The Tenth Ring (3)

'When the wind sweeps across the grass, the field has a ripple like a pond, and when it sweeps across the corn, the field waves to and fro like a high sea. That is called the wind's dance; but the wind does not dance only, he also tells stories; and how loudly he can sing out of his deep chest, and how different it sounds in the tree-tops in the forest, and through the loopholes and clefts and cracks in walls ! Do you see how the wind drives the clouds up yonder, like a frightened flock of sheep ? Do you hear how the wind howls down here through the open valley, like a watchman blowing his horn ? With wonderful tones, he whistles and screams down the chimney and into the fireplace. The fire crackles and flares up, and shines far into the room, and the little place is warm and snug, and it is pleasant to sit there listening to the sounds. Let the wind speak, for he knows plenty of stories, many more than are known to any of us. Just hear what the wind could tell.The wind tell a saga, 'There was a fisherman who, when young, had indiscreetly vowed not to cast his net above four times a day. This vow he religiously observed; though when he came to have a numerous family, he had often occasion to regret his having made it.

One morning, having thrown his net three times without the least success, he was almost wild with grief. Another cast only remained, which he determined to take with particular attention.

Having thrown it, instead of a fish he drew up only a small vessel of copper with a leaden seal to it. This seal he eagerly removed, in hopes of finding something valuable; but to his great mortification, the casket was empty. He threw it on the ground, and continued to eye it in a kind of despair, when he perceived a thick smoke to come out of it, which mounted to the clouds, and extending itself along the sea and shore, formed a great mist. When the smoke was all out of the vessel, it connected itself into one body which formed an enormous Jinn, who immediately said, 'Finally, I'm free!'

At the sight of so terrible a figure, at first, the fisherman would have fled, but was too much terrified that his legs seemed to be paralyzed. After calming down, and remembering Allah, took courage, and said, 'Thou proud spirit, what are you doing here?' The Jinn turning to his deliverer, with a fierce look said, 'Thou art very bold to call me a proud spirit. Speak to me more civilly before I kill thee.' 'Hah! Kill me?" replied the fisherman, 'I was never afraid of you!' Hearing this, without realizing it, the Jinn became smaller and smaller. Suddenly, the fisherman cupped him with the small vessel earlier. The fisherman instantly shut down the cover, 'Now, o Jinn, it is thy turn to entreat in vain. I will return thee to the sea whence I took thee, and will erect a monument to caution other fishermen if they chance to meet with thee, that they may be aware of such a wicked genie as thou art, who hassworn to kill thy deliverer!” The Jinn endeavored with his utmost force to get out of the vessel again; but the seal restrained him. Dissembling, therefore, his anger, he addressed the fisherman in a more pleasant tone ; begged him once more to remove the cover, and promised to reward him to his full satisfaction.

'Thou art a traitor!' replied the fisherman, 'And I should deserve to lose my life, if I was so foolish as to trust thee. I am more fortunate in being now out of your power, and having you in mine. I am now about to return you to the sea.'

'O my good friend,' replied the Jinn, 'Remember, revenge is forbidden, don't you want to know about me and my people?' 'How was that?' asked the fisherman. 'Ho!' replied the Jinn, 'Do you think I can tell stories in this confinement? Let me out, and I will tell you as many as you please.' 'No,' said the fisherman, 'I will not let you out; on the Contrary, I will this moment cast you back into the sea.' 'Hear me, I charge thee,' exlaimed the Jinn, if thou wilt deliver me, I swear, in the most solemn manner, that I will not hurt thee: on the contrary, I will tell you whatever thou desire.'

Overcome by this promise, the fisherman once more opened the vessel; and the Jinn, resuming his form, instantly kicked it into the sea. The fisherman was alarmed at this action, but the Jinn assured him, 'You are safe with me!'

Moments later, the fisherman said, 'Now tell me about thee and thy people!' The Jinn started to talk.

'We are Jinn, we are a world of our own, different from that of the humans or the angels. We do, common with humans, such as also have the ability to however, possess some characteristics in the ability to think and reflect. Similarly, choose between the path of good and the path of evil in the same manner as humans. We, though, differ from humans in other characteristics, including one very important characteristic: our origin.

We are called Jinn, because we are obscured from human sight. There is no doubt that the jinn were created before mankind, and Allah created us from marajin-min-naar (ما راج من نار ), the smokeless flame of fire, meaning something that mixed with the blackness of the fire. According to the scholars of language, the jinn are of different types. If one is mentioning the jinn purely of themselves, they are

called Jinni. If one is mentioning the jinn that live among mankind, they are called aamar, whose plural is amaar. If one is mentioning the ones that antagonize the young, they are called arwaah. If one is mentioning the evil ones that antagonize humans, they are called shaitan, for the singular, and shayateen, for plural. If they cause even more harm and become strong, they are called afreed. According to our beloved Prophet (ﷺ), there are three types of jinn: one that flies through the air, one that are snakes and dogs, and one which stay in places and travel about.

Satan, in the Arabic language, is a general term for any arrogant rebel. It is used, in general, for that one specific being because he was so arrogant and rebelled against his Rabb. Satan, which Allah mentions to us many times in the Quran, is from the world of the jinn. He used to worship Allah at the beginning of his creation. He lived among the angels in the heavens. He entered Paradise. But then he disobeyed Allah when he refused to prostrate to Adam, out of pride, arrogance and envy. Therefore Allah cast him out of from His mercy. He is called taaghoot, because he has transgressed the limits, rebelled against his

Rabb and tried to set himself up as a god to be worshipped. Satan has despaired of any chance of mercy from Allah and for that reason, Allah has named him Iblees, means he has no good in him, and also means despaired and lost. Many of the early scholars have mentioned that his name before he disobeyed his Rabb was azaazeel. Allah knows best.

The jinn, and Satan among them, eat and drink. The food for the Jinn, are bones or dung, and everything which the name of Allah has not been mentioned. So, humans are not allowed to clean themselves with that kind of things. Satan eats and drinks with his left hand, and you, humans, are ordered to be different from them in this respect, for whoever eats with his or her left hand, Satan eats with him or her, and whoever drinks with his or her left hand, Satan drinks with him or her.

In the same manner that it is prohibited for man to eat any meat that has not had the name of Allah pronounced over it, it is permitted the believing jinn to eat any bone that has had the name of Allah pronounced over it. They are not permitted to eat meat over which Allah's name has not been mentioned. All that has been eaten without having the name of Allah mentioned over it, provides food for the non-believing jinn who are the shayateen. In other words, the shayateen seek as permissible all the food that has not had the name Allah mentioned over it. This is why many scholars are of the opinion that carrion that have died by themselves, are food for the shayateen, for the name of Allah was not mentioned over them. As for how the Jinn eat and drink, neither Allah or His Messenger (ﷺ) have informed you, o human, of such matters, so let such knowledge stays in the hand of Allah, the Wise.'

The fisherman wanted to know, 'Do the jinn marry and procreate?' The Jinn replied, 'It is apparent that the Jinn do have sexual intercourse. To prove this, some of the scholars refer to the description of the maidens in paradise. Allah says concerning them,

فِيْهِنَّ قٰصِرٰتُ الطَّرْفِۙ لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ اِنْسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَاۤنٌّۚ

'In both ˹Gardens˺ will be maidens of modest gaze, who no human or jinn has ever touched before.' [QS, Ar-Rahman (55):56]

One still hears about some man marrying a jinn or some woman marrying one of the jinn or a woman being proposed to by one of the jinn. Many such reports from the early generations and scholars pointing to the existence of marriages between humans and jinn. Assuming it is possible, many of the scholars showed a dislike

for such a marriage. Scholars such as Imam Malik, rahimahullah, could not find any text that would prohibit it, but he himself did not like for it to occur and he gave his reason for saying so, 'I hate that it would be the case that we would find a woman who is pregnant and we ask her, 'Who is your husband?' and she replies, 'One of the jinn.' Much evil would be the result of that.'

