Dought & clear - evil eye - Jinn entering human bodies.

In the last few days a controversy has arisen concerning the matter
ofjinn entering human bodies. Some say that this is rationally
impossible, because of the difference in the essences from which they
were created, as man was created from clay and the jinn from fire. It
has also been saidthat the shayaateen (devils) have no power other
than waswaas (insinuating whispers) and that Allaah has not given them
any power over man. And it is said that the recorded tapes that are in
circulation (recordings of jinn supposedly speaking through people)
are no proof of anything. What is your response to all this?
Praise be to Allaah.
The fact that jinn can enter human bodies is proven in the Qur'aan and
Sunnah, and by the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah, and by
real-life events. No one disputes this apart from the Mu'tazilah who
give priority to their own rational analysis over the evidence of the
Qur'aan and Sunnah. Wewill mention a little about this below:
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection)
except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan)
leadinghim to insanity. That is because they say: 'Trading is only
like Ribaa'…" [al-Baqarah 2:275]
Al-Qurtubi said in his Tafseer (part 3, p. 355): "This aayah is proof
that those people are wrong who deny that epilepsy is caused by the
jinn andclaim that its causes are only physical, and that the Shaytaan
does not enter people or cause madness."
Ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer (part 1, p. 32), after mentioning the
aayah quoted above: "They will not rise from their graves on the Day
of Resurrection except like the way in which the epileptic rises
duringhis seizure, when he is beaten by the Shaytaan. This is because
they will rise in a very bad state. Ibn 'Abbaas said: the onewho
consumes ribaa willrise on the Day of Resurrection crazy and choking."
According to a saheeh hadeeth narrated by al-Nasaa'i from Abu'l-Yusr,
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray:
"Allaahumma innee a'oodhu bika min al-taraddi wa'l-haram wa'l-gharaq
wa'l-harq, wa a'oodhu bika an yatakhabatani al-shaytaan 'ind al-mawt(
O Allaah, I seek refuge with You from being thrown from a high place,
old age, drowningand burning; and I seek refuge with You from being
beaten by the Shaytaan at the time of death)." Commenting on this
hadeeth in Al-Fayd (part 2, p.148), al-Manaawi said: "[The phrase]
'and I seek refuge with You from being beaten by the Shaytaan at the
time of death' means, lest he should wrestle with me and play with me,
and damage my religious commitment or mental state (at the time of
death) by means of his insinuating whispers which cause people to slip
or lose their minds. The Shaytaan could take control of a person when
he is about to depart this world, and misguide him or stop him from
repenting…"
Ibn Taymiyah (Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 42/276) said:"The fact that jinn can
enter human bodies is proven by the consensusof Ahl al-Sunnah
wa'l-Jamaa'ah. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 'Those who
eat Ribaa will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except likethe
standing of a person beaten by Shaytaan (Satan) leading him to
insanity. That is because they say: 'Trading is only like Ribaa'…'
[al-Baqarah2:275]. And in as-Saheeh it is narrated that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: 'The Shaytaan flows
through the son of Adam as the blood flows through his veins.'"
'Abd-Allaah ibn al-ImaamAhmad ibn Hanbal said; "I said to my father,
'There are some people who say that the jinn do not enter the body of
the epileptic.' He said: 'O my son, they are lying; the jinn could
speak through this person.'" Commenting on this, Ibn Qudaamah said:
"What he said is well known, because a person may suffer an epileptic
seizure and speak in a language that no one understands, and his body
may be beaten with blows that would fell a camel, but the epileptic
does not feel them at all, and he is also unaware of the words he is
saying. The epileptic and others maybe dragged about, or the carpet on
which he is sitting may be pulled, and utensils may be moved about
from place to place, and other things may happen. Anyone who witnesses
such a thing will know for sure that the one who is speaking
throughthe person and moving these things is not human." And he said,
may Allaah have mercy on him: "There is no one among the imaams of the
Muslims who denies that jinn may enter the body of the epileptic and
others. Anyone who denies that and claims that Islam denies it is
lying about Islam. There is nothing in the proofs of sharee'ah to show
that it does not happen."
So the fact that jinn may enter human bodies is proven in the Qur'aan
and Sunnah, and by the consensus of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah, some
of whose comments we have quoted above.
As regards the aayah (interpretation of the meaning): "but they could
not thus harm anyone except by Allaah's Leave" [al-Baqarah 2:102],
this is undoubtedly a clear indication that the jinn cannot harm
anyone through witchcraft or epilepsy or through any other kind of
disturbance or misguidance, except with the permission of Allaah. As
al-Hasan al-Basri said: "WhomeverAllaah wills, He gives them power
over him, and whomever He does not will, He does not give them power
over him, and they cannot do anything to anyone except with the
permission of Allaah." The Shaytaan (who is the disbelieving jinn) may
gain power over the believers by making them sin and by making them
neglect the remembrance and Tawheed of Allaah and sincerity in
worshipping Him. But he has no power over the righteous slaves of
Allaah, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, My slaves (i.e. thetrue believers of Islamic Monotheism) —
you have no authority over them. And All-Sufficient is your Lord as a
Guardian" [al-Israa' 17:65]
During the Jaahiliyyah the Arabs were well aware of this and mentioned
it in their poetry. For example, the poet al-A'shaa likened his
she-camel's energy tothat of one who was touched by the jinn, and said
that it was the jinn who was giving her her energy.
As regards the causes of epilepsy, Ibn Taymiyah explained (in Majmoo'
al-Fataawa, 19/39) the causes. He said: "When the jinn touch a person
with epilepsy, it may be because of desire or love, just as happens
between one human and another… or it may – as is usually the case – be
because of hatred and punishment, such aswhen a person has harmed them
or they think that he has harmed them deliberately, either by
urinating on them or pouring hot water on them or killing them, even
if the person did that unknowingly. Thereare ignorant and wrongdoing
ones among the jinn who may punish a person more than he deserves, or
they may be playing with him and mistreating him, like foolish people
among mankind."
And I say: the way to save oneself from this is to remember Allaah and
speak His Name at the beginning of all things, as it was reported that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
mention Allaah in many cases, such as when eating, drinking, mounting
his riding-beast, taking off his clothes for any reason, having
intercourse and so on…
As regards treatment (of one whose body has been entered by the jinn),
Ibn Taymiyah said (Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 19/42): "When the jinn attack a
person, they should be told of the rulings of Allaah and His
Messenger, proof should be established against them, and they should
be commanded to do what is good and told not to do what is evil, just
as should be done inthe case of people, as Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning): 'And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger
(to give warning)' [al-Israa' 17:15]." Then he said: "If the jinn does
not leave after being addressed in this manner, then it is permissible
to rebuke him, tell him off, threaten him and curse him, as the
Messenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did
with the Shaytaan when he came with a falling star to throw it in his
face, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "I seek refuge with Allaah from you and I curse youwith the
curse of Allaah" – three times. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari).We may also
seek help against the jinn by rememberingAllaah (dhikr) and reciting
Qur'aan, especially Aayat al-Kursi. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever recites it will remain under the
protection of Allaah and no shaytaan (devil) will be able to approach
him until the morning." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari). And al-Mi'wadhatayn
(the last two soorahs of the Qur'aan) may also be recited.
As for psychiatrists who do not treat the epilepticin the manner
described,they cannot do him any good at all.
This issue may be discussed in much more detail, but what we havesaid
here is sufficient forthose who want to know a little about this
matter, Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds.