-Yemen, and sometimes in Tihámeh, and in the upper parts of Egypt. It is said that it entices a man to it, and either tortures him in a manner not to be described, or merely terrifies him, and leaves him.
The Delhán is also a demoniacal being, inhabiting the islands of the seas, having the form of a man, and riding on an ostrich. It eats the flesh of men whom the sea casts on the shore from wrecks. Some say that a Dalhán once attacked a ship in the sea, and desired to take the crew; but they contended with it; whereupon it uttered a cry which caused them to fall upon their faces, and it took them. - In my MS. of Ibn-El-Wardee, I find the name “Dahlán.” He mentions an island called by this name, in the Sea of ’Omán; and describes its inhabitants as cannibal Sheytáns, like men in form, and riding on birds resembling ostriches.
The Shikk is another demoniacal creature, having the form of half a human being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed that the Nesnás is the offspring of a Shikk and of a human being. The Shikk appears to travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was killed by, ’Alkameh, the son of Safwán, the son of Umeiyeh; of whom it is well known that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-Kazweenee.
The Nesnás (above mentioned) is described as resembling half a human being; having half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it hops with much agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen; and that one was brought alive to El-Mutawekkil: it resembled a man in form, excepting that it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a tail like that of a sheep. The people of Hadramót, it is added, eat it; and its flesh is sweet. It is only generated in their country. A man who went there asserted that he saw a captured Nesnás, which cried out for mercy, conjuring him by God and by himself. A race of people whose head is in the breast is described as inhabiting an island called Jábeh (supposed to be Java), in the Sea of El-Hind, or India. A kind of Nesnás is also described as inhabiting the Island of Ráïj, in the Sea of Es-Seen, or China, and having wings like those of the bat.
The Hátif is a being that is heard, but not seen; and is often mentioned by Arab writers. It is generally the communicator of some intelligence in the way of advice, or direction, or warning.
Here terminating this long note, I must beg the reader to remark, that the superstitious fancies which it describes are prevalent among all classes of the Arabs, and the Muslims in general, learned as well as vulgar. I have comprised in it much matter not necessary to illustrate the introductory portion of this work, in order to avoid frequent recurrence to the same subject. Another apology for its length may also be offered: - its importance as confuting Schlegel’s opinion, that the frequent mention of Genii is more consistent with Indian than with Arab notions.

Note 4. Sing. of Jinn (Genii), being created of fire. The species of Jinn is said to have been created some thousands of years before Adam. According to a tradition from the Prophet, this species consists of five orders or classes; namely, Jann (who are the least powerful of all), Jinn, Sheytans (or Devils), ‘Efrits, and Marids. The last, it is added, are the most powerful; and the Jann are transformed Jinn; like as certain apes and swine were transformed men. The terms Jinn and Jann, however, are generally used indiscriminately, as names of the whole species (including the other orders above mentioned), whether good or bad; the former term in the more common. [Iblis is Satan, their King.] “Sheytan” is commonly used to signify any evil Jinn. An ‘Efrit is a powerful evil Jinni: a Madrid, an evil Jinni of the most powerful class. The Jinn (but generally speaking, evil ones) are called by the Persians Divs; the most powerful evil Jinn, Narahs (which signifies “males,” though they are said to be males and females); the good Jinn, Peris, though this term is commonly applied to females. 

-nemo vos seducat volens in humilitate et religione angelorum quae non vidit ambulans frustra inflatus sensu carnis suae-

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