"IBN TAYMEEYAH'S ESSAY ON THE JINN (DEMONS)"

Based on "Eedah ad-Dalaalah fee 'Umoom ar-Risaalah", from volume 19 of
"Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa" (A Collection of Religious Rulings); volume 35
of"Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa" and Ibn Taymeeyah's classic, " Al-Furqaan
Bayna Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan."
Note: All remarks that arebracketed in the text are made by Bilal Phillips
THE AUTHOR
Ahmad ibn 'Abdul-Haleemibn Taymeeyah was born in the town of Harran
[near Edessa, in what wasonce Northern Iraq, but isnow called Orfa and
is a part of Turkey.], in the year 1263 CE. His father was a leading
scholar of the Hanbalite school of Islamic law and so was his
grandfather, who authored Muntaqaa al-Akhbaar, the text of
ash-Shawkaanee's Hadeeth classic Nayl al-Awtaar.
Ibn Taymeeyah mastered the various disciplines of Islamic study at an
early age and read extensively the books of the various sects and
religions in existence at that time. Much of his time and effort was
spend defending the orthodox Islamic position against atidal wave of
deviation which had swept over the Muslim nation. Consequently, he
faced many difficulties from both the prominent sectarian scholars of
his time and from the authorities who supported them. His clashes with
them led to his imprisonment on numerous occasions. Ibn Taymeeyah also
fought, not only against internal enemies of Islam, but alsoagainst
its external enemies by both his Fatwaas (Islamic legal rulings) and
his physical participation in battles. His ruling allowing the taking
up arms against groups which recognizedthe Shahaadataan (declaration
of faith) but refused to uphold some aspects of the fundamental
principles of Islam, greatly affected the resistance movement against
the Tartars who had declared their acceptance of Islam but did not
rule according to divine law.
During these struggles hewrote countless books and treatises
demonstrating his extensive reading and knowledge, not only of the
positions of the early scholars, but also those ofthe legal and
theological schools which had subsequently evolved. Ibn Taymeeyah also
had a major effect on the open-minded scholars of his day, most of
whom were from the Shaafi'ite school of law. Among the most famous of
his students were IBN KATHEER, ADH-DHAHABEE and IBN AL-QAYYIM. The
author died in 1328 while in prison in Damascus for his Fatwaa against
undertaking journeys to visit the graves of saints [Ibn Taymeeyah's
ruling was based on the authentic statement reported by Abu Hurayrah
wherein the Prophet Muhammad (saws) said, "Do not undertake a journey
except to three masjids; this masjid of mine, Masjid al-Haraam
(Makkah) and Masjid al-Aqsaa (Bayt al-Maqdis)." Collected by
Al-Bukhaaree and Muslim]. His Fatwaa had been distorted by his enemies
to say that he forbade visiting the Prophet Muhammad's (saws) grave.
CHAPTER THREE: DEMONIC VISIONS
Those involved in incantations and oaths often swear by some devils to
help them against others. Sometimes the evil JINN fulfill their
request but frequently they do not, especially when the JINN against
whom help is sought is honored among them. Neither the one chanting
incantations nor his incantations have any power to force the devils
to help them. The reciter of incantations earnestly entreats a being
whom he considered great - which may or may not bethe case - to harm
others who may conceivably be greater. In the case where someone
entreats the JINN to harm someone whom the JINN hold in high esteem,
theywill ignore him. In fact, it may prevent them from even responding
at all. Their situations is quite similar to that of humans except
that human beings are generally more intelligent, truthful,just and
trustworthy while the JINN tend to be ignorant, untruthful, oppressive
and treacherous.