A group of people are of the opinion that it is not permitted to marry from the jinn. From the blessings of Allah, is that He created for mankind spouses of their own species. If it could occur, it would not be possible to have that companionship and love between the spouses, due to their different species. The goal and wisdom of marriage would not be attainable.

In any case, although people claim that such marriages occur and have occurred in the past, if such does occur, it is rare and strange. Furthermore, the one who performs it must seek the Islamic ruling concerning it. It could be the case that the one who does it is, in a sense, overpowered and has no way to escape that situation.'

The fisherman further asked, 'Do the satan die?' The Jinn answered, 'There is no doubt that the jinn, and the devils among them, do die. Concerning the length of their lives, we do not know much except what Allah has said concerning the accursed Satan who has been given respite and life until the Day of Judgment. Concerning other jinn or satan, we do not know their lifespans. But we do know that their lifespans are longer than that of the humans. Further evidence that they do die is the report that Khaalid ibn Waleed, killed the satan of al-Uza, a tree that the Arabs used to worship. And a Companion killed a jinn that took the shape of a serpant.

The jinn live upon the same earth as humans do. Most of them, can be found among the ruins and dilapidated areas, as well as the places where there are many impure things, such as, bathrooms, hashish dens, the places of the camels, cemeteries. For that reason, those people who are close to Satan, usually inhibit such areas. One should not pray in bathrooms due to the impurities present and because it is the abode of Satan, or in cemeteries as this leads to polytheism and it is also a home for the shayateen.

Many of them, are in the places which may be sources of evil, such as the marketplaces, where the shayateen raise their banner. So, if you can, do not be the first one to enter the marketplace, and do not be the last to leave it.

The shayateen live in the same houses in which people live. One can stop them from entering or repel them from such houses by mentioning Allah, reciting the Quran, in particular, surah al-Baqara and verse 255 of that surah, the verse of the Throne. The shayateen spread out and roam about increasingly when the dark first comes, and, therefore, he has advised Muslims to bring in their children during that period of time. And the shayateen run away from the call to prayer and cannot stand listening to it. And in the month of Ramadhaan, they are chained.

The shayateen love to sit between the shade and the sunlight, hence the Muslims are forbidden to sit in such places. They also possess animals and that the fodder for their animals is the dung of the animals of mankind. The shayateen accompany some animals such as camels, therefore, Muslims are prohibited from praying in the pastures of the camels, but it is permissible to pray in the fields of the sheep, for they are blessed. Some say the reason it is forbidden to pray in the places of the camels, is that their urine and dung are impure. Actually, the urine and the dung of any animal that is permissible to eat, is not considered impure.'

The shayateen love to sit between the shade and the sunlight, hence the Muslims are forbidden to sit in such places. They also possess animals and that the fodder for their animals is the dung of the animals of mankind. The shayateen accompany some animals such as camels, therefore, Muslims are prohibited from praying in the pastures of the camels, but it is permissible to pray in the fields of the sheep, for they are blessed. Some say the reason it is forbidden to pray in the places of the camels, is that their urine and dung are impure. Actually, the urine and the dung of any animal that is permissible to eat, is not considered impure.'

The fisherman asked again, 'What are their abilities and strength? And what are their weaknesses?' The Jinn replied, 'Pardon me! Thou art asked more than three. Normally, in fairy tales, the Jinn only offers three wishes.' The fisherman retorted, 'Really? You've promised me, you would tell me whatever I pleased? Don't be like Mukeedee, who often breaks his promise.' The genie retorted, 'Careful my friend, someone will tell the police, on charges of leaking the trench secrets!' The fisherman chuckled, saying, 'Mukeedee often breaks his promises, because he has amnesia!' The Jinn nodded. Then the fisherman said, 'Now, please, tell me what I ask for!'

[Part 4]

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