Page 113 - World Religions I - Islam

class of angels created to guard Paradise.28
o "According to al-Qasim b. al-Hasan- al-Husayn Dawud- Hajjaj-Ibn Jurayj- Ibn `Abbas: Iblis was one of the
most noblest angels and belonged to the most honored tribe among them. He was a keeper of Paradise.
He had authority to rule over the lower heaven as well as earth." The first portion of each passage is the
isnad, or recorded line of transmission.
o "According to al-Qasim- al-Husayn- Hajjaj- Ibn Jurayj- Salih, the mawla of al-Taw'amah and Sharik b. Abir
Namir, either one or both of them- Ibn `Abbas: There was an angelic tribe of jinn, and Iblis belonged to it.
He governed all in between the heaven and the earth."
o "According to Musa b. Harun al-Hamdani- `Amr b. Hammad- Asbat- al-Suddi- Abu Malik and Abu Salih-
Ibn `Abbas. Also (al-Suddi)- Murrah al-Hamdani- Ibn Mas'ud and some (other)
o companions of the Prophet: Iblis was ruler over the lower heaven. He belonged to a tribe of angels called
jinn. They were called jinn because they were keepers of Paradise (al-jannah). In addition to being ruler,
Iblis was a keeper (of Paradise)."
• While the general consensus amongst Muslims is that jinn are spiritual and immaterial, this notion seems to be
at odds with some interesting facts stated in the Qur'an and the Hadith, both of which indicate that jinn have
physicality of some kind.
o Jinn are capable of procreation.
 "And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam; they made obeisance but Iblis (did
it not). He was of the jinn, so he transgressed the commandment of his Lord. What! would you
then take him and his offspring for friends rather than Me, and they are your enemies? Evil is
(this) change for the unjust." - Al-Kahf (The Cave) 18:50 (emphasis added)
• Other translations say: "Will ye choose him and his seed for your protecting friends
instead of Me...?"
• Ibn Kathir used this text to prove that jinn can actually procreate.29
• In light of this, the Hadith indicates that there are both male and female devils
(jinn).30. How is it that physical meteors, made from carbon dioxide or iron- nickel,
harm immaterial devils? And since meteors come in showers and travel in parallel
paths, are we to understand that the devils are all lined up in rows at the same
moment? See also the following Surahs: 15:16- 18; 72:8-9.
o Allah pelts the jinn with shooting stars and meteors.
 "Surely we have adorned the nearest heaven with an adornment, the stars, And (there is) a
safeguard against every rebellious Shaitan. They cannot listen to the exalted assembly and they
are thrown at from every side." - As- Saaffat (Those Who Set the Ranks) 37:8
 "And we have, (from of old), adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps, and We have made such
(Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones, and have prepared for them the Penalty of the
Blazing Fire." - Al-Mulk (The Sovereignty) 67:5
o Water is capable of affecting jinn.
 "The Prophet said, 'If anyone of you rouses from sleep and performs the ablution, he should
wash his nose by putting water in it and then blowing it out thrice, because Satan has stayed in
the upper part of his nose all the night.'" - Al- Bukhari 4:54:516
o Jinn are capable of bodily functions.
 They can urinate.31
 They can pass wind (fart).32
o Jinn have a diet of dung, bones, and charcoal.33 34
 Traditions record that a deputation of the jinn approached Muhammad and asked him not to
use their food (bones, dung, or charcoal) for cleaning themselves, so Muhammad forbade his
people from doing so.
o Muhammad claimed to have caught a jinn and intended to tie it to a pillar in the mosque, but he

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