The point is that though the oaths and incantations of
devil-worshippers may containstatements of idolatry and disbelief,
they are frequently ineffective against the JINN. When requested to
kill or apprehend another JINN who has possessed a human, the JINN
will often mock those who make the request by falsely giving them the
impression that they killed or detained the offending JINN. This is
especially so in cases where humans believe inthe illusions created by
the JINN. The JINN usually communicate by either visions or voices
["The gleaning of hidden information by way of visions and voices has
been well documented among clairvoyants and mediums. 'A medium' may be
defined as a person through whose agency or through whose organism
there are received communications ostensibly from deceasedhuman beings
or other discarnate or remote entities. In what is called 'clairvoyant
mediumship' -now popularly known aschanneling- the medium 'sees' or
'hears' the deceased friends and relatives of persons present and
relays messages from them. Generally speaking, the experiences
concerned seem not to have the distinctness of ordinary perception but
are rathera seeing or hearing 'in the mind's eye' or ear. Sometimes,
however, thefigures seen or voices heard may attain as hallucinatory
vividness; the medium's experience then resembles that of one who
witnesses an apparition." (Benjamin B.Wolman. ed., Handbook of
Parapsychology, New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1977, pp,
579-580)] with those seeking information among the idol-worshippers,
Christians, Jews, and heretical Muslims driven astray by the devils.
JINNSmay take the form of a live picture portraying whatever the
sorcerers and fortunetellers wish to know about. When these deviants
see the image of what they sought, they then inform other humans about
it. Some of them may know that the image is actually an illusion,
while others may be deluded into believing that they are actually
witnessing the real scene. JINNS may alsomake humans hear the voice of
those whom they call upon who are far away. Such cases are frequent
among idolaters, Christians, Jewsand ignorant Muslims who seek refuge
in thosewhom they consider holy. When some devotees call on their
spiritual masters for help saying, "Oh my Lord so and so!" the JINN
will address them in the voiceof their masters. When the masters
answer their request, the JINN, in turn,answer the devotees in the
masters' voice. This has happened to many people some of whom are
known to me. The devils will often respond while talking the form of
the one besought, whether dead or alive, even if he is unaware of
those who call on him. Those committing Shirk in this fashion believe
that the person beseeched has actually replied when in fact it is the
JINN replying. This frequently happens to Christians who call on those
whom they edify, whether dead or alive, like George or other holy
figures [ROME, Feb 24 1989 (AFP) - A retired Italian roadman Renato
Baron claims that he has been seeing and talking to the Virgin Mary
for nearly three years now. Visions by Baron and about THIRTY others
haveattracted tens of thousands of people from Italy, France, Belgium,
and West Germany to a hill near Venice, causing huge traffic jams.
Ambridge, Pennsylvania -A small Roman Catholic Church in a western
Pennsylvania mill town is preparing for a deluge ofpilgrims after a
reported Good Friday miracle in which the eyes of a statue of Christ
suddenly closed. The Rev. Vincent Cvitkovic, a Franciscan friar, and
many of his parishioners reported that the eyes of a life-sizestatue
which depicts the crucified Christ, which have been open for 60 years,
closed during a prayer meeting. (The Times, Monday, April 10th1989,
no. 63, 364, p.8)
In 1981 a group of five children were playing on a hill just outside
of a village in the YugoslavianRepublic of Bosnia - Herzegovina called
Medugorje when a visionof a beautiful woman claiming to be the Blessed
Virgin Mary appeared before them. Since 1981 some seven toeight
million pilgrims from different countries, cultures and Christian
traditions have climbed up the holy hill of Medugorje. At 7:30 every
evening pilgrims and tourists anxiously crowd around the dark rectory
of a nearby church staring at the stream of light which will signify
that once more the children, who still gather there daily, are having
their private audience with the Blessed Mother. (IRF, Newsletter of
the International Religious Foundation, Inc., Vol II, No. 6, Nov-Dec
1987, pp 1-2).
Divine grace (salvation) isfelt to be especially potent in places
visited by Jesus Christ or Saints or by Mary; where they have appeared
in visions.Major pilgrimage centers include Lourdes where visions of
the Virgin Marywere first seen in 1858 and where healing has been
occurring since thattime. (John R. Hinnells, ed., Dictionary of
Religions, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1984, p. 284)]. It
alsooccurs to heretical Muslims who call on the dead or those not
present, and the devils take the form of the one called upon even
withouthim realizing it. I know of many cases where this has occurred
and the people called upon have told me that they did not know that
they were called upon, though those beseeching them for help saw their
imagesand were convinced that it was the actual person. More than one
person has mentioned that they called on me in times of distress, each
telling a different story about how I have responded. When I told them
that I never answered any of them nor did I know that they were
calling on me, some said that it must have been an angel. I told them
that angels do not benefit those committing SHIRK and that it was
actually a devil trying to further misguide them.
