It is a basic belief in many religions and cultures that Jinns(spirits) do exist and can interfere with the world in which we live. These beings are part of the unseen(Ghayb in islamic arabic). It must be clear that only God is wholly acquainted with the unseen. God says in the glorious quran that the quran is the book of those who believe in the unseen.(quran 2:3). It has been observed that some people can communicate with jinns knowingly or unknowingly. Jinns communicate either with visions or voices. Voices are heard without any presence or just from objects such as trees and animals. But the main way in which jinns will communicate will be through visions. Many times it will concern those involved in the practice of magic and those worshiping devils and other forms of beings from the unseen. Whereas visions can be good signs to guide a righteous person, demonic visions are just ways to frighten people or misguide them from the straight path by letting them follow their whims and desires and disobey their Lord. The soul is fragile and manipulable and visions can twist a weak soul and misguide a person from the straight path.
Dreams and visions
Everyone dreams, weather he is a believer or a disbeliever, a child or an adult. Even little babies dream but only a few can remember their dreams. According to scholars, Adam even Adam had a dream. Wahab bin Munabbih related: “God said to Adam: ‘Have you seen among my creation anyone that resembles you?’ Adam replied: ‘My Lord, Thou hast blessed me, and honored me among Thy creation and I have not seen anyone that looks like me. Bless me Lord with a mate, so I may dwell with her in tranquility, and we may both worship Thee and glorify Thee.’ God Almighty then caused Adam to repose, and He showed him Eve in a vision. When Adam opened his eyes, he
saw Eve sitting near him. God Almighty created Eve from Adam’s rib and made her look like him.”
When the prophet (pbuh) explained the main types of dreams, he mentioned prophetic dreams(true dreams) that are dreams of righteous people and servants of God. Even though they might be trickery as they can be symbols, their main purpose is to guide someone to the right path. They bring glad tidings or warnings. For instance the prophet(pbuh) dreamt about the Quraish on the eve of the battle of Badr between the believers and the Quraish tribe of Mecca. “And remember when God showed them to thee as few in thy dream-” (Qur’an 8:43).There is an authentic prophetic tradition where the prophet (pbuh) is reported saying: “A true dream represents one of forty-six branches of a prophecy. “ Demonic dreams on the other are messages from the Satans to discourage or frighten or misguide someone. After such a dream one is deceived or frightened.
The interpretation of dreams is a very sensible issue. Apart from the above mentioned categories, the majority of dreams are just images created from of thoughts according to our desires. Dreams have been approached in our century by religious and non religious scholars as well. Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung among others are among scientists whose studies of dreams laid the foundation of` psychology and psychoanalysis. But the foundation of the interpretation of dreams in Islamic monotheism is based of the notes of Muhammad Ibn Sireen.
Demonic visions
Demonic visions can occur as a result of being a victim of black magic or the Evil eye. Black magic is a very complicated issue and in acknowledged in every culture. Even though some scientists and rationalists and even religious scholars will deny the existence of black magic and say that it is just imagination and illusion, black magic can be harmful. There are various verses in the quran referring to black magic. There is an approach viewing black magic as just a manipulation of the sight. In this case black magic is considered as something that does affect only our perception. There are verses of the quran that have brought scholars to argue that black magic is trickery. In the story of Moses facing the magicians of Pharaoh, “ it seemed under the effect of their black magic that their ropes and sticks were sliding”( quran 20:65). But since the prophet(pbuh) himself was victim of black magic and received the revelation of the 2 last chapters of the glorious quran that he used to cure it, it is clear that black magic is not just an illusion and can cause an ailment. Moreover black magic can be dangerous as it can used to separate a man from his wife and severe relations between husband and wife and severe family ties among others(quran 2:102). There are worst cases were black magic can lead to destruction and death. As a matter of cause black magic is forbidden by the shariah, Abu Hurayra reported that the prophet(pbuh) said that when the prophet advised people to avoid the seven serious sins and when they asked him what they are , he replied:
“Shirk(polytheism, black magic(sorcery), unlawful killing of a person, taking usury, taking an orphan’s wealth, retreat at the time of Jihad, and accusing chaste wife of fornication.”
The most dangerous form of black magic is that performed by a sorcerer. A sorcerer can work together with the Satanic Jinns to provide services to people for a price. The sorcerer will fulfill Satan’s request by committing some polytheistic acts. The actions
lidle opening lidle v are mostly blasphemous and disgusting . The demons will then communicate with the sorcerer or his client through demonic visions. Demonic visions are different from good dreams in the sense that those who see them are involved in unlawful practices or incantations and are never righteous people. The guidance of God through dreams meant to the righteous servants of God who are acknowledged as pious people in their respective communities. But it does not mean that others cannot see good dreams. Demonic visions are mostly received either by those practicing magic or those seeking help from magicians when they are themselves victims of Black magic. It is recommended to avoid seeking help from some devils against others. It is ague that the evil Jinns can sometimes really fulfill a request but many times they do not because the jinns against which they are helping can be stronger than the Jinn of the victims of sorcery. In this case reliance on God and his commandments is the best way to protect oneself against any being from the unseen. And is it mostly the case that the incantations of the devil-worshipers contain statements of idolatry and disbelief. Evil worshipers are among Christians, Jews, and heretical Muslims and they are all capable of receiving the responses of their incantations from these demonic visions. Understanding demonic visions can help one make the difference between fake visions, and visions from God to guide his servants on the straight path. It is recommended to memorize and constantly recite Ayatul Kursi, the verse of the throne(quran: 2:255) to ward off the effect of demonic visions and to seek protection in God against Satan using the 2 last chapters of the glorious quran for example.
Post-Scriptum and disclaimer
Praise be to Allah Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon the seal of the prophets Muhammad, his family, his companions and his followers. I bear witness that there is no God but God, and that he revealed wisdom to a series of messengers and that Moses and Jesus were his messengers, and that Muhammad is his last messenger. I am not a Muslim scholar and I have no claim that I fulfill any the qualities a scholar should posses. I am just sharing my own understanding of some relevant spiritual topics related to spirituality in general and Islam particularly in the light of the quran and the sunna as well as other sources. May God guide us all and make our work useful…
Sources:
1.Sword against Black magic and evil magicians; Wahid Ibn Adbdelssalam bali
- The Interpretation of dreams, Ibn Sireen
- Ibn Taymiyya Essay of the Jinn(Demons)