Sometimes the Jinn will take the form of those admired and stand at
'Arafat, and those who believe well of him will think that he actually
stood in 'Arafat. Many others have also been actually carried by the
devils to 'Arafat and other sacred places. In such cases they pass the
Meeqaat (boundaries that may not be crossed while on Hajj, around
Makkah) without formally entering the state of Ihraam, or performing
many of the obligatory rites of Hajj like making the Talbeeyah (chant
of response to God's call) or circulating the Ka'bah, and walking
between the mounts of Safaa and Marwah. Among them are some who do not
even pass through Makkah, others who stand at 'Arafat without
performing the pre-requisite rite of casting stones at the Jamaraat
etc. It is by these and other similar feats that Satan leads seemingly
pious people in misguidance. Sincere devotees among heretics are in
this way enticed todo acts which are prohibited (Haraam) or despised
(Makrooh) in the religion. Satan is ableto make such misdeeds
appealing to them by convincing them that they are among the Karaamaat
(supernatural or quasi-miraculous feats) of the righteous. However
they are, without a doubt, Satanic deceptions because Allah cannot be
worshipped byany religious injunction which is neither compulsory
(Waajib) nor recommended (Mustahabb). Whoever performs an act of
worship which is neither Waajib nor Mustahabb believing that it is so,
hasbeen deceived by Satan. Even if it is decreed that such a person
will be forgiven due to his good intention and striving, the act
itself is still unacceptable to Allah [Anexample may be seen in the
mistaken belief held by some that a man's head must be covered while
he is in formal prayer - Salaah - as is the case among Jews or that a
woman's hair to be covered while reading the Qur'aan. However, the
Prophet saws did not order that it be done nor recommended it but
merely followed the customs of his people during that time.]. Such
acts are not among the things with which Allah honors His pious
servantswho are close to Him, as there is no honor in performing
prohibited (Haraam) or despised (Makrooh) acts [Such is the case of
the celebration of the Prophet's saws birthday -'Eed Meelaad an-Nabee
- which probably began among ignorant Muslims trying to outdo or at
leastcompete with the Christians's celebrations of Christmas. Meelaad
celebrations are a form of innovation - Bid'ah - inreligion which has
been forbidden by the Prophetsaws who said: "Whoeverinnovates in this
affair ouf ours - i.e. Islam - something which does not belong to it
will be rejected. - Reported by 'Aa'eshah and collected by Al-Bukaaree
and Muslim]. Divine honor liesin protecting one whom Allah loves from
such actsand preventing him fromdoing them. For, committing misdeeds
debases one who does them and does not in anyway favor him, even if
heis not punished for doingthem. Doing despised or Haraam acts MUST
decrease the spiritual level of both the one who does them as well
ashis followers who praise such acts and glorify him.For, heaping
praise on prohibited and despised acts, and honoring the one who does
them is definitely a form of deviation from the path of Allah. The
more and more a man innovates in the religion as a result of
independent judgment (Ijtihaad), the further he becomes from Allah,
because innovation (Bid'ah) removes him from Allah's path; the divine
path of "those who Allah has blessed from among the prophets, the
sincerely truthful, martyrs and righteous" [An-Nisaa 4:69] unto the
path of"those with whom Allah is angry and those who have gone astray"
[Al-Faatihah 1:7]. Ibn Taymeeyah mentioned the following [This begins
a segment from vol.35 of Ibn Taymeeyah'scompendium, Majmoo'
al-Fataawaa.] historical incident concerning al-Hallaaj [Al-Husain ibn
Mansoor al-Hallaj (858-922 CE) studied under the eminent Sufi teachers
of his time (Tustaree, 'Amr Makee and Junaid) then broke with them and
went out into this world to preach asceticism and mysticism in
Khurasan, Ahwaz, Fars, India and Turkistan. On his return to Baghdad
from Makkah in 908, many were attracted by his teachings, and
disciples rapidly gathered around him. He taught that the five pillars
of Islam may be replaced by other works. He also taught about the
existence of an uncreated Divine spirit (Rooh Naatiqah) which becomes
united with the created spirit of the ascetic through desire of and
submission to suffering.
In his teachings the Saint (Walee) became the living and personal
witness of God (H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramers, Encyclopedia of Islam,
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1st ed., 1953, pp 127-80).
Consequently he stated inhis book: "If you do not recognize God, at
least recognize His sign, I am the creative truth -Ana al-Haqq-,
because through the truth, I am eternal truth. My friends and teachers
are Iblees (Satan) and Pharaoh. Iblees was threatened with Hellfire,
yet, he did not recant. Pharaoh was drowned in the sea, yet he did not
recant, for he would not acknowledge anything between him and God
(i.e. Hallaaj felt that Iblees' refusal to prostrate to Aadam and
Pharaoh's statement "I am your Lord, most High"were correct!). And, I,
though, I am killed and crucified and though my hands and feet are cut
off; I do not recant." - Kitaab al-Tawaaseen, Massignon Press, Paris,
1913, vi, 32. The leading scholars from all orthodox schools of
Islamic law as well as the leading Shi'ite scholars and some of his
former Sufi teachers declared him a heretic and he was subsequently
executed due to his refusal to retract his claim to be
thepersonification of God onearth.] and a group of hisfollowers, "Some
of themrequested some sweets from al-Hallaaj, so he got up and went to
a spot a short distance away, thenreturned with a plateful of sweets.
It was later discovered that it had been stolen from a candyshop in
Yemen and carried by a devil to that area." Ibn Taymeeyah went on to
say,"Incidents similar to this have happened to others who, like
al-Hallaaj, also achieved the pinnacle of satanic states, and we know
of quite a few suchpeople in our time as well as other times. For
instance, there is a person presently residingin Damascus whom the
devil used to carry from the Saaliheeyah mountain to villages around
Damascus. He would appear out of the air and enter the windows of
houses in which people were gathered to witness his 'miraculous
entrance.'" Ibn Taymeeyah also quoted another mystic master who
admitted that he used to fornicate with women and sodomize young boys.
The former mystic mastersaid, "A black dog ["Abu Dharr reported: The
Messenger of Allah said: 'When any one of you stands for prayer it
should be towards something that shields him equivalent (in height) to
the back of a saddle, otherwise his prayer will be broken by passing
of a donkey, a woman or a black dog.' I asked 'O Abu Dharr, what is
the difference betweena black dog, a red dog and tan-colored dog?' He
replied, 'O son of my brother, I also asked Allah's Messenger as you
are asking me, and he said: 'The black dog is a devil.'" (Saheeh
Muslim and all other in the six Saheeh books with the exception of
Saheeh al-Bukhaaree)] with two white spots between his eyes would come
to me and say, 'Verily such and such a person has made an oath by you
and he will come to you tomorrow to inform you about it. I have
already fulfilled his need for yoursake.' [When questioned during his
trial, the infamous New York City mass murderer of the seventies, "Son
of Sam", claimed that a dog used to come in backyard of his house and
tell him to kill his victims. It was assumed by the court andhis
psychiatrists that he was mentally deranged and the dog a figment of
his imagination.] The person would then come to him the next day and
the Sufi master would reveal the details of his oath to him and how it
was fulfilled. The Sufi master went on to say, 'I used to walk about
the city and a black pole witha light on top of it would lead the
way.' " Ibn Taymeeyah said, "When the Sufi master repented and began
to pray, fast, and avoid the forbidden, the black dog went away." He
also narrated the following about another mystic master who had the
aid of devilswhom he would dispatchto possess people: "Whenthe family
of the possessed would come tohim seeking a cure, he would send a
message to his demon companion and they would leave thepossessed
persons, as a result, the Shaykh would be given many dirhams for his
services. Sometimes the Jinn would bring him dirhamsand food which
they stole from people, so much so that the Shaykh would request dates
from his devils and they would take them from beehives in which some
people had hidden their dates. When the beehive owners would look for
their dates they would find them gone."
About yet another mystic,Ibn Taymeeyah relates,"There was a Shaykh
knowledgeable in the religious sciences and Qur'anic recitation to
whom the devils came and eventually managed to seduce. They told him
that Salaah was no longer required of him and that they would bring
him whatever he wished. As soon as he complied with their wishes, they
began to bring him a variety of sweets and fruit. This continued until
he was advised to repent by some scholars that he visited who were
firmly following the Sunnah. Hesubsequently repented and repaid the
owners ofthe sweets for what he ate while under the influence of the
JINN." Hethen went on to say,"Many of those who call on Shaykhs in
time of need saying, 'O master so and so, or Shaykh so and so, fulfill
my need' have seen an image of the Shaykh saying, 'I will fulfill your
need and put your heart at ease,' then it fulfills their needs or
repels their enemies. In such cases it is a devil taking the Shaykh's
form when they committed Shirk by associating partners with Allah and
calling on others beside Him." Ibn Taymeeyah then went on to enumerate
similar instances involving himself saying, "I know of many such
incidences even among a group of my companions who called on me in
times when they were struck by calamities. One was afraid of the
Romans andanother of the Tatars. Both of them mentioned that they
called out to me, they saw me in the air and I repelled their enemies
for them. I informed them that I did not hear their cries no did I
repel their enemies. It was a devil taking my appearance to seduce
them when they associated partners with Allah the Almighty. Similar
incidents have also happened to the students of my contemporaries
among the scholars, whereby some of their students have sought refuge
in them and have seen them fulfill their needs. The scholars have also
denied doing so and indicated that it was in fact the work of devils."
[Majmoo' Al-Fataawaa, Vol. 35, pp. 112-116]
In another book, Ibn Taymeeyah said, "I know people whom the plants
greet and inform them oftheir beneficial ingredients, however it is,
in fact, Satan who has entered the plants and spoken to them. I also
know of others to whom stones and trees speak saying,
"Congratulations, Oh friend of Allah" and when the people recite
Aayatul-Kursee it stops. I am acquainted with yet others who have gone
bird-hunting and the sparrows addressed themsaying, "Take me so that
the poor may eat me." Such are cases of the evil JINN possessing the
birds in the same way that others who, while in their house with the
doors and vice versa [Many of those in our times who have claimed what
is known as 'out-of-body experiences' or 'astral-travel' have recorded
in vivid detail incidences similar to those mentioned by Ibn
Taymeeyah. Others have met beings which claimed to be guides, guardian
spirits or their higher selves. However, the common thought which
links most of theseexperiences is the ultimate expression of idolatry:
that man is God, as was expressed by Al-Hallaaj and countless others
before and after him.] He may even be taken through the closed city
gates and back againswiftly by the JINN. Lightsmay shine on him or
someone looking like his friend may call on him but, if he recites
Aayatul-Kursee continually, it will all dissappear." He also said,
"Some mystics have also said that the JINN showed them something shiny
like water and glassin which images or pictures of whatever theysought
information would appear and they in turn would inform people." Ibn
Taymeeyah mentioned other instances and then concluded by saying,"This
is a so vast a topic that if I were to mention all that I knew, it
would fill a very large volume." [Ibn Taymeeyah, Al-Furqaan Bayna
Awliyaa ar-Rahmaan wa Awliyaa ash-Shaytaan, pp. 87-92]
This is only a part of the book which also containschapters on THE
JINN, POSSESSION, EXORCISM AND WRITTEN EXORCISM aswell as Shaykh Ibn
Baaz's Refutation of those who Deny Demonic Possession.

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